Conceptualising Reflection In Teacher Development

First published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Highlights popular debates about the contribution of reflection to teacher education and emphasizes the role of the mentor in facilitating teachers' professional development. Each chapter is concerned with exploring the concept of reflection and considering its contributions to teacher education.

Dominant theories about primary science contend that knowledge is the key. Ovens challenges this view, showing, through case studies, that inquiry and reflection play a significant part in the learning process. This applies to pupils, teachers and teacher educators. Taking curiosity as a pre-condition for good learning, Ovens shows that it is possible to increase the desire to learn more and learn better, to improve confidence in the ability to inquire, to imbue pupils with the courage to seek improvement, to place trust in collaborative processes, to raise awareness of significant detail and to encourage open-mindedness.

This text presents a research study into the development of reflective practitioners in a pre-service teacher education programme. The teacher educator in the study modelled his own reflections on practice in the hope that it would help students to apply reflection to their own teaching.; The results of the author's research demonstrate that reflection on practice occurs in three distinct periods: before anticipatory, during contemporaneous and after retrospective a pedagogical experience. The book concludes that when student teachers' own learning situations, both within their university coursework and their school experiences, become the focus for their learning about teaching and learning, their understanding of, and practice in, teaching is enhanced.

This book offers a detailed examination of reflective practice in teacher education. In the current educational context, where reflective practice has been mandated in professional standards for teachers in many countries, it analyses research-based evidence for the power of reflective practice to shape better educational outcomes. The book presents multiple theoretical and practical views of this often taken-for-granted practice, so that readers are challenged to consider how factors such as gender and race shape understandings of reflective practice. Documenting approaches that enhance learning, the contributions discuss reflective practice across the globe, with a focus on pre-service, in-service and university teachers. At a time when there is pressure to measure teachers’ work through standardised tests, the book highlights the professional thinking that is integral to teaching and demonstrates ways it can be encouraged in beginning teachers. Aimed at the international community of teacher educators in schools and universities, it also includes a critical examination of methodological issues in analysing and evaluating reflective practice and showcases the kind of reflective practice that empowers teachers and pre-service teachers to make a difference to students.

This work offers a new analysis of ""reflection"" and of the significance of ""framing"" in teachers' thinking. The book encapsulates recent developments in the field in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Case studies and research results are cited in support of the reflective process.

This book synthesises current practice and research developments from internationally recognised scholars and practitioners, to provide theoretical and practical knowledge which informs teacher education, development and professional learning. Sections in the book include: the role and significance of learning relationships; emerging dilemmas and challenges; and processes of self-study in teacher education. Throughout the book, self-study contributions highlight the complexity, challenges, struggles, solutions and successes in teacher education experience. They foreshadow exciting developments for further research. Accordingly, the book is likely to appeal to a wide audience of educators – including education academics, teachers, student teachers and researchers.