Reflection upon Teaching Experience: an incessant type of professional development

1. Reflection upon Teaching Experience: an incessant type of professional development Dr. Karl Attard University of Malta

2. The Case • LC consisted of 7 teachers teaching in one particular school. • This was not an already-existent community, but one which I created and maintained over a five-month period with the help of 6 other teachers. • All teachers taught different subjects and varied in the number of years serving as teachers (2-15 years).

3. The Case • The team had a scheduled 90-minute weekly meeting. • Members were asked to engage in reflective-writing individually and then share their writing with all members of the group. • No kind of pre-set agenda was in place.

4. Data Collection • Researcher’s reflective journal -- observation notes and reflections upon observations • Members’ reflective writing -- a way of tracking members’ knowledge construction • Last two meetings of LC were dedicated to specifically reflect on how each member experienced this LC while thinking about possible alterations to improve it • Above data was analysed using Grounded Theory analysis

5. Reflective-Writing • At an early stage some members could not see the value of reflective-writing. • A month into the study ‘all but one agreed that reflective-writing should carry-on on a weekly basis because it is useful’ (RJ). Here, I made the argument that this should be voluntary and nobody should feel obliged to write a weekly reflection. The latter scenario would defeat the entire aim of this study.

6. Reflective-Writing • As time progressed though, the member who was initially sceptical argued that: “Writing has offered me an opportunity for more focused thinking, and although at times I thought that I had nothing to write about, wanting to contribute to the LC by writing my own reflection made me engage in reflection and I realised that there was always certain aspects that needed deeper thought” (RJ). • Members also claimed that their thoughts and ideas changed even while writing their personal reflections.

7. Collaborative Reflection • ‘Sharing reflective-writing prompts us to discuss the case in question’ (MWR:17th session), since the readers regularly asked the author ‘to go into further detail about what s/he wrote’ (RJ). • Members also acknowledged that ‘sharing reflections with the other members of the LC strengthened and validated the reflective process’ (MWR:17th session). This is because trying to articulate your thoughts while answering other members’ questions promotes deeper critical reflection and knowledge construction.

8. Collaborative Reflection • Members contended that ‘being exposed to alternative viewpoints was an immense learning opportunity and a strongpoint of this LC’ (MWR:18th session). • During collaborative reflection, there was scaffolding of ideas where knowledge was constructed by members building on each other’s reflections and ideas. • Collaborative reflection also promoted further individual reflection about issues discussed. For example: ‘the thing that occupied my mind most this week was the challenge offered by [member] during last week’s meeting’ (MWR:5th session).

9. Developing as Reflective Practitioners • Collaborative reflection aided members in moving from technical to dialogic and critical reflection. • Dialogic and critical reflection took centre stage during meetings through members’ continuous questioning. This was indirectly having an effect on individual member’s reflective awareness, as our meetings showed members how to really investigate an issue deeply (i.e. through continuous questioning, and trying to analyse the issue from various viewpoints).

10. Appreciating the Individual • Decisions regarding actions-to-take were also mostly taken on an individual level. Hence, members were not constrained to act and “think” like all others, as such practice would certainly mute critical reflection. • So the LC was still made up of seven individuals who individually took the decisions they deemed best for their situations. The main difference is that their learning was not isolated but complemented by that of others. Such a scenario suggests that consensus was not something that had to be reached at all costs.

11. Appreciating the Individual • Rather than being seen as a problem, not reaching consensus was manna from heaven because uncertainty and conflicting views are a blessing in disguise. • Of importance is the necessary understanding that ‘relatedness and autonomy are not opposites, as they are sometimes depicted’ (Watkins, 2005: p.52).

12. Teacher-Learning • LCs really engaged members in continuous development. As one member put it: ‘I have learned and worked on my own development much more during these sessions than I have done during the in-service courses I attended throughout my entire teaching career’ (RJ). • Of significance is that members were really enthusiastic and motivated to learn, as on various occasions ‘I could see a lot of enthusiasm from the members’ part as they were engaged in learning’ (RJ).

13. The Role of Trust • Trust is needed if members are to open-up, discuss, take on alternative viewpoints, appreciate individual differences, tolerate uncertainty, and understand that individuals are free to take different decisions. • For this reason, I wanted to create a community where possibly some element of trust was already present; by choosing teachers that already knew each other well. • The chances of trusting each other is greater here than between complete strangers (Le Cornu, 2005).

14. The Role of Trust • Members voiced their belief that working with people who you do not know well entails a long period where learning opportunities are not optimal due to the fact that it takes time to learn to trust. As such: “It is unwise not to make use of groups that already function naturally. Here I asked: why should I try to create a group when I can find groups that are already formed naturally? All members agreed with these arguments and it was highlighted that such naturally formed groups already have an element of trust” (RJ).

15. Alteration of Professional Assumptions • Questioning individual assumptions was a consequence of being exposed to various viewpoints. If we weren’t, our assumptions would probably have remained unchallenged, and consequently unaltered. • Besides personal beliefs, collective tacit beliefs were also highlighted and made explicit. Regarding this I regularly commented that ‘when someone challenges a commonly-held assumption, then the possibilities for learning are augmented’ (RJ). “[Member] asked a question that challenged the assumptions of all those present. Although at first everyone’s reaction was to convince [member] that he was wrong, suddenly everybody started realising that this challenge was legitimate and plausible” (RJ).

16. Alteration of Professional Assumptions • Of significance here is that members questioned their beliefs about questioning beliefs. Although this might sound like a paradox, members realised the possibility of a group blinding itself through strengthening rather than challenging beliefs. • The ability of members to identify and question such a possibility shows advanced critical reflection in a collaborative setting.

17. Alteration of Professional Assumptions “One important point that emerged regarding the use of pre-existing groups is that such people will probably already have shared values and educational aims... The members of such groups might also have similar unquestioned beliefs, assumptions and practices. In this respect members of pre-existing groups might focus on certain aspects only and be blinded towards other important educational issues. [Member] was worried about this and argued that if this happens, we might be learning in one direction while closing possibility of awakenings about other issues... Thus, although members would still be engaging themselves in both individual and group reflection, having people with similar beliefs and assumptions might hinder their questioning. At this point, [member] mentioned the possibility of creating networks…” (RJ).

18. Learning for Practice • ‘When a group of teachers comes together to learn about best practice the measure of knowledge productivity could be the extent to which they intend to apply that knowledge’ (Tillema & van derWesthuizen, 2006: p.52). • Members went a step further however, as they not only intended to use newly-created knowledge, but actually put it into practice. Practically every written reflection focused on some aspect of change in teaching-practice.

19. Learning is Relevant • In recent literature, many teachers complain that traditional professional development opportunities usually lack relevance. • In contrast this LC promoted learning that is directly relevant. • Relevance was boosted in our LC by not having a pre-set agenda where issues/topics would have been previously decided upon, as these were decided by members themselves according to what they deemed relevant; i.e. issues that emerged from, and were having a direct impact upon their practice.

20. Learning is Relevant • Members also reported working harder on their own development when compared to traditional in-service courses. Although strong data does not exist to suggest that this happened because learning was perceived as relevant, one member stated that: “Having the freedom to reflect upon and discuss topics we deem as relevant has indeed made this a positive experience, as my enthusiasm to dive into the world of professional learning has increased” (MWR:17th session).

21. Defining this LC as a Learning Incubation Centre • Previous research into teacher professional development (Armour & Yelling, 2007; Duncombe & Armour, 2004; Craft, 1996) has reported that teachers consider professional development opportunities as effective when these provide: 1 - useable ideas that are practical, relevant and applicable; 2 - provides challenging and thought-provoking issues; 3 - offers opportunities for individual and collaborative reflection; and 4 - constructs learning that emerges from the real-world of teaching.

22. Defining this LC as a Learning Incubation Centre • All of these were present in our LC, and these have indeed promoted teacher-learning. • No wonder that all participants agreed with a member who argued that: “This is the best form of professional development I have encountered throughout my teaching career. I have come to see it as a learning incubation centre”

23. Thank You