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Great Article on Reflective Practice

Do We Evaluate Reflective Practice? First Define It

By Kelly Morris Roberts, Ph.D.

Good teachers reflect on practice. Ask any teacher, school administrator or department head, and he or she will not only affirm that statement but also will confirm that teacher evaluation instruments these days are replete with references to teacher reflection. As a new superintendent, knowing the basics of teacher reflection is vital; the problem with knowing the basics, ironically, has been framing those basics and then recognizing how we can encourage reflection of the caliber to transform practice. Many in the field of teacher reflection have long mourned that “one of the most notable limitations of this emerging literature on reflective practice is its ahistorical nature ... The historical amnesia with regard to reflective practice has contributed greatly to the lack of clarity about the theoretical and political commitments underlying specific proposals of reform” (Zeichner, 1994, p. 14). In an effort to curve this historical amnesia-and to know what we mean by reflection deeply enough to lead in this area—perhaps we must do the simple task of defining its basic tenets cogently yet broadly enough for the challenges of twenty-first century teaching. With a historically-based definition in mind, superintendents are better equipped both to discuss these tenets concisely and clearly and then to set up the conditions for truly reflective practice. Put simply, in order for us to see growth in teacher reflection and self-assessment, we have first to define it well for ourselves and others; this article attempts to get us started. (READ MORE AT THE LINK BELOW) http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=17448