Guided Response: After reviewing the initial posts, substantively reply to at least three peers. Asking clarifying questions and sharing personal experiences are excellent methods of extending the discussion.    

To be a reflective practitioner is to in a constant state of knowledge-seeking, to be continually updating your “mental-software,” and to do so by reflecting on what experiences one has done previously.  Teachers specifically should be reflective as they are continually teaching new generations that are themselves reflective examples of society and culture that need to have guidance from relevant mentors. Teachers should push themselves to be in front of the curve of current events, topical pedagogy, and even pop culture so that they can connect with students and be ready for whatever new trends may arrive both inside and around the profession. Personally, as both a student and a first-year teacher, I believe my reflective practices are extremely continuous and ever-evolving; my schooling has influenced my teaching and vice versa, and the longer I am in the classroom, the more versed I am in what I do, the better my perception of future teacher undertakings and the more equipped I am at handling new initiatives and still embracing the things I have done in the past –especially those items that were most successful.

Being completely honest, I know I am a creature of habit, I fall into routines, and I can easily say that change is something that takes place for me very slowly (if ever), but I know within the classroom being able to adapt on the fly, being able to make kneejerk decisions is crucial to success for students; what works in one class period may very well look completely different in another –and that is okay. Using research to improve myself for my students is first, I can always be better. Just like reading a paper, even on my tenth pass, I find things for revision, I feel that my skills as an educator are the same, not only that, they should be continually revisited and updated for the betterment of all parties. I consider a teacher who has textbooks, those versions update over time because they become outdated – personal skills, while developed and successful, can too go out of date.

Two areas I want to research in my environment is the maintained ability of classroom management; I feel like I earn my students respect by building solid relationships with them, and by that they are more willing to take risk and stay “on task” more often than not, but again, there is always room for improvement. There is a bag of tricks that I believe every teacher develops, and I want to make sure mine is deep enough to last a full school year, and then some. The other area that I want to spend more time on is making sure that my lessons are both fundamentally aligned with standards for success, but also engaging –both by differentiation but also through design. When students look bored, I am not afraid of cutting a lesson short or switching up the how of what we are doing, and just like above, I want to develop that bag of tricks to be as best prepared for these types of curriculum responses, necessary reflective design implementations, and real-time research responses, as possible. My career is something that I do not take lightly; it is not about pay, it is about experience and reward. My goal is to imprint quality education on to my students and make sure that they leave my classroom excited about school, which means I have to be the best. I aim to be the best by always taking personal inventory, being personally reflective, and having a willingness to make changes.

Part A

What does it mean to be a reflective practitioner?

To be a reflective practitioner, you have to use reflection as a meaning-making process that allows you to deepen your understanding of your experiences, Dewey (1933). This requires being able to think events back, make judgments about them, and modify future teaching behaviors in light of an awareness of one’s ideas and attitudes.

Why should teachers be reflective?

Through directed reflection, the teacher can examine their experiences critically, thus enhancing the quality of both their learning and their teaching. Reflective practice enables teachers to construct knowledge, to become aware of their problems, and to become less dependent on outside expertise. How would you describe yourself regarding being a reflective practitioner?

How would you describe yourself in regard to being a reflective practitioner?

I see myself as a reflective practitioner. I often make a better sense of information after I have had time to process information. There are many times decisions need to make at the moment. However, I find that much more can be accomplished after I’ve had time to reflective.
Being able to evaluate information, learning the why, and how it benefits me in creating positive change in my work environment. Everything evolves, therefore we as educators have to make changes to our teaching strategies to offer a developmentally appropriate learning environment for our students. This is something I pride myself on doing.

Part B:

How will you use research to improve your practice in order to facilitate student achievement?

I believe a proficient teacher is continually learning and increasing their knowledge. My journey will be endless, and I will always look for innovative ideas and teaching strategies to improve my skills as a teacher. I will continuously strengthen my teaching practice during my profession through the use of research.

What two areas of practice in your educational environment do you think need researching, and why?

The two areas of practice I feel need more research is, the importance of family involvement and the effects of parental separation on ‘children’s development.

I work in a military environment. Our job is to reduce the conflict between the Solider mission readiness and parental responsibility. Our families are unique. We have dual-military parents as well as single soldiers’ parents. Our children are in our care for over 12 hours most days. I would like to see what types of effect this lifestyle has on children long term.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the
educative process. Boston, MA: Heath

Kirmizi, Ö., & Tosuencuoglu, I. (2019). Becoming Reflective Practitioners: A Case Study of Four Beginning Pre-Service EFL Teachers in Turkey. English Language Teaching, 12(4), 127–138. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s8856897&db=eric&AN=EJ1210459&site=ehost-live

ttps://ashford.instructure.com/courses/51839/external_tools/retrieve?display=borderless&url=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.ashford.edu%2FAccount

http://collegequarterly.ca/2009-vol12-num01-winter/minott.html

Edited by Valerie Hammond on Oct 7 at 7:47pm 

Why Educators Should Conduct Research

Part A:

What Does it Mean to Be a Reflective Practitioner?

“Fattig and Taylor (2008) define the differentiated instructional process DIP as reflective and responsive teaching. This implies a contributory role of reflection to the DIP and specifically to teachers being responsive to students’ needs, interest and learning (Minott, 2009). A reflective practitioner is someone who maximizes their teaching process by building and examining their knowledge about their learners in the context of which teaching and learning occur.  A reflective practitioner develops and understanding of the theory and other’s practice too, and explore ideas with others.

Why should teachers be reflective?

It is important that teachers be reflective because they reflect on their teaching/learning processes. They reflect on student’s previous knowledge, skills, and dispositions. A reflective teacher reflects on their student’s current educational setting and development of each individual learner’s potentials by reflecting on what we do as educators and what we should do differently next time. “Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are composed of educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for students they serve” (DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker,2008). Reflective teachers have the opportunity to collaborate with other colleagues, and other community and professional resources. It allows us as educators to learn to value time spent about our work and share views and experiences with others in our professional organization.

How Would I Describe Myself in Regard to Being a Reflective Practitioner

As a reflective practitioner, I regard myself as a creative thinker, someone who thinks outside the box to create active engaging ways to keep my students interest and attention and meeting the needs of all students. As a reflective practitioner, I spend time focusing on improving learning and teaching on things that really matter to both my students and myself.

Part B:
An Evaluation of This Question from Barth (as cited in the Phelps, 2008): “How much are you prepared to risk of what is familiar, comfortable, safe, and perhaps working well for you, in the name of better education for others?” (p. 122).

How Will I Use Research to Improve My Practice in Order to Facilitate Student Achievement

To improve my practice to facilitate my students’ achievement using research, I will build and examines knowledge about my students, their culture and the curricula of our school. I will use my students previously learned experiences integrated with present experiences to achieve and develop each student’s potentials. Learn and develop more strategies for teaching culturally diverse students to become more successful academically and socially.

What Two areas of Practice in My Educational Environment I Think Need Researching and Why

The fundamental doctrine of the DIP is that the curriculum or lesson content, process, product and classroom environment must be modified or adapted to students’ needs, interest and learning styles (Fattig, & Taylor, 2008, Tomlinson, 1999, Garderen & Whittaker, 2006 & Levy, 2008). It is vital that as an educator that the needs of each individual student be met in their own learning style and interest.

Differentiation & The Implementation of Technology

Teachers in my educational field do not use differentiation or the implementing of technology into student’s curricula. Teachers do not accommodate the similarities and differences among students culture that acknowledges individual and cultural differences. The teachers in my environment need to build relationships with students, this creates a basis for the development of positive communication and instructional strategies. Teachers are uneducated on how to incorporate the use of technology in their lesson plans. Technology is a major part of the future and students need to be prepared for today’s modern market.

References

Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2004). The articulated learning: An approach to guided reflection and assessment. Innovative Higher Education, 29(2), 137-154. doi:10.1023/B:IHIE.0000048795.84634.4a

Minott, M. (2009). The role of reflection in the differentiated instructional process. (Links to an external site.)

College Quarterly, 12(1). Retrieved from http://collegequarterly.ca/