As a way to explore the PSTs’ background knowledge and opinion about RP, I started by asking them how they defined it, and how important and useful they thought it was. Most of the participants described RP as thinking about how they developed during the class, the difficulties they found, what they needed to improve, and what worked and what did not work during the class. Kimberly, for instance, declared that:
For me the reflective practice is […] when, for example, my classmate and I start talking, and we tell to each other “Well, this worked, this didn’t work”… or we say something like “Well, today the students were very anxious, we could have done this and not that.” Things like that… Erm... […] New ideas to improve my development during the lesson.
(FG/Kimberly/T30)
For Kimberly, and some of her peers, reflection was the opportunity she had to share her opinion about the class with the person with whom she was working (peer), in order to evaluate the class and to generate ideas for activities they needed to consider. Interestingly, most of the PSTs defined reflection in terms of interaction and the talk they had with their peers (collaborative and dialogic reflection). Self-evaluation was also a key word that the PSTs used when defining RP. Laura, for instance, said that RP was ‘to analyse your own class development and the student’s development during the lesson’ (FG/Laura/T38). Generally speaking, the PSTs acknowledged reflection as their analysing events happening
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in the classroom and the opportunity to look for solutions and improvement. This view was confirmed with their answers to the questionnaire when I asked them about the importance of reflection on their teaching practice. For example, Diamantina declared that:
I think it is important because that way you can have your thoughts and ideas clearer of what happened during your class, what you did wrong and right, and use that for future classes.
(Q/Diamantina/q1)
The PSTs also perceived reflection as holding out the possibility to identify areas of opportunity for upcoming classes. They saw that they could improve their practice by ‘developing new strategies’ (Q/Sunny/q1), ‘knowing what things are effective for students and also when techniques are not suitable […] and find some solutions.’ (Q/Lea/q1).
A (follow-up) question asked in order to learn more on their perception on RP queried disadvantages they thought RP had. Some participants noted that there were no disadvantages since they thought that reflection only helped them improve their practice. However, other PSTs admitted that RP included some difficulties as follows:
Lack of time
Lack of objectivity
Lack of evidence to support reflection
Getting disappointed by actions and then being discouraged
Paying attention only to negative aspects
Lack of time was the aspect that the most PSTs mentioned as a disadvantage, mainly because the final year of the programme, when they are also asked to write their reflections on their teaching practice, is very time-demanding for them (they
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must prepare and present an English exam as a requirement for obtaining the degree; write a dissertation; attend classes, and perform their teaching practice). Sofía wrote that:
[…] at this stage of the major I do not have enough time to do it [to reflect] because I have a lot of responsibilities and worries.
(Q/Sofía/q2)
Another disadvantage that the PSTs identified was the lack of impartiality in the reflections. This was viewed from two perspectives: the PSTs (lack of) frankness when self-evaluating, and their peer’s subjectivity when providing feedback. The former was expressed by Alcatraz:
[…] you may think that you did everything good or that you may not want to accept that you failed in something.
(Q/Alcatraz/q2, emphasis by the researcher)
Apparently, Alcatraz was referring to two things. Firstly, her comment suggested that she might not have noticed her mistakes, possibly due to the lack of experience on what was correct doing in class. Luna backed up this view by indicating that ‘sometimes I just don’t realize that I am doing something wrong or that something can be done more efficiently’ (Q/Luna/q2). Secondly, Alcatraz also considered a possible personal denial to recognise that she might be mistaken in her perception of the class or her performance. That is, one might detect that there was something wrong, but might not want to recognise it.
As for a peer’s subjectivity while observing and providing feedback, Dan noted that ‘observations from a partner or co-worker might be biased’. This opinion could have been related to a commentary he wrote before, in which he indicated that ‘grasping a notion of one’s mistakes and errors tends to be somehow difficult without aids (recordings, observations)’ (Q/Dan/q2). Clearly for Dan, evidence-based reflections
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are necessary to avoid any type of subjective feedback (see Mann and Walsh’s 2013, and Walsh and Mann 2015 for Data-led reflection).
The PSTs were also asked about the tools and strategies that they identified and would be able to use in order to reflect. During the first term of their teaching practice the PSTs only reflected with their peers (by talking to them), solicited advice from experienced or in-service teachers, and kept their journals individually. Hence, their answers did not necessarily show the strategies and tools they were using at the time but the ones they thought could be used. They named the following tools and strategies (summarised in Table 8):
Strategies: Tools:
» Talking to a partner/friend/teacher
» Writing notes
» Writing questions
» Writing a reflective essay
» Keeping students’ records
» Writing down list of things to improve
» Recording yourself
» Observing other teachers
» Diary/journal
» Video recording (of their teaching practice)
» Reflection sheets
» Electronic diary
Table 8: Tools and strategies identified as useful
Mitzy, for example, indicated that ‘a teacher’s diary would be very helpful for personal reflective practice, and talking to a peer makes you reflect on how other people perceive what and how you teach’ (Q/Mitzy/q4). However, other PSTs did not agree about using a diary. Zoé, for instance, indicated that ‘it would be good to write on a sheet of paper my experience, but not like a diary’ (Q/Zoé/q4). Writing on a daily basis was not considered a good idea, probably due to the fact that they had previously mentioned in the questionnaire that they did not have plenty of time.
Talking to someone was the strategy most mentioned by PSTs in the questionnaire and the FG. It was possibly because they had started their teaching practice with a peer. Conversely, during the FG they displayed their awareness of the fact that
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they will not always have a peer to work with or share a class. They talked about having other options to get feedback on their teaching practice and reflect. For instance, Luna said she would do it with her ‘sisters who are also teachers’ (FG/Luna/T316). Luna expressed later that she preferred talking to someone about her teaching, even though she does not work with the same group of students nor has the opportunity to be observed by that person. Lea backed up Luna’s idea of asking a colleague, or those she referred to as ‘experienced teachers’, (FG/Lea/T318) for help. Lea might have referred to the experienced teachers as the best source of help because she saw herself as a novice teacher still, not having the expertise to deal with and solve certain situations in the classroom. Some PSTs suggested other options for strategies and tools to enhance reflection. For instance, Dan included ‘one’s recording of the class and direct observation’ (Q/Dan/q4). Even though he did not specify if he was referring to video or voice recording, Dan was aware of the usefulness of the tool. Such appreciation was also evident in the FG when I asked the participants if they thought there were other options for tools and strategies to foster reflection. Luna articulated her position as follows:
Well, I think of how the doctors always do their recordings of their work, right? […] You could just talk and it would be much easier to just listen to the recordings later.
(FG/Luna/T302)
Luna clearly referred to voice recording as a support when reflecting. The PSTs commentaries on the tools and strategies during the FG showed me that they preferred talking, rather than writing their reflections. This was confirmed with their replies when I asked them if they would write their reflections if they were not mandatory for the Teaching Practice course. The answer was: ‘Maybe not write
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