A study of pre-service teachers' use of reflective journaling was carried out. Participants were teachers in a new postgraduate diploma in education programme in the Cayman Islands. The aim of the study was twofold. Firstly, to determine (through an analysis of the participants' reflective journals) the types of reflection in which they engaged and secondly, to evaluate Valli's (1997) typology of reflection as a tool for analyzing reflective journals. The results of the study showed that a modified version of Valli's typology aided in determining (from reflective journals) the types of reflection in which the participants engaged as well as actions to be taken. For example, while participants did engage in reflection-inaction and reflection-on-action and personalistic reflection, efforts should be made to encourage this occurrence. There was also the need to improve their skills in reflecting deliberatively, critically, and technically. Implications of the results of the study for journaling in teacher education were also highlighted.
This article has three aims: to continue the process of giving credence to reflective teaching, which is integral to effective teaching and learning; to make explicit the connections between reflective teaching and inclusive teaching; and to identify key tasks for teachers in the inclusive classroom. Relevant articles were selected for inclusion in this review by searching online databases for key words and phrases. Findings reveal that the following features of reflective teaching connect with and are fundamental to inclusive teaching: giving careful consideration or thought; questioning personal assumptions, values, and beliefs; taking initiatives; using intuition; taking part in development and change; and the use of journalling. Teachers’ tasks in the inclusive classroom include giving careful consideration to what is to be taught and how it is to be taught (rather than who is to learn); considering the learning needs of all students (not just those with additional needs); questioning beliefs and rejecting deterministic and associated ideas; reflecting on the classroom situation; constantly seeking out and trying new things to support all learners; discussing new initiatives with colleagues in order to receive feedback; examining, framing and attempting to solve dilemmas of the classroom; using journals to track students’ learning; and taking responsibility for their own professional growth and understanding.
The aim of this small-scale grounded approach qualitative study was to examine the extent to which the skill of ‘thinking on your feet’/reflection-in-action is relevant to the role of Further and Higher Education Examination Invigilators particularly during the phases of an examination where students are present. The importance of this study rested in the fact that there is a paucity of research which examines the role of examination invigilators at the further and higher education levels. Therefore, it aids in filling a literary gap and gives them a ‘voice’ in the research literature. Study participants were six examination invigilators, working in a London Further Education College. Purposeful convenience or opportunity sampling was used in their selection. Interviews and documentary analysis were the research methods used. The main research question was: ‘To what extent is ‘thinking on your feet’/reflection-in-action relevant to the role of Further and Higher Education Examination Invigilators? This also formed the topic for this paper’. The findings revealed the fact examination invigilators have a common understanding of the research term ‘thinking on your feet’/reflection-in-action, and rated it relevant, very relevant and extremely relevant to their role. Relevance was linked to its usefulness i.e., usefulness in various circumstances; decision making; preventing mistakes and uncovering students’ duplicity. The implications of the findings are discussed.
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