Professional learning and development through reflective practice: lived experiences of Kenyan chemistry county teacher trainers

Abstract

This study explored professional learning with the aim of improving teaching performance in chemistry in Kenyan secondary schools. The study investigated how and what Kenyan County chemistry teacher trainers learn from participating in a study where they reflect on their teaching. Reflective practice is not commonly used in teaching and teacher education in Kenya. Teaching and learning of chemistry at the secondary level in Kenya has received criticism overtime because of students’ low achievement and declining numbers of those opting to pursue courses in the university related to the subject. This is partly attributed to inefficient teaching methods. Initial teacher training to some extent does not match with changes in the education sector and the current group of students. Hence, teachers are expected to embrace long-life professional learning to keep abreast with the dynamic changes in the education system in many countries, Kenya included. The research takes the form of a qualitative case study. Four volunteer, experienced, Kenyan County chemistry teacher trainers, who are also secondary school classroom teachers, participated in the study over a period of nine months. The study was situated within a social constructivist view of learning, through which teacher trainers were provided an opportunity to examine their own prior knowledge of teaching and construct new knowledge through the process of shared reflection and dialogue. They reflected on critical incidents they chose from their own classroom teaching experiences they thought they could learn from, individually, and in collaboration with their participant colleagues. Data were collected from group reflection discussions and interviews. The process of thematic coding was employed to analyse data. The process of developing a coding scheme for data analysis was guided by the research questions and literature related to teacher learning in practice. The findings revealed that although teacher trainers missed many opportunities to learn from their teaching experiences, reflecting on a critical incident did offer them some opportunities to learn. They individually, and in collaboration with one another, reflected on their teaching and discussed problems regarding pedagogy, content knowledge, and learning resources. It was found that participants mainly adopted three professional learning activities: reflecting, experimenting and interacting with contact (with students and their participant colleagues) to develop knowledge of teaching methods, student learning needs and subject content. The findings also revealed that teaching and learning in the teacher trainers’ classrooms was affected by a myriad of contextual problems. Although not expected at the outset of the study since the participants were considered to be accomplished teachers with more than fifteen years of teaching experience in secondary school, it was found that in some topics they had limited pedagogical content knowledge. Assumptions about teaching and student learning they made also affected teaching and learning. Moreover, it was found that many students had a negative attitude towards chemistry and lacked knowledge of basic scientific concepts. Teaching and learning of chemistry in the teacher trainers’ classrooms was also found to be affected by a lack of time, laboratory facilities, and laboratory assistants. Findings further revealed that many schools in Kenya lacked qualified teachers and newly employed qualified teachers lacked skills to conduct practical lessons. Gaps were also identified in the Chemistry syllabus and in textbooks. Some content in the chemistry syllabus was not aligned with cognitive abilities of the students for whom they had been designed. A focus by the teacher trainers on external examinations also affected teaching because it was found that they did not teach for students’ conceptual understanding, but rather, to pass examinations. The study recommends introduction of school-based in-service training in Kenya, focusing on giving teachers an opportunity to reflect on their practice, increasing the frequency of national and County in-service training for teacher trainers and teachers, from the current one week per year to address the issue of limited pedagogical content knowledge. Findings also indicate a need for the current review of the education system in Kenya to consider better aligning the content found in the syllabus and textbooks with the cognitive abilities of students. Since the County is also in the process of phasing out the use of external examinations, as they affect teaching and learning in the classroom, the study findings provide insights and ideas that can be considered in this process.