Form Of Reflective Practice Research Articles

Reflective practice in the heart of training and competition: the course of experience analysis for enhancing elite acrobatics athletes’ performances

This paper presents a particular form of reflective practice used with elite French acrobatics athletes since 1999. The practice is based on course‐of‐experience theory, which provides a methodology for analysing athletes’ activity in relation to the stream of their situated and pre‐reflexive consciousness that emerges during performance. Traces of past activity and self‐confrontational interviews provide the elements of this experience, as well as support for the reflective practice in articulation with training. Five orientations for intervening to enhance performance shape the process of learning or help athletes with performance blocks are identified and illustrated.

Viewpoint: Developing Modules on the Topic of Education for Sustainable Development- A Cross-cultural Approach for Engaging in International Collaboration and Furikaeri

The aim of the project reported on in this viewpoint paper is to develop a package of curriculum materials for use in the teaching of the topic of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at the primary school level. The project is an international collaboration between teachers in primary schools in Cape Town (South Africa) and Toyko (Japan), supported by researchers at two Universities – The International Christian University (ICU) in Toyko and The University of Cape Town (UCT). The curriculum materials are being developed jointly by teachers in the two countries, through a collaborative process that involves a number of reciprocal visits to each others’ classrooms and participation in video conferences together. Once completed, the materials will be trialed in the respective contexts. A further feature of the project is the use of the Japanese system of Furikaeri (or ‘lesson study’). This is a form of reflective practice which has been shown to be a most useful tool in support of teacher professional development.

Reflective Teaching: A Process for Analyzing Journals of Preservice Educators

Researchers are attempting to establish the importance of reflection within the teaching profession. As teacher educators more frequently require journal writing as one form of reflective practice in preservice teacher preparation, it becomes important that a process be established for analyzing this type of reflective thought. In this study, a content and descriptive analysis of reflective journal entries was conducted to define operational categories of reflective thought. Six CRT students maintained weekly journals in which they were required to reflect upon their instruction in their student teaching on a daily basis. Data then were analyzed in four stages: (a) classifying entries as problems, successes, or general issues, (b) reclassifying problem and success entries into teaching categories (behavior, planning, instruction, and learning environment), (c) identifying the levels of reflective thought used in addressing a problem, and (d) identifying components of successful entries. The final outcome of the analysis at each stage was the development of reliable and operational definitions for classifying, coding, and evaluating written journals of preservice teachers.

Action research in the professional development of teachers

Abstract The paper examines the use of action research in teachers’ professional development. It makes a distinction between two forms of action research, discrete and collegial. Discrete action research depends on a tutor/student relationship while collegial action research depends more on the help and support of colleagues within a course cohort. The distinction between the two forms of practical investigation is examined against a background of educating teachers to adapt the curriculum to reduce the difficulties experienced by pupils, and to include all pupils in ordinary schools. With the promotion of integration come change and adaptation in the ordinary classroom which need a form of reflective practice to reform existing procedures. The two forms of practice are explicated in the practice of two University courses which the author has experienced. It is therefore incumbent upon teacher educators to show the way for SEN (Special Educational Needs) professionals to build confident, and rational scho...