Introduction
Effective learning only occurs when there is a reflection. Reflection is part of learning. Reflection is involved in a more meaningful way where the learner is trying to make sense of the new material herself, linking it to what she already knows.
In most of the cases, reflective learning is associated with instances where there is no new material of learning. Reflection, in addition enhances learning through facilitation, of conditions that favour learning.
If managed well reflection will help teachers and even support the children to bring out the solid knowledge about their practices and, therefore, adds up to their learning experience. Well-designed reflection synthesizes learning through the cooperative education.
Reflective teaching enables teachers to reach their full potential through high performance and invigorate teaching. One of the major aims of learning through reflection is that it improves the quality of learning. Understanding the roles of personal and professional values is essential.
Creative and competent teaching is about reflection on the evidence derived from practice. It is crucial to reflect on the capabilities and areas of proficiency. It also needs a teacher to focus on their passion. As a teacher, reflective practices help to enhance positive emotions within the work groups and departments.
For many years, the process of reflection has an association with cycles. Their numbers, as well as their varieties, have characterized them. However, all these models of reflection have the same common perspectives. They all have competency-based perspective.
This means that they help in the development of skills. In addition thy also have a personality perspective. This means that they have to do with personal agendas and individual enhancement. Others have experimental perspective, which means that they have experimental aspect.
Reflective writing helps in improving and understanding of the links that exist between the daily activities and several ways through which effectiveness in teaching can be improved (Ghaye, 2011, p. 7). This effectiveness can be made better through the creation of high quality work practice.
It also assists in the comprehension of the importance of high quality work. It also provides the ideas and several options through which this work can be approached. In this case, reflection is, therefore, linked to practice. Through reflection, new insights can be developed (Ghaye, 2011, p. 67).
These insights help understand what assists in the improvement of the different actions. Reflective practices aim primarily at what is happening (Fry, Ketteridge & Marshall, 2003, p. 42).
Analysis of lesson evaluations and practice, when solving word problem
As a teacher, I intend to use this lesson to evaluate if adaptation of the lesson can help in boosting the confidence in children during learning and dealing with word problems. For a long time, teaching of word questions has always been a problem to many children especially children in my class.
Using the RUCSAC in a stepwise manner can help boost the teaching confidence. According to my discovery, most of the children understood more my lesson when I incorporated the use of the visual aids would help the children be more focused. As a teacher, I also chose to work with unifix cubes, and it helped the children feel like what they were given to tackle the word problems (Ellis, 2001, p. 37).
This practice has helped in the identification of the different areas where the children struggle to understand the material well (Ghaye, 2011, p. 133). Children also spend most of their time in this section trying to find and get further clarifications (Dixon, 2007, p. 69).
A few numbers of the students still find the lesson using reflective teaching tricky. In order to help the children, the lesson made visual and resources were made available for children. These resources aim at helping children to solve the word problems (MacFadden, 2005, p. 68).
An evaluation of models of reflective practice in relation to your own developing reflective practice
Reflective writing helps students to learn through reflection. This is because it is essential in the development of the link between their reflection and the learning processes. Reflective practice encompasses three basic elements. The initial element is the development of the action plan. The second element is maintaining the plan. The third one is the evaluation of the plan to find out if the plan is relevant or not.
The first reflective model to be analysed is the model by Donald Schon. His model proposes how professional thinking works in action. He based his studies on the model of governing action consequences variable strategy (Freidus, 1997, p. 21).
This model focuses on reflection with the aim of problem detection and the correction of the error. This model is based on reflection in the present deeds. The best model reflects on the present tense.
Tin model of reflection includes critical reflection on the experiences and the identification of the learning needs. In this case, the identification of the children problem solving word problems.
This model is also beneficial in building integrated knowledge base that requires active approach in their integration (Bradshaw & Lowenstein, 2007, p. 78). Schon model is crucial for children learning word problem as it gives me the chance to reflect on the several other examples that I have to incorporate to make the students understand the lesson.
Most of the models used in reflective practice is activated by the awareness of the need of disruption or change in the normal practice. This tends to happen in complex and non-routine situations whereby the individuals who have a certain experience in this action are inadequate to frame or solve the problem (Ghaye, 2011, p. 6).
For example, in case of learning word problems, children find difficulty to understand the problems. The increase in the visual aid and the use of the cubes provided support for children to have a perfect comprehension of the problem.
In addition, these models have characteristics on both, empirical and theoretical data. Their common factor is that they all returned to deliberately examine it; hence act as a guide to learning in the future (Harris, 1998, p. 174).
Schon model is a model that is constructed on the basis of knowing in action. It also involves the process of surprising the children with the new model that might excite them. It also involves the process of reflection in action. This is whereby the process of reflection is in the present tense (Roth, 1997, p. 92).
The reflection process is on the current problem, not the previous problems (Ghaye, 2011, p. 11). Schon model also used the element of experimentation. Introduction of new ideas to teaching is essential in the children learning process (Stevens & Cooper, 2009, p. 51). Through the process of experimentation, the teachers can come up with diversified models through which they can be adopted for future use (Burns, 2002, p. 57).
Boud proposed model is on the facts of returning to the previous experiences. This model uses the previous lessons to study the present teaching aids. It also involves the process based on attending to feelings, as well as re-evaluation of the previous experiences (Pollard, 2002, p. 26).
This is an extremely influential model. It ensures that only new processes that are incorporated are the processes that will eventually improve the work of the children in a classroom. It also includes the assessment of the product of the processes in use (Kember & Jones, 2000, p, 67).
These includes the four levels of reflection in the stages involved in the re evaluation based on the previous experiences. This experience includes association, integration and validation of the learning process (Richards & Lockhart, 1994, p. 67).
Dewey model is on the principles of the vertical dimensions of learning. This model does not require which requires deeper level of understanding and critical synthesis. It also involves the process of critical reflection (Ghaye, 2011, p. 29).
Dewer saw the reflection as a specialized form of thinking. He describes it as a form of thinking that is composed of turning the subject over in the mind and giving it a serious thought. He believes that active persistence in any kind of learning will end up in the conscious and voluntary efforts. This effortsare aimed at establishing, believes upon a basis of evidence, as well as other rationalities (Day, 2000, p. 118).
Mezirow model has its construction based on the relationship between reflective practice and habitual action. This model can be useful for me as I can make it a habit to teach children with physical example, even those children who are slow in learning word problems can improve.
If learning word problem becomes a habit, then the children will integrate it to their daily activities (Ghaye, 2011, p. 14). It involves thoughtful actions and understanding of the different challenges facing the children. It incorporates on a bigger margin the concept of reflection, as well as the critical reflection. Moon focuses on the roles of reflection in the learning process. He also embeds reflection to the learningprocess (Brna, 2002, p. 67).
Evaluation of a selection of primary literary sources
One of the evaluation methods that I intend to incorporate for the search of the primary literary sources is the use of the survey. Survey can be used to examine if the children in my class engage in reflective and responsible learning. Student engagement includes attributes such as motivation persistence and self-confidence (Murcia, 2001, p. 76).
I will use questions to find out if the children are able to reproduce orient. This is the process where the pupil is supposed to use the learning process to reproduce the other questions posted.
One of the researches that are significant to the existing of the relationship between the process of learning and the approach of learning based on reflective thinking is the evaluation of different learning models. There are fundamental differences in success between learning through adoption of the deep approach of learning and the surface approach to learning tasks (Zubizarreta, 2004, p. 46).
A deeper task is where the intentions of the learner are to identify and utilize the notion of the concepts and the materials. The approaches used in the learning process are not situations, but they are extremes of a continuum and the same learners may have to choose differently according to the task that is presently at hand.
It is necessary to note that the learning process can only be seen if the results of the learning process are represented in different ways (MacFadden, 2005, p, 67). The learning process can take place if the process of learning makes sense and creates some meaning. Transformative learning is evidenced in the current understanding of the reflective process.
Representation has proved to show strong restructuring of different ideas and processes. It also demonstrates different abilities to evaluate the processes of reaching, as well as the learning process (Clarke, 1995, p. 51).
Reflection provides the right conditions for learning. Reflection is related immediately to the learning process. Reflection slows down activity giving time for the learner to process material of learning. It also demonstrates their ability to link the things learned to the previous ideas. Reflection enables students to develop greater ownership of the learning material making it more personally meaningful (Brookfield, 1995, p. 34).
Implications of reflective learning for future practice
According to my opinion as a teacher, reflective learning is necessary for catering to the child’s learning style especially when solving word problems. As a teacher, it is crucial to ensure that all learning styles can meet the learning objectives by providing lessons in a word document.
In the future, I intend to use different, new styles as from the assessment I have made the pupils improve more when the reflective teaching practice is used. Lessons will need adapting, and it is crucial to evaluate the previous session to help plan future sessions.
This may mean experimenting with new ideas in the classroom that helps in delivering new ideas. In some cases, someone can deliver a brilliant lesson, but children will not understand it. It is crucial not to become disheartened when students or pupils take time to understand what they learn.
Reflective writing helps in improving and understanding the links that exist between the daily activities and ways through which effectiveness in teaching can be improved. This effectiveness can be enhanced through the adoption of high quality work practices.
It also assists in the study of the importance of high quality work. It also provides the ideas and the several options through which this work can be approached. In this case, reflection is, therefore, linked to practice (Drago-Severson, 2004, p. 69).
The major benefit of reflective learning to the future practice is a high level of teaching effectiveness. It also assists in the validation of my work as a teacher and other beneficial advantages to my teaching recognition. Reflective practice can be a significant form of specialized development at both, the pre services and in service levels of instruction.
For the achievement of success, it is better for a teacher to develop skills for a reflective practitioner (Ghaye, 2011, p. 21).Teachers can do better in the classrooms if they work out their individual styles of presenting educational materials.
In the future, the incorporation of most of the models used in reflective practice is activated by the awareness of the need of disruption or change in the normal practice (Sugerman, 2000, p. 78). This happens in complex non-routine situations whereby the individuals knowing in action are inadequate to frame or solve problems.
The solution approach should be initiated and set according to the reactions. For example, in the case of learning word problems, children have a difficulty in understanding the problems. The increase in the visual aid and the use of the cubes provided support for students to have a better view of the problem (Larrivee, 2000, p. 118).
In addition, contribution to some professional growth institutes can also be a way to slot in reflection into practice. They can also focus on a higher side on teacher attitudes that influence practice. Furthermore, reflective practices also help in the understanding of the links that exist between feelings doing and thinking.
Consequently, the way people express their feelings affect the way they think. It also in turn affects the way people act. Work can be sometimes influenced by emotions, and it is guided, by the way, an individual thinks as well as the context of the practice.
An individual can only understand his or her practice by looking backward, whereas work has to be carried forward. However, reflecting in the past is limited to only what the mind can remember. It is, therefore, vital to the creation of time for reflection on the present. People need to reflect on not only what happened but also what is currently happening, as well as what they wish could happen in the future (Otto, 2008, p. 63).
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