{"id":2400,"date":"2011-11-29T20:23:15","date_gmt":"2011-11-29T20:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.com\/?p=2400"},"modified":"2011-11-29T20:23:15","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T20:23:15","slug":"reflective-practice-in-elt-the-what-why-and-how-eltchat-summary-23112011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2011\/11\/29\/reflective-practice-in-elt-the-what-why-and-how-eltchat-summary-23112011\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflective Practice in ELT: The What, Why, and How &#8211; #ELTchat Summary 23\/11\/2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #888888;\"><em><strong>This is a summary of the #Eltchat from 23\/11\/2011 at 2100 (GMT). It was contributed by Dale Coulter (@dalecoulter on Twotter) and first appeared on his blog <a href=\"http:\/\/languagemoments.wordpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Language Moments <\/a>&#8211; it is reproduced here with his kind permission. Thank you very much, Dale!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h1>Reflective Practice in ELT: The What, Why, and\u00a0How<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The theme of the chat was \u2018Reflective Practice in ELT: The What, Why, and How\u2019. The chat was moderated by Shaun Wilden (@shaunwilden) and Marisa Constatinides (@Marisa_C), who, as always, played their part in a stimulating debate, which touched upon the things we do as teachers after we leave the classroom before entering it again.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A Definition of Reflective Practice<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We narrowed down a definition for Reflective Practice fairly early thanks to @JoHart<\/p>\n<p>For me Reflection = mulling over what worked, what didn\u2019t, why &amp; how to improve<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Reflective practice: How and When to start?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There was some debate about when is the best time to start reflecting, the general consensus was that, little by little, there is no reason why it cannot be immediately after qualifying.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ok, how long before you can really start to reflect? Should you do so straightaway as a new teacher<strong>? @harrisonmike<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Start small, build it up. For a new teacher reflecting on the little things is important. Reflection-light\u00a0<strong>@dalecoulter<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I don\u2019t see why not \u2026 new teachers should set themselves realistic goals and learn to reflect on lessons<strong>@reasons4<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Great to bring reflection into your teaching from an early stage, but isn\u2019t there too many other things think\/worry about?\u00a0<strong>@JoshSRound<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The rest won\u2019t get \u201cthought about\u201d without reflection.\u00a0<strong>@AnthonyGaughan<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>How do we reflect?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>All the tweeters who took part in the #ELTchat have their own preferences when it comes to reflection. The variety of ideas for \u2018how\u2019 suggests that Reflective Practice has no pre-defined structure and can be adapted to the style of teaching; it is not a one-size-fits-all.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I think different styles of reflection suit different teachers, just like learning styles for Students\u00a0<strong>@theteacherjames<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Some teachers have a preference for blogging and twitter as the lynchpin for their reflection:<\/li>\n<li>Just an obvious one but aren\u2019t blogs and Twitter just the best sites for reflective practice in ELT? @<strong>inglishteacher<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Reflection is the reason I started my blog, so I definitely agree<strong>! @theteacherjames<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I bookmark webinars I\u2019ve attended, make notes, blog (sometimes) keep an (occasional) reflective journal @<strong>esolcourses<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The sharing of ideas was also prominent in how practitioners reflect, firstly in the staff room:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I find the most stimulating reflection takes place in the staffroom-bouncing ideas off each other\u00a0@<strong>LeaSobocan<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>How many of you work at schools where \u201creflective conversations in the staffroom\u201d are the norm?<strong>@AnthonyGaughan<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Agreed but does it also need help to have someone to discuss it with?\u00a0@<strong>Shaunwilden<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>In fact, peer pressure in most staffrooms is AGAINST reflection, I agree, in sum it\u2019s all about moaning @<strong>Marisa_C @jemjemgardner<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>So a sharing culture (whether blogging or not) encourages reflection? @<strong>Marisa_C<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>#ELTchat forces me to reflect (in a good way!) by challenging me &amp; questioning my values, based on my experiences. @theteacherjames<\/li>\n<li>Yes! Sharing &amp; non-judgemental is essential @JoHart<\/li>\n<li>Encouraging team teaching can encourage reflection #eltchat \u2013 1 way management can maybe help? @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Sometimes I risk something in class, reflect then write &amp; colleagues say what they think\u2026Invaluable @hartle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sharing, also in terms of the students and the teacher provided some insight into how we reflect:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I think asking students is important as they often see a lesson completely differently from you\u00a0@<strong>Shaunwilden<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Why not ask what students think of lessons? Could it work anyhow? I asked Students to write short twit-like notes \u2013 opinion and areas to improvement\u00a0@<strong>AlexandraGuzik<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Teachers also spoke about their preferences for written reflection or spoken or thought-based reflection:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>E.g is reflection journals. Think it\u2019s a brilliant idea, but wouldn\u2019t work for me. Couldn\u2019t keep a diary!<strong>@theteacherjames<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Not writing down \u2013 no record \u2013 how can you keep track of development?\u00a0<strong>@dalecoulter<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Especially if you have a poor memory like me! I HAVE to write things down, reinforce the idea and provides a record @<strong>chrisjw133<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I think it\u2019s possible, continued internal conversations @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I\u00a0guess bottom line is has to be \u201cpost event\u201d but the form, the precise when and how can vary to suit people, circumstances @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I think reflection needs to come from within \u2013 be something you feel you need to do \u2013 for it to work \u2013 peers can help, but can\u2019t do it for you @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I think usually people have to be taught to reflect (I use journal templates with questions to start students off when 1st using reflection)\u00a0<strong>@JoshSRound<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Does structured peer mentoring aid reflection? Does your school do it? @<strong>pysproblem81<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>When teaching 25-30 contact hours a week I kept a logbook. Wrote quick notes at end of each class used them to recall &amp; plan for the next class @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>So what does these thoughts or written accounts consist of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Teach \u2013 reflect \u2013 put reflection into practice \u2013 reflect \u2013 reflection into practice @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Stop-recall-alternate-evaluate? @AnthonyGaughan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The conversation then turned to new teachers and reflective practice in training, the problems during and after training :<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How many teachers move from course reflecting into their first jobs though?\u00a0\u00a0@<strong>Shaunwilden<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The question is how do teachers who haven\u2019t gone through such training can be helped to find tools for reflection and CPD @<strong>Marisa_C<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I was just thinking that and it is a hard skill to learn in 4 weeks with everything else anyway @<strong>Shaunwilden<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Doesn\u2019t mean teachers are given a space for it in their first job &gt; reflection doesn\u2019t\u00a0need too much time @<strong>eannegrenoble<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I think many institutions don\u2019t have a \u2018micro-climate\u2019 that encourages reflection @<strong>Marisa_C<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Perhaps training sessions on how\/where to do it, ideas \/ advantages etc. @<strong>jemjemgardner<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I think all Celta does it set out the ground rules for good practice but that is off the point\u00a0@<strong>reasons4<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Hopefully those on their own will look on the web and then find a support network\u00a0@<strong>Shaunwilden<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Back planning<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ideas then focused on how we plan a lesson in a reflective way. The trend seemed to be that most experienced reflective practitioners plan their lessons after the lesson, preferring to learn from what happened to move forward. How teachers \u2018back-plan\u2019 and why they do it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I worked in a school where they asked for lesson plans in advance. Better if they wanted them after &amp; asked me how it went.\u00a0@<strong>theteacherjames<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>What is your own best way of reflecting on your current\/past practices? #Eltchat \/\/ through lesson plans, after the lesson\u00a0<strong>@Marisa_C<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Current way \u2013 plan, reflect on what might work -post-plan reflect on what did\/didn\u2019t work \u2013 talk to colleagues\/blog @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Reverse planning, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve really started to do now. Outline, then fill in the details later.\u00a0@<strong>theteacherjames<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>My lessons are never tightly planned but then I sit and think why things did or didn\u2019t work after @<strong>cerirhiannon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>With long term objectives clear \u2013 back-planning becomes the only way to go @<strong>eannegrenoble<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Shall we have properly planned aims b4 lessons and roughly planned procedure? and then write down the proper way it worked?\u00a0 @<strong>AlexandraGuzik<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Make a plan \u2013 see how you deviated from it, why?\u00a0@<strong>dalecoulter<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Definitely Student friendly and Student centered \u2013 maybe lesson plans are a little teacher-centered if we are honest?! @<strong>shaznosel<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>In the dying minutes of #ELTchat the topic moved onto evaluation and measuring progress in reflective practice. It is a shame we did not have the chance to look at this topic in more detail. I think this is the link between reflective practice and long-term development, especially for the newer teachers starting off in the ELT world.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reflection leads to new insights\u2026these then should be put into use \u2013 to what extent do u measure how much this happens? @<strong>JoshSRound<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>I review my journal. Create mini action research projects and include them in my teaching.\u00a0<strong>@dalecoulter<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>This is the essence of the experimental practice on DELTA courses \u2013 shame it\u2019s only one\u00a0 assignment\u00a0@<strong>Marisa_C<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>How do you evaluate what you do? Learning outcomes? Learner reactions? Learner reflections? Or just your own? @<strong>Marisa_C<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A big thanks to all those who took part for a very stimulating #ELTchat. See you all next time<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #888888;\">by Dale Coulter<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #888888;\">@dalecoulter<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a summary of the #Eltchat from 23\/11\/2011 at 2100 (GMT). It was contributed by Dale Coulter (@dalecoulter on Twotter) and first appeared on his blog Language Moments &#8211; it is reproduced here with his kind permission. Thank you very much, Dale!\u00a0 Reflective Practice in ELT: The What, Why, and\u00a0How &nbsp; The theme of&hellip; <br \/> <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2011\/11\/29\/reflective-practice-in-elt-the-what-why-and-how-eltchat-summary-23112011\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[101,120],"class_list":["post-2400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summary","tag-professional-development","tag-teaching-methods"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}