Analysis
However as I have developed my teaching skills and also my ability to reflect I have begun to realise that the process of reflection is more complex than Gibbs (1988) suggests. Whilst Gibbs highlights key areas of the process I feel that reflection is not as cyclical as this model implies. As my reflective skills have developed I find myself jumping some stages of the cycle, revisiting others and in some instances digressing in different directions.
For this reason I have begun to look at more suitable models that represent my views of reflection. During my reading I have found two models supporting my views. The first of these is Argyris (1982) ladder of inference. Argyris looks at reflection using a ladder as a metaphor. This states that reflection is at times messy and subjective. For this reason you may skip steps, take steps backwards, remain on a run due to fear or uncertainty to move on, or you may fall off the ladder all together. A diagram of Argyris ladder can be seen in Figure 1.2. I feel that this represents my views of reflection as I have a start point (the experience) and an end point (the outcomes/actions), but how I get there is down to my trail of thought.
Figure 1.2 – Argyris Ladder of Inference.
Similarly the second model I have chosen to follow for my reflections is that of Boud (1996). This model uses a simpler continual process of reflection (Figure 1.3). Boud states that we undergo three stages of reflection before we commit to actions or outcomes. These stages are: -
- Stage One – Returning to the experience.
Replaying the experience in the eye of the mind to observe the event as it happened and to notice exactly what occurred. Boud states this is one of the most useful activities that can initiate a period of reflection.
- Stage Two – Attending to feelings.
Whilst emotions and feelings can be a significant source of learning they can also become a barrier (Boud, 1996). For this reason we need to either work with our emotional responses, find ways to set them aside or retain and enhance them should they be positive. If our feelings form barriers it is important that we recognise this and remove them as only then can learning proceed (Boud, 1996).
- Stage Three – Re-evaluating experience.
This evaluation stage may consist of four aspects which can enhance reflection and its outcome. These are association, integration, validation and appropriation. These stages help us relate the new experience to what we already know, seek relationships amongst the information and authenticate the resulting ideas and feelings (Boud, 1996).
Figure 1.3 – Boud’s Reflective Process in Context.
Once we have completed these stages we can determine outcomes and actions. As More (1974) states ‘whilst reflection is itself an experience it is not, of course, an end in itself’. From the reflection we are making ourselves ready for new experiences. The outcome of reflection can be a new way of doing something, clarification of an issue, development of a skill or resolution of a problem (Boud, 1996). Whilst these stages make the process spear very structured by viewing the model (Figure 1.3), it allows us to constantly revisit the stages. We can continually revisit the experience and feelings together with constant evaluation until we are happy to determine the outcomes and actions.
This changing view of reflection from a simple cycle to a complex process of re-evaluation helps demonstrate how I have developed my skills as a reflective practitioner. These skills are also evident through the critical incidents which I will discuss shortly. This is because I have moved away from reflecting extensively upon the experience after the event to look to undergo reflection as the event unfolds. In many ways this is probably, in part due to my increased teaching experience and confidence in the classroom, but also due to a greater understanding of reflection. Of final note my reflective development has been aided during this semester by the assistance of my fellow colleagues on the course. Throughout this semester, we as an STE group have begun sharing experiences and feelings of teaching through the sharing of reflective journals. As a result of this we have all worked to reflect on each others experiences. This has helped both myself, to consider and reflect upon situations which I have not come across, and also my colleagues as we have provided useful support and view points to help aid the process of reflection. This form of peer assisted learning can have substantial benefits to the learning process (Cornwall, 1979). This supported learning is a very important part of reflection, as reflecting alone has a number of challenges, as Habermas (1974) recognises: -
“The self-reflection of a lone subject….requires a quite paradoxical achievement: one part of the self must be split off from the other part in such a manner that the subject can be in a position to render aid to itself….furthermore in the act of self-reflection the subject the subject can deceive itself”.
In a way my change in teaching style has been synergistic to my reflective development. By taking a humanistic approach I work to listen to my students views and problems before attempting to offer suggestions on how to develop, move on or resolve the issue. Through the role of the teacher I am facilitating their reflection and thus enhancing their learning (Boud, 1996).
Having made clear my changing views of teaching and reflection, I will now identify two key incidents which occurred during this semesters teaching practice. During this I will discuss the experience, my feelings & emotions, how I would have acted at an earlier stage of the course, evaluate my actions and outline how I will take from the experience into my new role as a teacher upon completion of this course. In order to achieve this I will use the three categories of Boud’s model of reflection – experience, reflective processes and outcomes.
Incidence One: Threatening Behaviour.
Experience - One of the key incidences that occurred this semester during my STE placement was a situation which I had feared happening and I know was a concern to many others of my colleagues on the course. This was the threat of a violent situation arising in the classroom.
The incident happened approximately four weeks into the semester. I had taken on an extra group on a Monday afternoon to try to increase the number of hours I was teaching. This was only the second time I had been with this group and thus was unfamiliar with the students and still in the ‘transition phase’. I had just completed the register when one student burst into the classroom later. I knew this student from the previous week and know he was not the model student, with quite a bad reputation with the other teachers in the department. A matter of seconds after he came into the class two other students followed him in a hurry. I was not familiar with these students but sensed that they should not be in the group. It seemed clear that these two individuals had been chasing my student. A friend of mine on the course had experienced a similar situation previously where students had nearly broken into a fight in his classroom and I feared the same may happen here. I knew I had to react and take control to protect the safety of my students. Fearing the response I quickly asked them if they should be in the class, to which they paused and stuttered. So I quickly turned to them and said then please leave my classroom now. I was confident in my voice and stature but feared there response. These lads were both large black students and very intimidating. They said no but went on to comment that this student was late and did I want them to remove him from the lesson. I knew quite clearly what they meant and simply replied that I would resolve the issue myself and to leave my lesson. To my surprise these students actually apologised for the disruption and left without any trouble. I was shocked but also relieved.
Reflective Processes - After the lesson I sat and reflected upon the situation and decided that the key to the success was my confidence in my authority. Many trainee teachers lack confidence in their authority asking students to do things in an apologetic manner wondering if they will do what they have asked (Petty, 2004). From the last semester I had decided that I needed to work on this and it appears that this has worked. Petty (2004) talks about how we must assert a formal authority towards the students, an authority for our position as a teacher. The best method to use this is the use of non-verbal methods including standing straight, shoulders back, facing students squarely, and giving orders with a confident tone of voice expecting to be obeyed. By carrying out this information I gained the respect of the students for my position as a teacher, which was reinforced by their apology for the interruption.
From this experience I have gained confidence in my authority and felt that I could handle the situation in future sessions. This supports Reece & Walker (2004) which states that being assertive, which I was in this situation helps ‘improve or retain our self respect and self esteem’. As a result I decided to go into future sessions in a more confident manner, in many ways acting confident. Previously I had talked to my placement mentor who had talked about how he ‘performed in the classroom’. At the time this confused me as he discussed how he was an introvert who acts as an extrovert in the classroom. Now I understand what he meant as I too am very introvert. But in order to appear confident in the classroom I have to act confident and sure of my control of the group.
I feel that had this situation arose in semester one I would not have dealt with the issue at all well. Earlier in my teaching practice I was very fearful of confrontation and scared of students challenging my authority. I would probably have quietly asked them to leave but in a less assertive manner. The outcome of this would probably have resulted in the students not leaving the room and ultimately a violent incident. This personal development has come as a direct result of an increased confidence in my position and the classroom environment.
Outcomes - On reflection of this experience I have decided to work to ascertain a level of formal respect when I go into my new post at the end of the course. Petty (2004) states that when going into a new class (or job) it is important to establish a formal authority for you as a teacher before any personal authority can be built. This is achieved by going into the classroom in a confident manner ‘striding about the room as if you are absolutely confident of your ability to control the group’. This supports the old staffroom adage ‘never smile before Easter’. Only once the group respect your formal authority can you work to develop a personal authority where it becomes the desire of the student to please the teacher and build their own self image through the teachers’ approval (Petty, 2004).
Incidence Two: Testing the teacher.
Experience - A key incidence which happened during my second semester of STE placement made me realize how far I had come as a teacher over the past six months of the course. It occurred during my last session of the day on a Tuesday afternoon. The group had approached me earlier that day to see if I could move their lesson forward as another of their lessons had been cancelled and as a result had a 4 hour wait between lessons. I managed to move the lesson forward from 2:00pm to 12:15pm. The session was based in a computer suite for students’ to work on an assignment which they had to submit to me the following week. The session started well with just the usual mix of work and quiet chatter which I worked to keep down so that the class stopped on task. However approximately twenty minutes into the session two students’ picked up their bags and went to walk out of the room. I quickly went over and called them back, asking where they were going. They responded, saying they were going home to work as they’d had enough of College for the day. I asked them to return to their seats and continue with their work until the lesson was over. I sat with them and quietly pointed out that I had given up my time to move the lesson to help them out, and the least they could do was return the courtesy and do their work. They promptly returned to their seats and sat reluctantly finishing some work I had asked them to do.
This was one of the first big tests of my authority within the group and I felt that I had to prevent these students’ walking out otherwise I would have lost the whole groups respect.
Reflection - On reflection of the situation the reason these students’ acted as they did was in an attempt to see how far they could push me, to see where I drew the line. It is a well documented scenario that students ‘play up’ the teacher, often behaving increasingly inappropriately to find out where the teacher draws the line, what they can get away with (Petty, 2004). However, acting as I did, I worked to put a stop to this behaviour. By acting calmly and being strict but fair worked to ensure that the students’ lost interest in this misbehaviour. This was evident in future classes were they behaved more appropriately and started handing work in on time.
During semester one I often allowed students to get away with small things rather than confront the situation. On looking back this was for two key reasons. Firstly, this was to avoid confrontation, as I wanted the students to like me. I now realise that what I should have aimed for rather than being liked was being respected. In this way gaining their respect would have helped control the group. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier I was afraid of someone challenging my authority. Due to my lack of experience and a small age gap between myself and some of the students, I was worried that had I confronted them they would have challenged my position for this reason. This would have then lead to me losing the whole groups respect. I therefore feel that in semester one I would probably turned my back on the situation or backed down allowing them to go. Now as I have developed I realise that I need to be strong in these situations and have confidence in my position. If I go in and attempt to gain their respect they will respect my position.
Outcomes - As I prepare to take up my new post I will work to follow up this control to negate the playing up or testing out process which I expect from my new students. To do this I will keep in mind three basic points’ outlines by Petty (2004) designed to improve assertiveness and make people more comfortable with it. These are: -
- It is entirely appropriate for me to use my teachers’ authority, as long as I use it in the interests of my students learning.
- If I use my teachers’ authority effectively, I may well upset some students for a short time. If I use it ineffectively, I will upset them for a long time.
- If I do my best to be strict but fair, eventually I will succeed.
Conclusions.
In conclusion I feel that throughout this course I have had to undergo a vast amount of personal development in order to make the teacher I am today. Having development my view of teaching, my reflective practice and my teaching skills I have developed into a rounded teacher. This has given me the confidence I require to go out at the end of this course and undertake a new career as an FE teacher. Whilst I am apprehensive and nervous about this move I feel that I now have what it takes to develop into a successful teacher. Having seen how far I have come over this last nine months of this course, I am very thankful of embarking upon this journey. Prior to my enrolment on the course I was close to securing a full time teaching post at a local college, but lost out at the final interview. Whilst at the time this was a great blow to me it is probably the most beneficial incidence to happen in my career to date. Had I got the post I feel that I would not have been successful at the job as I had not got the skills that I have now developed, but more importantly I would not have had the support team that has help guide me on this journey and mould me into the teacher I am today.
Whilst I recognise that I have come a long way in my development over the last nine months, I know that this is only the start of my journey. Over the years that lie ahead I hope to further develop into the ‘successful teacher’ that Rogers (1994) talks about.
References.
ARGYRIS, C. (1982) Reasoning, Learning and Action. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
BOUD, D. KEOUGH, R. WALKER, D. (1996) Promoting reflection in learning. IN EDWARDS. R. HANSON, A. RAGGART, P. (1996) Boundaries of adult learning. Open University Press. London.
CORNWALL, M. G. (1979) Students as Teachers: Peer Teaching in Higher Education. Amsterdam: Cowo-Publicatie.
CURZON, L. B. (2000) Teaching in further education: an outline of principles and practice. 6th edition., London: Cassell.
HABERMAS, J. (1974) Theory & Practice, London: Heinemann.
GIBBS, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. London: FEU.
MASLOW, A. H. (1970) Motivation and Personality. 3rd edition., New York: Merrill.
PETTY, G. (2004) Teaching today: a practical guide. 3rd edition. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.
ROGERS, C. (1994) Freedom to Learn. 3rd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ Merrill.
REECE, I. WALKER, S. (2004) Teaching, training & learning a practical guide. 5th edition. Sunderland: Business Education Publishers LTD.
