Learning Outcome c)

Learning Outcome c) Reflect critically on social and political issues in education.

Evidence One. 
Wednesday 20th March 2013. 
Topic: Critical Reflection 
Notes taken in class. 

When we reflect we need to be learning from our reflection. This means we not only need to reflect on action after it has happened but also in action, while it is happening, which can be very hard to do. Reflection can also incorporate students' opinions by asking them what they liked about a particular lesson and what worked for them.

There is a difference between reflecting and reflecting critically which must be noted. Reflecting simply involves recalling and reviewing or analysing ones practise in order to refine and improve upon it. However critical reflection involves interrogating the social, political and ethical implications of ones teaching practise. It involves examination of both personal and professional belief systems. This means teachers should look at their beliefs and how these interact with the social and political climate. We should look beneath the way things have been done and whether they are the real truth. This involves looking at different ways of interpreting the same event/information by looking at it in a variety of ways.

As teachers we need to question common assumptions in the classroom and dissect them. Some of these could be: Should there be homework? Should children follow school rules? Should all kids have to go to school?

This doesn't mean we need to be negative in our questioning but that we just need to wonder why.

Shulman's 3 apprenticeships model shows the connections between our head (knowledge and theoretical basis of teaching), hand (practical and technical skills) and heart (ethical and moral dimensions, attitudes and beliefs) in practise. When critically reflecting we must link our head, hand and heart and look at how these three interact. Our personal beliefs and professional beliefs or practises might be different and when critically reflecting we can question these beliefs and look for the real truth.

Evidence Two:
Reading Reflection.
Reading: Pentecost, H. & Dickie, J. (2011). Using metacognition to explore spelling strategies. SET: Research: Research information for Teachers, 3, 55-62.

The authors of this research used critical reflection in their practise to question the assumption of using spelling lists to teach children how to spell in primary school. Questioning this long held practise in teaching led the researchers to develop this study to look at whether this method is in fact the real truth in relation to developing children's spelling skills. They found that although visual memorisation of spelling words is used by both achieving and underachieving students, the more able speller was able to use meta cognition and other strategies such as knowledge of phonemes, morphemes and other spelling rules that bettered there spelling. This shows that teaching children to problem solve how to spell words using the knowledge of the English language  instead of relying simply on rote memorisation will allow students to develop into more competent spellers. The researchers also bought up how less competent spellers were less likely to take risks in spelling a word, often resulting in them substituting the word for one they know how to spell which in turn limits their writing potential. This made me think about how when teaching spelling we also need to teach and encourage risk taking in students. I have personally seen in the classroom, students who are focused on getting the word right instead of having a try. As teachers we need to revert our language and encourage giving the word a try and reinforcing this behaviour instead of criticising if children spell a word wrong. Spelling lists send the message to children that words can only be spelt right and that trying your best to spell it out isn't good enough. As a teacher, I try to emphasis that you learn by trying and taking risks to ensure my students make the best out of their writing.

This reading helped me to gain a deeper understanding for how I can critically reflect on not only my teaching practise but also commonly held assumptions in the education world. Through exploring and analysing research associated with given assumptions, I would be able to question these so called 'truths' and possibly find other truths that will better my teaching, consequently improving the learning of students in my class.

There are many teaching approaches such as spelling lists that were a given during my time at primary school and still continue today. As this is all I know, it can sometimes be hard to think of other ways of doing things.
Sometimes I find it hard to question these types of assumptions as I look at them and think that I turned out to be okay at the given subject eg. spelling and therefore it must work. However I need to look beyond my own experiences and think about whether this approach is the best for all. For example, spelling lists may work fine for students who learn through visual memory, such as myself, but it may disadvantage those who learn through other means. There may also be a way of learning, such as using meta cognition and problem solving strategies that work well for all students. Thinking in this way makes me understand how important it is to question assumptions like these , as they may advantage and increase the learning for myself and students.

Evidence Three
Wednesday 27th May 2013
Topic: Trends in teaching: Critical Reflection. 
Notes taken in class. 

Today in class we talked about trends in education that will come and go during our careers that we need to be aware of and critically reflect on. For example current trends such as multiple intelligences, thinking keys and habits of mind, need to be examined critically by all teachers to ensure they are really benefiting children's learning before the teacher follows the trend.

Many schools will follow these trends and therefore will incorporate them into job vacancies and therefore we need to be prepared to research and take on these trends when applying for jobs. We may not fully agree with some of these trends, but to teach at certain schools, we may need to take on the ethos of the school and incorporate these trends in our classroom.

In the future as teachers, we need to be aware of teaching trends that come about and before we automatically incorporate them into our classroom we need to research them and their benefits for children. If we have implemented them in the classroom, we the need to reflect on their incorporation and decide whether it is the best way of learning for all students.

Evidence Four
Reading Reflection
Reading: Thrup, M. (2012). Raising our heads': Keeping a critical eye on policy and research. In C. McGee and D. Fraser, (Eds.), The professional practice of teaching (pp. 308-319). (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning. 

This reading talked about the importance of teachers constantly researching and critically analysing research and political changes that could influence their future teaching or students learning in their classroom. The reading emphasised how often teachers are busy with their  classroom and therefore do not have the time to invest in reading and looking into matters such as these.

The reading also pointed out how teachers are often blamed for social issues in education. Therefore teachers need to be attuned to social accusations such as these so they can monitor and assess their performance and be read to defend against these claims.

From this reading I learnt how important it could be to challenge policies or research that you have found are not based on sound evidence. Just because the government or another important educational body releases a policy or information source on a topic, encouraging it to be implemented in classrooms, this does not necessarily mean it is 100% correct and of the most benefit to students. Therefore teachers need to be critically reflecting on political issues and research to ensure they are the best form of practice to be including in their classroom.