Saturday 2:30 - 3:20
Magnolia B, Olympic ParkTel
Talk is Not Cheap: A Case Against Journal Writing for Reflection
Thomas Farrell
National Institute of Education, Singapore
Reflection in teaching generally refers to
teachers learning to subject their own beliefs of teaching and learning
to a critical analysis, and thus, take more responsibility for their actions
in the classroom. However, in order for reflective teaching to happen opportunities
must be created for teachers to use conscious
reflection as a means of understanding the relationship between their
own thoughts and actions.
This paper reports on the reflections of one
non-native speaker teacher of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Korea
and especially her preferred method of reflection among three different
types of activities: group talking, individual discussions with the researcher
and regular journal writing. It uses data
from a case study of a larger study of a group of teachers as they
reflected on their work. The paper highlights the role of group conversations
for this teacher to reflect on her work as opposed to classroom observations
and journal writing. Implications for tailoring reflective activities for
individual teachers are provided.
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