DOS, Mysore University, Mysore. Karnataka State
Learners are not passive recipients of information. In order to build new knowledge the teachers must engage students in learning, by exposing them to various media and Technology. Today there is information explosion which has captured the imagination and interest of the students and teacher educators around the globe.
Teachers are ever learners, learning through students, from their own trial and error, learning from peers, learning from mentors and from academic information in their field, and this type of learning which continue through out the life is called the life long learning, or on going professional development. One tool that can help the teacher professionally is known as ‘reflective teaching practice’. Research on effective teaching over the past two decades has shown effective practice is linked to enquiry, reflection and continuous professional growth. Reflection practice can be of beneficial form of professional development at the both preservice and in-service teaching by gaining a better understanding of their own individual teaching styles through reflective practice. This paper deals with the concept of deals of reflective thinking, its incorporation in teacher education and the benefits of using ity.
Reflective Practice can be a beneficial process in teacher professional development both for preservice and in service teachers. This paper reviews the concept, levels techniques for and benefits of reflective practice.
Teachers are ever a student, who learns from trial and error, from his own experience, from peers and from academic information in their field. Teachers continue to learn through out their life and this is called life long learning, or ‘on going professional development’ one tool that can help the teachers professionally is known as ‘reflective teaching practice’.
Refining the concept: In 1987, Donald Schon introduced the concept of reflective practice as a critical process in refining ones activity or craft in a specific discipline. Schon recommended reflective practice as a way for beginners in a discipline to recognize consonance between their own individual practices and those successful practioneers, as defined by Schon, reflective practice involves thoughtfully considering one's own experiences in applying knowledge to practice while being coached by professionals in the discipline. (Schon 1986).
After the concept of reflective practice was introduced by Schon, many schools, colleges and departments of education began designing teacher education and professional development programs based on this concept. The reflecting teaching combine John Dewey's philosophy on the moral, situational aspects of teaching with the Schon's process for a more contextual approach to the concept of reflective practice.
Reflective practice has also been defined in terms of action research. Action research in turn, is defined as a tool of curriculum development consisting of continuous feedback that targets specific problems in a particular school settings (Hopkins and antis 1990), as such it has become a standard concept in teacher education programs.
The teacher educator as a researcher and role model encourages students to put theories they have learned into practice in their classroom. The students bring reports of their field experiences to class and analyse their teaching strategies with their mentors and colleagues. This collaborative model of reflective practice enriches students’ personal reflections on their work and provides students with their suggestions from peers on how to refine their teaching practices
