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Reflective Practice for Language Teachers- Tom Farrell

The plenary speech on Monday was given by Tom Farrell on the topic of reflective teaching. In his speech he outlined several different kinds of reflection. These included, “reflection in action”, the kind you do on the spot as you are teaching; “reflection on action”, reflection after teaching and “reflection for action” or proactive teaching. According to Tom, reflective practice involves “the systematic collecting of data to make informed decisions”. The emphasis on systematic collection of data was extremely insightful for me, as previously I had considered reflective practice just a matter of thinking about what I had done and then deciding how to do it better. Tools for doing this include; a teaching journal, observations and discussion groups. Tom emphasised that gaining experience alone is not enough to help us develop professionally: we must also be reflective practitioners. He suggested that regardless of the stage you are at in your career, reflective practice will be beneficial and help improve your teaching. During the talk he used as an example an observation he had undertaken of a teacher, focusing particularly on interactions in her classroom. He found that the teacher predominately addressed only one side of the class and also that a small number of students tended to dominate the class. This was something the teacher had been previously unaware of. By being made aware of this aspect of her class, the teacher was able to improve it and when the class was observed again, the interaction was much more balanced. This was a simple example but it really highlighted how incorporating reflection into our practice can be done quite simply but with very beneficial results.

A further point that Tom made related to different levels of reflection. He demonstrated this with a pyramid diagram, at the bottom, was the most common level of reflection, descriptive reflection “what did I do?”Next is conceptual reflection “Why did I do it?” . At this level there is both reflection and awareness, which often leads to a plan for future action. Tom argued that most people do not progress any further than these two levels when reflecting. However, the third level is very important and teachers should be considering it in their work. This level is the critical level and is concerned with the moral impact of our teaching: “Whose values are we transmitting?”. I agree with Tom’s suggestion that most people do not exceed the first two levels, I am sure that I never have in my own reflective practice. The idea of questioning the values and ideas that my teaching promotes is extremely interesting and as Tom stated I think it is important for all teachers to do so. By reflecting on this level, teachers will not only gain a greater insight into the deeper implications of what they are teaching but they will also gain a better understanding of themselves as teachers.

By Sam Weekes.