CC BY
2020
PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES / «ШУУШУШМ-ЛШШаИ» #ЩШ4)), 2022
PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES
UDC: 81-139
Ishonkulov Sherzod Usmonovich Karshi engineering-economics institute, Uzbekistan DOI: 10.24412/2520-6990-2022-31154-20-22 REFLECTIVE APPROACH IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
Ишонкулов Шерзод Усмонович
Каршинский инженерно-экономический институт, Узбекистан
РЕФЛЕКТИВНЫЙ ПОДХОД В ПРЕПОДАВАНИИ АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА
Abstract:
This article outlines introduction to reflective teaching, historical background and definitions of the term, purposes of reflective teaching, topics explored by reflective teachers, tools for reflective teaching: gathering information, a model of reflective teaching and promoting reflective teaching through the use of the teacher's portfolio;
Аннотация:
В этой статье описывается введение в рефлексивное обучение, историческая справка и определения термина, цели рефлексивного обучения, темы, изучаемые рефлексивными учителями, инструменты для рефлексивного обучения: сбор информации, модель рефлексивного обучения и продвижение рефлексивного обучения с использованием портфолио учителя;
Key phrases: Reflective teaching; formative feedback; self-generated sources; five-minute papers; assessment surveys; focus groups; retrospective field notes; teacher's portfolio;
Ключевые фразы: рефлексивное обучение; формирующая обратная связь; самогенерируемые источники; пятиминутные бумаги; оценочные опросы; фокус группы; ретроспективные полевые заметки; портфолио учителя;
Introduction to reflective teaching. When something goes wrong in our lives, our reaction is to think about why it happened. We also think if we could have done something to prevent it, and how it might affect our future. These experiences usually make us grow. We hope to be better prepared to face the situation if it happens again. This introspection is commonly called "reflection", and professionals have adopted it in order to improve their practices. For educators, reflection involves "critical thinking" about experiences that occurred or are occurring in the classroom settings.
Through reflection, teachers of English as a foreign language can react, examine and evaluate their teaching to make decisions on necessary changes to improve it.
Historical background and definitions of the term Reflective teaching is not an innovation in education. It has its roots in the works of a number of educational theorists and practitioners. The concept has been around for more than 50 years. The American educator John Dewey was already discussing reflective teaching in 1909 by suggesting that the reflective practitioner is someone who reflects on the practice of his/her profession as a way of developing expertise in it. [1, 198 p]
Reflective teaching can be defined as an approach to language classroom instruction in which teachers collect data about teaching, examine their attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and teaching practices, and use the information obtained as a basis for reflection about their efforts in language courses. Reflective teaching can be defined as a means of professional development which begins in the classroom.
Reflective teaching means looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking about how it works - a process of self-observation and self-evaluation. By collecting information about what goes on in the classroom, teachers identify and explore their own practices and beliefs. This will lead to changes and improvements in teaching. The five assumptions below can be posited about reflective teaching:
> An informed teacher has an extensive knowledge base about teaching.
> Much can be learned about teaching through self-inquiry.
> Much of what happens in teaching is unknown to the teacher.
> Teaching experience alone is insufficient as a basis for continuing development.
> Critical reflection can trigger a deeper understanding of teaching.
One reason why experience is insufficient as a base for development is that often "we teach as we have been taught".
Purposes of reflective teaching. Reflective teachers often ask themselves basic but difficult questions about the appropriateness and success of their teaching. If students are not successful, they ask themselves how they can change their teaching or classroom behaviors to improve on student success. If students aren't attentive, what can be done to motivate them? In essence, they ask self-evaluative questions and then conclude whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied.
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Reflection, then, is the continued self-monitoring of satisfaction with effectiveness. One of the primary architects of reflective teaching is Donald Cruickshank. He suggests that reflective teachers want to learn all they can about teaching from both theory and practice. They teach and reflect on the teaching. They deliberate on their teaching and through the process become thoughtful and wiser teachers.
The purposes of reflective teaching are the following:
S To expand the understanding of the teaching-learning process.
S To expand one's repertoire of strategic options as a language teacher.
S To enhance the quality of teaching and learning.
S Reflective teachers work to improve their abilities to:
❖ Gather information on whatever is taking place within a language course.
❖ Identify anything puzzling about the teaching-learning process.
❖ Locate and collaborate with others interested in the processes of reflective teaching.
❖ Pose and refine questions tied to one's teaching that are worth further exploration.
❖ Make informed changes in teaching, even of only modest changes.
❖ Document changes in teaching-learning behaviors and responses.
❖ Share emerging insights with others interested in reflective teaching.
❖ Locate resources that may help to clarify whatever questions are being posed. [2, 288 p]
Topics explored by reflective teachers. Early stages of reflective teaching begin with a classroom teacher's desire to better understand the dynamics of his or her language course. This doesn't mean that reflective teaching cannot extend beyond the scope of a single course. At later stages it often does. But as a place to begin, most teachers find an individual course to be the most useful place to initiate what eventually becomes systematic efforts at reflective teaching. Some general topics that reflective teachers often explore are the following:
■ communicative patterns in the classroom;
■ teacher decision making;
■ ways in which learners apply knowledge;
■ the affective climate of the classroom;
■ the instructional environment;
■ a teacher's self-assessment of growth and development as a professional.
Teachers who are interested in patterns of communication in language classrooms often explore classroom management issues such as who is doing what during lessons? As the teacher, am I the sole source of power and control? Do my lessons usually begin and end in the same way? Do my students sometimes have an impact on what takes place? The classroom communication pattern is one of the more common topics explored by reflective teachers. Most of us want to better understand how communication between everyone present in the classroom may influence teaching and learning processes, so they often reflect on the following
questions. Who speaks to whom, how often, in what sequence, and for how long? How are speaking turns distributed? What are some of the ways in which learners take the floor as speakers in the midst of classroom communications? Do pattern of communication in the classroom provide opportunities for learners to take the initiative? In order to answer some of the above questions, a teacher is supposed to make certain decisions.
The teacher as decision maker is an area for exploration which includes a vast, and yet poorly understood, dimension of language teaching. Many scholars suggest that teaching is decision making. This means that teachers must make sound decisions in their interactions with students. The number of decisions teachers have to make daily is astonishing. An American educator Murray estimates the number at 1,500. Skilled teachers not only make numerous decisions but also make them well. The effective teacher structures the classroom so that it runs smoothly and efficiently.
This enables more teacher time to be devoted to the most important decisions - decisions that will improve student learning. For example, "How much lecturing should I do?" "How many questions should be asked?" "How much reinforcement should be used?" "What is the best method to assess students' skills?" "How can Tanya be motivated?" "Can Peter do better in class?" and "Are students interested in the lesson?" represent only a few questions a teacher may ask himself on a normal day. Also, note that these decisions are made before, during, and after instruction time. What theoretical knowledge does a teacher need to be an effective decision maker? [3, 296 p.]
Tools for reflective teaching: gathering information. Just as there are many topics to be explored by reflective teachers, there are also many different ways to gather information. Ways of gathering information will be referred to as tools. Teachers use different tools to access different sorts of information. The major tools reflective teachers use. Some Tools of Reflective Teaching:
S Ways of Gathering;
S Information;
S Formative feedback from learners;
S Five-minute papers;
S Teacher assessment surveys;
S Questionnaires;
S Dialogue journals;
S Written assessments;
Formative feedback from other teachers:
S Peer collaboration;
S "Case" interviews;
S Field notes and classroom ethnographies;
S Dialogue with a supervisor;
S Observation schedules;
S Score charts of classroom observation;
Self-generated sources of information:
S Retrospective field notes;
S Teaching journals and teaching logs;
S Classroom diagrams and maps;
S Lesson plans and lesson reporting;
S Audio/video recordings;
Summative feedback from learners at the end of the course:
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Action research - We will look at five tools that should be especially useful to teachers interested in becoming more involved in processes and procedures of reflective teaching. These five tools are: five-minute papers, formative teacher assessment surveys, student focus groups, retrospective field notes, and formative feedback from peers. [4, 17p]
Five-minute papers - Regular use of five-minute papers is a direct way of finding how learners are perceiving and responding to our efforts as teachers. A few minutes before the end of the lesson, the teacher asks everyone to take out a sheet of paper and write responses to one or two open-ended prompts such as:
S What is the one thing you are likely to remember from today's class?
S What was the most confusing concept we covered?
S Is there anything you think I should be doing differently?
S Is there anything you would like to know more about?
Some teachers might want to ask students to compose five-minute papers in English or in their native tongue. Though these papers take time away from the regular part of a lesson, using them at the end of class can better inform a teacher's post-lesson decisions. When introducing the papers for the first time, the following things should be explained to students.
1. Their names should not appear on their papers (their writings will be kept in confidence).
2. When reading the papers, the teacher will not be looking at things like grammar, spelling, or vocabulary choice but only for the ideas they convey.
3. The teacher will be reading papers for the purpose of improving his teaching in the course and not to evaluate students' progress.
When using five-minute papers, a teacher's sense of timing is essential. If students are asked to write them too often, they lose interest and may even begin to resent being asked to do so. In classes that meet two or three time a week, one paper in three weeks is enough.
Using five-minute papers wisely can serve as vivid reminders to students that their responses to the course are valued and given serious attention.
Formative teacher assessment surveys - A complement to five-minute papers is to schedule several surveys of students' perceptions of how well the course is going. Some advantages of formative assessment surveys are that they can be structured in advance; it is easy to keep students' comments anonymous, a lot of information can be gathered at one time, and the procedure may be carried out at regular intervals. One option is to implement such surveys three times during the span of an entire course. The following is an illustration of a formative teacher assessment survey a teacher may use for a high-intermediate level. [5, 180 p]
Promoting reflective teaching through the use of teacher's portfolio the teaching portfolio could be defined as a selected collection of documents and materials that exemplifies the teacher's theories, development, and achievements as a result of a continuous process of reflection and self-evaluation. It is important to understand that the teaching portfolio is not a one-time
collection of documents, but a means of collecting representative materials over time. Contents of teaching portfolios will vary with the teachers who create them. Below you will see some of the items that various authors have suggested to be included in the teaching portfolio:
❖ Teacher's beliefs and philosophy. Theories of education. Principles of language teaching. Principles of human learning and language learning.
❖ Effective exercises, activities, and tasks. Lesson plans. Effective tips for classroom management.
❖ Audio and video tapes of selected lessons. Teacher-created instructional materials. Teacher-created assessment tests.
❖ Articles the teacher has published. Clippings about the class from the school newsletters or local paper.
❖ Immediate impressions or thoughts on a specific class. Students' evaluation data. Statements from colleagues who have observed the teacher's class. Results of headmaster's / principal's evaluation. Self-evaluation of teaching performance. A plan to acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for future self-improvement. [6, 89 p.] [7, 160 p.]
Various authors recommend that the teacher dates each entry and adds a brief note that explains his / her reasons for selecting it. They also advise to prepare and keep the teaching portfolio in consultation with colleagues. Collaboration with colleagues, students, administrators, or professors is necessary to keep the process of reflection open to critical comments and to improve teaching effectiveness. [8, 480 p.]
In summary, after completing this article, you will be able to define the term "reflective teaching", explain the purposes of reflective teaching, talk about the topics which reflective teachers explore, describe some of the tools that can be used by reflective teachers, tackle the subject of a teaching portfolio.
Used literature:
1. Harmer J. How to Teach English: an Introduction to the Practice of English
Language Teaching / J. Harmer. - Longman, 2002. - 198 p.
2. Harmer J. How to Teach English [new ed.]-Pearson Longman, 2007. - 288 p.
3. Harmer J. The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman, 1991. - 296 p.
4. Ishankulov Sh. U. /// Methods of Developing Productive Language Skills (Writing and Speaking) Electronic Journal of Actual Problems of Modern Science, Education and Training. November, 2021-11/1. ISSN 2181-9750, pp. 15-19
5. Wallace J. M. Training Foreign language teachers / Cambridge University Press,
2004. - 180 p.
6. Rieman L. P. Teaching Portfolios / Northern Illinois University, 1999. - 89 p.
7. Kilbane R. C., B. N. Milman. The Digital teaching Portfolio handbook Pearson
education Inc., 2003. - 160 p.
8. Douglas B. H. Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language
pedagogy / B. H. Douglas. - Longman, 2000. -
480 p
