Reshaping the "Glass Slipper": The Development of Reflective Practice by Mathematics Teachers through Action Research
2014; Volume: 42; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2326-9618
AutoresSerigne Mbaye Gningue, Barbara Schroder, Roger Peach,
Tópico(s)Educational Assessment and Improvement
ResumoInquiry-based approaches to instruction, in which students have opportunities to construct their own understandings of basic concepts, have been found to be effective in developing both mathematical knowledge and competencies (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findel I, 2001; National Council of of Mathematics [NCTM], 2000). Such approaches engage students in critical in-depth, higher-order thinking by providing opportunities for reasoning, verifying, comparing, synthesizing, interpreting, solving problems, making connections, communicating ideas, and constructing arguments. Inquiry-based depart in significant ways from traditional instruction as the classroom is transformed into a stage for mathematical discourse and student-centered instruction (Grouws & Shultz, 1996). Helping teachers make such a fundamental shift in practice requires very powerful approaches to professional development. The process of reflective through the Action Research (AR) cycle practice is one such approach.Professional Development through Reflective InquiryIn the reflective approach, teachers are engaged in a continual process of asking questions, understanding problems, and revisiting critical issues related to teaching and learning. They then design and implement plans to resolve problems, and collect and analyze data to assess their effectiveness. As teachers improve their pedagogical skills, they increase their ability to explain terms and concepts to students and to interpret students' statements and solutions (Copland, 2003; Grouws & Shultz, 1996; Hill, Rowan, & Ball, 2005; NCTM, 2000). For Hammer and Schifter (2001), reform in teaching mathematics means that inquiry is inherent in teaching itself (p. 445), embedded in often invisible ways in the everyday work of mathematics teaching (Heaton, 2000).Action research has become a fairly common mode of investigation in educational research, especially among researchers interested in classroom teaching (Freire, 1970; Mills, 2000; Smith & Heaton 2013). The approach has been described as a highly reflective, experiential, and participatory mode of research in which all individuals involved in the study, researcher and subjects alike, are deliberate and contributing actors in the research enterprise (Wadsworth, 1998). Teachers having a stance of continually reflect on their past teaching, ask themselves questions to problematize their current practices, and collect and analyze data to inform future pedagogical decisions and teaching practices (Smith & Heaton, 2013, p.148). Reflection is, therefore, critical to the practice of AR.Almost all teacher education and professional development programs today incorporate some components of teacher research, because most educators agree that some form of reflection is a desirable practice among teachers (Farrell, 2012; Smith & Heaton, 2013). For Farrell (2012), however, the stops there. He asserts that there is no agreement about what reflective practice is (2012) and which reflective actually promote teacher development (Farrell, 2007). Farrell suggests beginning with what reflective is not. It is not just mulling over whatever is interesting, nor is it routine thinking. should, rather, be on guard against blindly following routines in which actions are guided by impulse, tradition, or authority.For Henderson and Hawthorne (2000), reflective involves continuous reflection of one's professional activities with open-ended, disciplined critical that is conducted collaboratively, interplay among teacher reflection, critical thinking, and continuous (p.40). Dewey (1933) noted that one of the main challenges of learning was learning howto think intelligently: While we cannot learn or be taught to think, we do have to learn how to think well, especially how to acquire the general habits of reflecting (p. …
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