The Development of Reflective Practice among Novice English Language Teachers: The Role of Reflective Journals

Document Type : research article

Authors

1 PhD, from Tarbiat Modares University

2 Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Reflective teaching has proved to be one of the most important and influential approaches to teaching in second language teacher education. Although this approach has been the subject of numerous studies, in the majority of cases, such studies have been carried out cross-sectionally rather than longitudinally. To address this major problem, the present study, adopting a qualitative research tradition, investigated the development of the reflective practice among four novice English language teachers. The teachers were instructed in strategies employed for journal writing. Reflective journals were collected from each teacher within the time span of one year and were content analyzed. The results of the content analysis indicated that the participants' teaching practice improved gradually and developmentally in terms of both the type and depth of reflection. The findings urge the integration of the reflective practice, along with its tools and procedures, into teacher education courses/programs in different Iranian educational context.

Keywords


Abednia, A., Hovassapian, A., Teimournezhad, S., & Ghanbari, N. (2013). Reflective
journal writing: Exploring in-service EFL teachers’ perceptions. System, 41, 503-514.
Akbari, R. (2007). Reflections on reflection: A critical appraisal of reflective practices in
L2 teacher education. System, 35, 192-207.
Akbari, R. (2008). Postmethod discourse and practice. Tesol Quarterly, 42(4), 641-652.
تکوین تدریس فکورانه در معلمان تازه کار زبان انگلیسی: نقش روش یاداشت نویسی 395
Akbari, R., Behzadpoor, F., & Dadvand, B. (2010). Development of English language
teaching reflection inventory. System, 38(1), 211-227.
Allwright, D. (2003). Exploratory practice: Rethinking practitioner research in language
teaching. Language Teaching Research, 7(2), 113-141.
Ansarin, A. A., Farrokhi, F., & Rahmani, M. (2015). Iranian EFL teachers’ reflection
levels: The role of gender, experience, and qualifications. The Asian Journal of
Applied Linguistics, 2(2), 140-155.
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language
Pedagogy . New York: Pearson Education.
Calderhead, J. (1996). Teachers: Beliefs and knowledge. In D. Berliner, & R. Calfee
(Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 709-725). New York: Macmillan.
Chirema, K. D. (2003). The use of reflective journals in the promotion of reflection and
learning in post registration nursing students. Doctoral Thesis. University of
Huddersfield.
Collier, S. T. (1999). Characteristics of reflective thought during the student teaching
experience. Journal of Teacher Education, 50(3), 173–181.
Cornford, I. R. (2002). Reflective teaching: Empirical research findingd and some
implications for teacher education. Journal of Vocational Education and Training,
54(2), 219-236.
Crandall, J. J. (2000). Language teacher education. Annual Review of Applied
Linguistics, 20, 34-55.
Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. New Yourk: D. C. Heath & Co.
Duff, P. A. (2008). Case study research in applied linguistics. New York: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
El-Dib, M. A. (2007). Levels of reflection in action research: An overview and an
assessment tool. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 24–35.
Farrell, T. S. (2001). Tailoring reflection to individual needs: A TESOL case study.
Journal of Education for Teaching, 27(1), 23-38.
Farrell, T. S. (2004). Reflective practice in action: 80 reflection breaks for busy teachers.
Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Farrell, T. S. (2007). Reflective language teaching: from research to practice. Michigan:
Continuum.
Farrell, T. S. (2013). Reflective practice in ESL teacher development groups: From
practices to principles. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Farrell, T. S. (2015). It’s not who you are! It’s how you teach! Critical competencies
associated with effective teaching. RELC Journal, 46(1), 79-88.
Farrell, T. S. (2018). Research on reflective practice in TESOL. New York: Routledge.
396 پژوهش های زبانشناختی در زبان های خارجی، دورة 9، شمارة 2، تابستان 1398
Francis, D. (1995). The reflective journal: A window to preservice teachers' practical
knowledge. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11(3), 229-241.
Freeman, D. (2002). The hidden side of the work: Teacher knowledge and learning to
teach. Language Teaching, 35(1), 1-13.
Galvez-Martin, M. E., Bowman, C. L., & Morrison, M. A. (1998). An exploratory study
of the level of reflection attained by preservice teachers. Midwestern Educ. Res,
11(2), 9-18.
Gimenez, T. (1999). Reflective teaching and teacher education: Contributions from
teacher training . Linguagem & Ensino, 2(2), 129-143.
Griffiths, V. (2000). The reflective dimension in teacher education. International Journal
of Educational Research, 33, 539-555.
Halliday, J. (1998). Techncisim, reflective practice and authenticity in teacher education.
Teaching and Teacher Education, 14, 597-605.
Hargreaves, J. (2004). So how do you feel about that? Assessing reflective practice.
Nurse Education Today, 24, 196-201.
Hatton, N., & Smith, D. (1995). Reflection in teacher education: Towards definition and
implementation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11(1), 22-49.
Hume, A. (2009). Promoting higher levels of reflective writing in student journals.
Higher Education Research & Development, 28(3), 247–260.
Jay, J. K. (2003). Quality teaching: Reflection as the heart of practice. Lanham,
Maryland: The Scarecrow Press.
Jay, J. K., & Johnson, J. K. (2002). Capturing complexity: A typology of reflective
practice for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 73-85.
Kairuz, T., Crump, K., & O'Brien, A. (2007). Tools for data collection and analysis. The
Pharmaceutical Journal, 278, 371-373.
Kim, A. K. (2013). Reflective journal assessment: The application of good feedback
practice to facilitating self-directed learning. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport &
Tourism Education, 13, 255-259.
Korkko, M., Kyro-Ammala, O., & Turunen, T. (2016). Professional development
through reflection in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 198-
206.
Krol, C. A. (1996). Preservice teacher education students’ dialogue journals: What
characterizes students’ reflective writing and a teacher’s comments. Paper Presented
at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators. St. Louis, MO.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2001). Toward a postmethod pedagogy. TESOL QUARTERLY,
35(4), 537-560.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macrostrategies for language teaching.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
تکوین تدریس فکورانه در معلمان تازه کار زبان انگلیسی: نقش روش یاداشت نویسی 397
Larrivee, B. (2008). Development of a tool to assess teachers’ level of reflective practice.
Reflective Practice, 9(3), 341–360.
Loughran, J. (1996). Developing reflective practice: Learning about teaching and
learning through modelling. Bristol: Falmer Press.
Mann, S., & Walsh, S. (2017). Reflective practice in English language teaching. New
York: Routledge.
McLaughlin, D., & Hanifin, P. (1994). Empowering the novice: Promoting reflection in
preservice teacher education. Paper Presented at the Annual Conference of the
Australian Teacher Education Association. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Mehrani, M. B. (2015). English teachers’ research engagement: Level of engagement
and motivation. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research , 3(1), 83-97.
Mena Marcos, J. J., & Tillema, H. (2006). Studying studies on teacher reflection and
action: An appraisal of research contributions. Educational Research Review, 1, 112-
132.
Murphy, J. M. (2001). Reflective teaching in ELT. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching
English as a second or foreign language (pp. 499-514). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2004). Reflective practice for educators.
California: Corwin Press.
Pica, T. (2000). Tradition and transition in English language teaching methodology.
System, 28, 1-18.
Pultorak, E. G. (1993). Facilitating reflective thought in novice teachers. Journal of
Teacher Education, 19, 288-295.
Richards, J. C. (1989, June). Beyond training: Approaches to teacher education in
language teaching. A keynote address given at a workshop on second language.
Sydney, Australia: Macquarie University.
Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. (2011). Practice teaching: A reflective approach.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C., & Lockhart, C. (1999). Reflective teaching in second language
classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schon, D. A. (1992). Extracts from the theory of Inquiry: Dewey's legacy to education.
Curriculum Inquiry, 22(2), 119-139.
Smith, D., & Hatton, N. (1993). Reflection in teacher education: A study in progress.
Education Research and Perspectives, 13-23.
Spalding, E., & Wilson, A. (2002). Demystifying reflection: A study of pedagogical
strategies that encourage reflective journal writing. Teachers College Record, 104(7),
1393-1421.
Tajik, L., & Pakzad, K. (2016). Designing a reflective teacher education course and its
contribution to ELT teachers’ reflectivity. Australian Journal of Teacher Education,
41(9), 58-80.
398 پژوهش های زبانشناختی در زبان های خارجی، دورة 9، شمارة 2، تابستان 1398
Tudor, I. (2003). Learning to live with complexity: Towards an ecological perspective on
language teaching. System, 31, 1-12.
Uline, C., Wilson, J. D., & Cordry, S. (2004). Reflective journal: A valuable tool for
teacher preparation . Education, 124(3), 456-460.
Valli, L. (1990). Moral imperatives in reflective teacher education . In R. T. Clift, W. R.
Houston, & M. Pugach (Eds.), Encouraging reflective practice: An examination of
issues and exemplars (pp. 39-56). New York: Teachers College Press.
Valli, L. (1992). Reflective teacher education: Cases and critiques. New York: SUNY
Press.
Van Mannen, M. (1977). Linking ways of knowing with ways of being practical.
Curriculum Inquiry, 6, 205-228.
Ward, J. R., & McCotter, S. S. (2004). Reflection as a visible outcome for preservice
teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 243-257.
Wright, T. (2010). Second language teacher education: Review of recent research on
practice. Lang. Teach., 43(3), 259–296.
Wunder, S. (2003). Preservice teachers reflections on learning to teach elementary social
studies. Reflective Practice, 4(2), 193-206.
Yost, D. S. (2006). Reflection and self-Efficacy: Enhancing the retention of qualified
teachers from a teacher education perspective. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(4),
59-76.
Zeichner, K. M., & Tabachnick, R. (2001). Reflection on reflective teaching. In J. Soler,
A. Craft, & H. Burgess (Eds.), Teacher development: Exploring our own practice
(pp. 72-87). London: Paul Champman Publishing.
Zulfikar , T., & Mujiburrahman. (2018). Understanding own teaching: Becoming
reflective teachers through reflective journals. Reflective Practice, 19(1), 1-13