I am planning to do some more work on BIM in preparation for using it in teaching this year, including finishing some analysis of how the blogging went in last year’s two offerings.
As luck would have it, I skimmed one of my feeds and came across Prestridge (2014). What follows is a summary and some thoughts. It’s nice to be reading an open access journal paper after a few very closed off articles.
Aside: I am wondering whether or not in the new world order being someone that reads feeds and has students blog is become somewhat old fashioned.
The abstract for Prestridge (2014) is
Reflection is considered an inherent part of teacher practice. However, when used within professional development activity, it is fraught with issues associated with teacher confidence and skill in reflective action. Coupled with anxiety generally associated with technological competency and understanding the nature of blogging, constructive reflection is difficult for teachers. This paper focuses on the reflective quality of school teachers’ blogs. It describes teachers’ perceptions and engagement in reflective activity as part of an ICT professional development program. Reflective entries are drawn from a series of blogs that are analysed qualitatively using Hatton and Smith’s (1995) three levels of reflection-on-action. The findings suggest that each level of reflective action plays a different role in enabling teachers to transform their ICT pedagogical beliefs and practices. Each role is defined and illustrated suggesting the value of such activity within ICT professional development, consequently reshaping what constitutes effective professional development in ICT.
This appears to be relevant to what I do as the course I teach is titled “ICTs and Pedagogy” and reflection through blogging is a key foundation to the pedagogy in the course. Of course, this appears to be focused on in-service, rather than pre-service teachers.
In the Australian education context various government policies illustrate that ICTs are important. There’s a move to 1-to-1 student/computer ratios. However, “success with regard to technology integration has been based on how extensive or prominent the use of it has been in schools rather than on whether the teacher has been able to utilize it for ‘new’, ‘better’, or more ‘relevant’ learning outcomes (Moyle, 2010)” (Prestridge, 2014). Suggests a need to “reconceptualise both the intentions and approaches to professional development” if there’s going to be an ROI on this government investment and if we’re to help teachers deal with this.
PD is “an instrument to support change in teacher practice”. Long held view that PD should move from “up-skilling in the latest software” to a deeper approach that focuses on pedagogy and context rather than technology; building teachers’ confidence in change; development of teachers’ metacognitive skills; and, as a philosophical/revisioning of ICT in learning (references attached to each of these). References work by Fisher et al (2006) as requesting “a cultural change in the teaching profession”, the principles of which need to be “activiated within ICT professional development if we are going to move from retooling teachers to enabling them to transform their practices”.
Note: I wonder how well this academic call for a cultural change matches the perceptions of teachers and the organisations that employ them? I have a feeling that some/many teachers are likely to be more pragmatic. As for the organisations and the folk that run them….
And now onto the importance/relevance of reflection to this. Schon gets a mention. As does the action research spiral, teacher-as-researcher, inquiry based professional development, reflective action, Dewey. Leading to research suggesting “that reflection brings automatic calls in the improvement of teaching” and other work suggesting there’s a lack of substantive evidence.
This paper aims to investigate “the role of written reflection as a central process in a ‘hearts and mind’ approach to ICT professional development.
Note: The mix of plural and singular in “hearts and mind” is interesting/a typo in this era of standardised outcomes/curriculum and increasing corporatisation.
Methods to framing the research
Background on a broader ARC funded project that aims to develop “a transformative model of teacher ICT professional development”. With “one or two teachers” volunteering from each school it would appear to suffer the problem of pioneers versus the rest. Teachers engaged in classroom inquiries, in particular the “implementation of an ICT application in regard their pedagogical practices and student learning outcomes”. Supported through a local school leader, outside expert, online discussion forum and personal blogging.
Has a table that lists the inquiry questions of the 8 teachers. Questions range from “How can students be supported when creating an electronic picture book using the theme ‘Program Achieve”?” to “What strategies need to be employed to promote effective/productive ICT practices that encourage intellectual demand and recognise difference and diversity?”
Teachers were encouraged to blog after teaching. Provided with a framework for reflecting after teaching (5R framework). Weekly blog mandatory. School leaders asked to encourage blogging.
This work focuses on
- teachers’ perceived value of the reflective activity
Data from teachers’ final interviews and reports analysed using constant comparative method
- the role of written reflection in enabling change in pedagogy
Blog posts analysed with Hatton and Smith’s (1995) three types of writing: descriptive reflection; dialogic reflection; and, critical reflection.
- 1 teacher had consistent reflection of the year implementation
- 4 teachers had spasmodic entries, mostly at the beginning
- the other teachers writing could be seen as simply record keeping
Finds similar results in other use of reflective blogs and suggests that “teachers’ lack of understanding on how to reflect limits their reflective writing abilities”.
Note: Not a great result perhaps, but not entirely unexpected. Might get some idea of this from my students posts in 2013 later today.
Perceived value of reflective writing
Not surprisingly, the “consistent reflection” person liked blogging. Others didn’t.
A major theme on the value was “a lack of understanding on how to reflect”.
Note: I have a feeling this may be one factor for my students. Though I wonder how much pragmatism and especially how reflective blogging falls outside the realm of standard practice for many plays a role.
Note: Raising the issue of BIM being better at providing “prompts” to students.
Ahh, a quote from a participant brings back the “realm of standard practice” issue
I think because this inquiry thing was such a different way of doing things I’ve ever done before, it took me a while to get fair dinkum about it. I still couldn’t get the blog…..that’s one positive that’s come out of it because if I were asked to do something like this again then I would do it much more readily.
Picks up on the idea of “reflection as description” through a number of quotes. An apparent lack of priority given to analysing on what had happened and going beyond description.
This is even though the teachers were given the 5R framework and a range of questions/prompts in project documentation and comments by the outside PD expert.
Note: Given this difficulty in understanding how to write reflectively, what impact does it have on the next part of the paper “examining the role of written reflections to identify how reflection supports teacher change in pedagogy”?
The role of reflective writing
The obvious “solution” is to focus on the 1 teacher who consistently blogged, generating the problem of a sample of 1.
The posts were analysed in chronological order. Emphasis on linking the type of reflection and the role it plays in “improving and or supporting teachers in transforming the beliefs and practices”
The most common type of reflection is descriptive, which really isn’t reflection. But this descriptive reflection “provides a leverage for dialogic reflection” which may or may not be pursued. As it turns out, generally not chosen. Only when a critical friend provides some additional prompting does it appear.
When it did occur, it helped shape the teacher’s pedagogical beliefs and practices. Descriptive reflection made conscious the connection between pedagogical beliefs and actual practice, but more as a justification.
Only spasmodic evidence of critical reflection.
Suggests that data supports the conclusion that there’s a developmental sequence to reflection. Start with descriptive and then the more demanding forms emerge.
The role played by each type of reflection in transforming pedagogical beliefs and practices
- Descriptive reflection – a connector, making conscious the links between pedagogical beliefs, current teaching practices, and student learning outcomes.
- Dialogical reflection – the shaper, where the connections were examined and explored, enabling transformation.
- Critical reflection – a positioner. Placing the role of teacher in the broader context and critical evaluate the role.
If how to reflect in written form is understood, then “reflective action plays a significant part in enabling them to change their pedagogical beliefs and practices”. Each type of reflection plays a different role.
A lack of guidance and support were found to affect reflective action.
Prestridge, S. J. (2014). Reflective Blogging as part of ICT Professional Development to Support Pedagogical Change. The Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(2).