LINKING INSTRUCTION AND REFLECTION

 Reflection results in “critical consciousness” in which learners become actors, not observers, and authors of their own decisions. (Freire, 2005). 

There has been a principal paradigm shift in language teaching that involves a significant move from the traditional teacher-centered classroom toward more student-centered practices. This move has implications for teaching as a stronger importance is being placed on learner reflections and autonomy. Reflection has been described as the second part of the learning equation. The first part is the learning experience. It could be any learning experience such as discussing a topic, presenting a report, constructing a model, or conducting an experiment. The reflection is thinking about the experience so that it becomes new knowledge.

THE EQUATION CAN BE WRITTEN AS ACTION + REFLECTION = LEARNING.

AS SHOWN in the learning equation, students learn by doing, constructing, building, talking, and writing - the action of learning. They also have to think about events, activities, and experiences - reflection of learning. In most classrooms, the students do the first part of the equation, but time is not provided for the second part, reflection. Both experience and reflection are needed to produce new knowledge. Effective learners often are parallel processing, that is reflecting upon activities even as they are doing or experiencing new activities. Students may not even realize they are learning something new until they stop to reflect. For example, they may be so engaged in an experiment that they do not think of it as learning. PROVIDING TIME for them to reflect on the experiment allows them to use higher-order thinking skills such as critical analysis, problem-solving, synthesis, evaluation, identifying patterns, and creating meaning.

The most effective learning environment provides time for action and reflection. Teachers may find this difficult because of the pressure to cover the curriculum and prepare students for exams. They plan the action part for the time available, but they do not allow time for the reflection component. Therefore, activities often end without providing formal or informal ways for students to think about and discuss what they have learned. This prevents the process of making meaning from experiences and true learning is lost. It is important that just as teachers learn from teaching the subject, students have the opportunity to benefit from both action and reflection. As learners, students are constantly revising their knowledge and beliefs to create a new framework of understanding. Reflection is the power that drives the process. Through reflection, students build upon and develop existing understandings to generate new knowledge. An additional benefit of reflections is the ability to diagnose student learning. Teachers can learn about any misunderstandings, missing knowledge, or lack of connections in their learning when they listen to or read their reflections. It is an important source of information for adjusting or adding activities to strengthen learning. 

REFLECTION THEN BECOMES AN INFORMAL METHOD OF ASSESSMENT

 

Movement for Learning and Life: Have Schools Forgotten?

 

Most people can understand how physical activity can impact not only their child’s physical development but also his social/emotional development. But intellectual development? What could movement possibly have to do with learning? After all, schools – where most of the child’s learning is supposed to take place – are our prime promoters of inactivity (“Sit still.”, “Stop squirming.”, “Don’t run.”, “Stay in your seat.”, etc.) If movement were critical to learning, wouldn’t the schools be employing it? Rae Pica

THERE are somewhat obvious ongoing questions on movement, and learning in the classroom that warrants immediate investigation and dialogue by education leaders: Why is it that countless educational institutes of all sorts have forgotten, or have ignored the advantages of physical activity and movement to academic performance? Why do many of these schools treat the mind and the body as disconnected domains? Most would agree that children need to exercise for their physical well-being. However, besides improved physical health, there are many other benefits derived from regular physical activity in the school, and in the classroom.

What parents, school boards, administrators, teachers, and students need to appreciate is that academic achievement can be boosted by not decreasing, but by increasing school-based physical activity. Active Living Research says, “In some cases, more time in physical education leads to improved grades and standardized test scores” (The Official SPARK Blog). It is rather straightforward that students need daily regular physical motion incorporated into their school routine, which is not only necessary for their health but also their cognitive, adaptive, and social areas of development.

 

Sitting for periods of longer than 10 minutes “reduces our awareness of physical and emotional sensations and increases fatigue” (Jensen). This has clear implications for learners that in far too many instances are sitting at their desks for increasingly longer and longer periods which is viewed as a disciplined classroom, a result orientated classroom and the best the system has to offer for academic improvement and achievement.

In sum, many of the education policies that are being embraced in schools do not consider the growing body of research focused on the consistent positive association with school-based related physical activity, clear thinking, and academic performance.

Classroom teachers are encouraged to design tasks that maximize opportunities for physical activity by incorporating movement for learning into their classrooms through natural and engaging ways; creating the best optimal learning opportunities for all students.

“Mens sana in corpore sano” - “Healthy body, healthy mind”.

 

 

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Process

The Sex-Step Problem Solving Approach

Step 1: Define area(s) for improvement

Step 2: Identify all possible causes

Step 3: Develop an action plan

Step 4: Implement the plan

Step 5: Evaluate the outcome

Step 6: Standardize the process

 

Step 1: Define area(s) for improvement

 

Why is it that some students are chronically absent?

 

ü  Students do not take school rules seriously.

ü  Students have time management problems.

 

Why don’t students take the school rules seriously?

 

ü  Rules regarding attendance are not clearly communicated clearly.

ü  Rules regarding attendance are not consistently enforced by all teachers.

 

Why are the rules regarding attendance not clearly communicated?

 

ü  Rules regarding attendance are not clearly articulated at orientation.

 

 Why are rules regarding attendance not clearly communicated at orientation?

 

ü  There are many items that need to be communicated; it is assumed that students will always attend class.

 

Step 2: Identify all Possible Causes

 

Cause and Effect Table

Why is it that some student chronically absent?
Category	Causes
Students	Students do not take the rules seriously. Students have time management problems.
Current situation	Rules regarding attendance are not clearly communicated. Rules regarding attendance are not consistently enforced by all teachers.
Training	Faculty needs additional training regarding rules, routines, and procedures.

 

Across the various grade levels the average number of disruptions in classes where rules and procedures were effectively implemented was 28 percentile points lower than the average number of disruptions in classes where that was not the case. Robert Marzano

 

 

Step 3: Develop an Action Plan

When mounting an action plan, the subsequent questions need to be considered carefully.

ü  How many teachers are willing to participate in the action plan?

ü  How much time is required to implement the action plan?

ü  How much practical data is currently available?

ü  What school assets are available?

 

Plan:       An action plan is debated and the faculty pinpoints specific areas that need work:

 

1) the type of action required,

2) staff training on following rules, routines, and procedures,

3) costs and time-related to training

4) appoint staff members to review or develop absentee regulations and ensure the rules, routines, and procedures are followed.

Step 4: Implement the Plan

 

  Effect: Students miss too many classes.

 

The outcome for Program Improvement: Students miss fewer or no classes.

 

ACTION PLAN

 Consider the following corrective actions to improve the outcome.

 

1)  Continue to train all faculty on the rules, routines, and procedures.

 

2)  Investigate the need for further action.

 

Step 5: Evaluate Outcome

 

If the outcome has not been met the CQI team has several options. Three recommended options are listed below.

 1)  Take corrective action and assess the result yet again.

 2)  Return to Step 1 and re-define area(s) for improvement.

 3)  Return to Step 3 to re-evaluate the action plan.

 

Step 6: Standardize the Process

If the action plan is working, incorporate changes into the school policies. It is important to understand that the CQI process does not end here since it is a recurring process.

 

Data and Good Judgment Make Good Bedfellows

 

Data has its place in schools and should be welcomed, but it should not be allowed to supersede good judgment.

Data has become the cornerstone for making major decisions in schools which was a welcomed change from the days when it was ignored or marginalized to afterthoughts. Yet, times are changing, and it appears schools have developed an over-dependence on data-driven outcomes. Educators have become so inclined to rely on the data that they forgot to ask the common sense questions that data cannot answer.

Hess (2008) has enumerated 3 ways that data is misused:

1)  Using Data in Half-Baked Ways: School officials are over eager to make data-driven based decisions to the exclusion of asking everyday common-sense questions before acting.

2)  Translating Research Simplistically: The data collected needs to be translated or disaster will soon follow.  Data is no replacement for thinking.

3)  Giving Short Shrift to Management Data: The short version here is that schools have been so preoccupied with student achievement data that they have neglected to pay attention to “improving the performance of schools and school systems…such as operations, hiring, and financial practices.”

Keep good judgment when viewing data

Educators need to ask questions before implementing data findings. Questions could include:

 

ü  What are the supposed benefits of this program or reform?

ü  What are the costs?

ü  Are the promised results replicable?

ü  What factors might confuse projections?

The bottom line is that data must never be a substitute for common sense decision-making.

Still, despite all the progress in data collection and assessment, many schools still do not have the information that they need. While assessments are valuable data sources, schools have a tendency to put all their energies into available data, all too often neglecting to focus on the data required to make a sound decision. 

All too often schools are blinded by the data in front of them, to the exclusion of looking for additional data that they need to give a more complete representation of what is happening.

It is vital to identify weaknesses or limitations, and what areas the data can improve efficiency. Research has its place, but research should know its place. Educators should not expect research to do the heavy lifting for them. If they do, the research will not fulfill the intended purpose.

 Data can justify decisions, but this does not mean that the best course of action has been followed.

Hess (2008) insists that “as leaders are revered only for their success at consensus building and gathering stakeholder input, moving from the rhetorical embrace of data to truly data-driven decision making will remain an elusive goal in many communities.”

The point? Research and data can be very beneficial; conversely, it can cause much damage when asked to go beyond what it was intended to do. Schools need to be alerted to the risks of misunderstanding what data can and cannot do.

Research and data are indispensable tools, but that is all they are - tools must not replace the good judgment of those who would avail themselves of it. 

Works Cited

Hess, Frederick M. The New Stupid. Educational Leadership, v66 n4 p12-17 Dec 2008-Jan 2009

 

 

The Resilient Educational Leader

Are you a resilient educational leader?

Have you given it any thought? If not, perhaps it is time you did. Maybe you are defining resilience as the ability to keep going, to never give up, and if so, you would be correct for resilience is not only the ability to recover but also to keep moving forward. I trust that resilience is a quality that all leaders need to possess to be effective leaders.

Resilient leaders engage in personal renewal, they are careful of what they say; stay optimistic, blunt the impact of setbacks, cultivate networks before challenges hit, and they can see patters-and use insights for change.

They are careful to take care of their physical and mental health; enjoy their work and are always looking for new learning opportunities.

In sum, the notion is that resilient leaders are happy leaders who care about the welfare of those around them. Therefore, resilience is a quality that all leaders need to possess to be effective happy leaders.

Are resilient leaders’ happy leaders? For me, I would say yes. In my experience, they do not over complicate situations but kept things simple and always look for the good in any situation.