Reflective Practice In Teaching

Question: Discuss about a Report on Reflective Practice In Teaching? Answer: Reflective Practice in Teaching Reflective practice deserves special mention in the context of teaching primarily because this practice enhances the teachers teaching and communication skills. Through reflective practice, a teacher can critically examine her practice on a daily basis, and this critical self-study approach contributes a lot in deepening the teachers knowledge (Bernstein, 2013). Through such critical evaluation, (as emphasized by reflective practice) teachers can expand their repertoire of skills, and incorporate new findings into their practice (Bernstein, 2013). And considering all such aspects it must be said that reflective practice forms the backbone of good teaching, and teachers indulging in such practice of self-evaluation are on the right track of professional development. Establishment of professional standards is essential to enhance the quality of work performed by professionals in every sphere of their professional life. These standards are ingrained with ethical principles and specific objectives which serve as guidelines to assist professionals in their jobs. In the sphere of teaching too, the establishment of professional standards is essential. In the field of teaching, professional standards help professional teachers in planning and developing their teaching practices, and in fulfilling their professional roles and responsibilities (California Standards for the Teaching Profession, 2009). These standards are guidelines meant for refining and enhancing the teaching styles of different teachers (California Standards for the Teaching Profession, 2009). Professional standards are objective in nature, and if I can adhere to those standards, I will be able to enhance my teaching abilities and my interpersonal skills (which are essential to properly communicate and interact with my students). Following the teaching standards, I can definitely model a better teaching procedure. My model will include strategies to help myself in initiating self-evaluation through reflective practice, and the model is also going to include processes through which I will be able to improve teaching practice in support of student learning (California Standards for the Teaching Profession, 2009). Moreover, my model will also include strategies that would help me in assessing my students progress and my own professional progress. It is imperative to develop the minimum core in my teaching process because it specifically provides a base on which I can develop my own skills along with my ability to determine the phase in which I will be able to work collaboratively with subject specialists (Addressing literacy, language, numeracy and ICT needs in education and training: Defining the minimum core of teachers' knowledge, understanding and personal skills, 2013). The inclusion of minimum core is essential also to ensure that I am developing into a good speaker, a good communicator, and an active listener who has the ability to overcome cultural barriers which often are put in the way of teaching a classroom ingrained with diversity. Moreover, to enhance my numeracy skills, I must include the minimum core in my teaching process appropriately (Addressing literacy, language, numeracy and ICT needs in education and training: Defining the minimum core of teachers' knowledge, understanding and personal skills, 2013). Mo reover, it is important to incorporate the principles of continuing personal development (CPD) in the process of developing my own skills in literacy, numeracy, and ICT because, CPD, as a concept and as a practice, will help me in developing successful teaching strategies through the integration of functional skills that are relevant to the subject of my specialization (OCT Teaching in the Lifelong Learning, 2008). References Addressing literacy, language, numeracy and ICT needs in education and training: Defining the minimum core of teachers' knowledge, understanding and personal skills. (2013). LSIS, [online] pp.1-58. Available at: https://repository.excellencegateway.org.uk/fedora/objects/import-pdf:93/datastreams/PDF/content [Accessed 18 Jan. 2016]. Bernstein, K. (2013). The Reflective Practice of Teaching. [Blog] THE WHOLE CHILD. Available at: https://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/the-reflective-practice-of-teaching [Accessed 18 Jan. 2016]. California Standards for the Teaching Profession. (2009). Commission on Teacher Credentialing, [online] pp.1-16. Available at: https://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/standards/CSTP-2009.pdf [Accessed 18 Jan. 2016]. OCR Teaching in the Lifelong Learning. (2008). [online] Available at: https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/75548-level-5-unit-30-continuing-personal-and-professional-development.pdf [Accessed 18 Jan. 2016].