Critical Reflection in Transformative Learning

Critical Reflection in Transformative Learning

http://www.graham-russell-pead.co.uk/articles-pdf/critical-reflection.pdf 

  

In both readings, it is agreed that critical reflection triggers transformational learning.  “What we perceive and fail to perceive and think re powerfully influenced by habits of expectation.” (Mezirow, 1997)  Mezirow speaks more of transformational learning in general, not just in the on-line community, as do Palloff and Pratt in Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom.

Reflection of our learning is key to transformative learning, Mezirow speaks of the different stages of reflective development relying on meaning schemes, meaning perspectives and the different stages of moral development:  some are learned from our value and belief systems, whether intentional or unintentional.  Both Mezirow and Palloff and Pratt suggest in addition to using prior life experiences, one digs deeper to learn by reflection.  Reflection is used to see how far we have come to meeting our learning goals.  Through reflection, we understand the meaning of our learning experiences and goals.  We are able to measure how far we have or have not come in obtaining them.  Linking assignments to real-life situations, using critical reflection transform our old ways of thinking and learning and aid in the analysis of in new ways of transformative learning being it on-line or any other new way of learning.  This could be also used with the Professional Learning Community structure and ways of learning to make it work and incorporate it into practice within our educational systems:  transforming a new way of thinking, doing and assessing in order to improve our present day educational system.

References:

 

Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom, (2nd ed.). San Franciso: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (1997) Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood, A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory Learning.  Retrieved from http://www.graham-russell-pead.co.uk/articles-pdf/critical-reflection.pdf. 

http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-16834863/policies-that-support-professional-development-in

Due to a specific incident this week that happened within a grade level Pd meeting.  I wanted to pick an article regarding professional development.  The article, “Policies that Support Professional Development in an Era of Reform,” says it may guide those who are struggling with this issue.

              The article states that teachers via the educational reform are being required to rethink practices, construct new classroom roles and teach in ways they’ve never taught before… “Yet few occasions and little support for such professional development exist in teacher’s environments.”

              Using more reflecting on practices to gain knowledge and beliefs about content, pedagogy and learners is essential in the reform getting away from the in-service of the past where information was just handed down for the top-down and teachers were expected to “learn it, and do it.”  

Resources 

Darling-Hammond, L.; McLaughlin, M. W.Policies That Support Professional Development in an Era of Reform, Phi Delta Kappan, April 1995

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. (Second Edition ed., pp. 59-153). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

 

RSA2 URL

Hopefully the following link will take you to my article!  I seem to be having a little difficulty getting the urls correctly within my summaritive! 

http://www.amle.org/Research/ResearchSummaries/PLCs/tabid/2535/Default.aspx

RSA2: PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES CONTINUE

RSA 2: Professional Learning Communities, I chose this article as it is in support of educational reform via the use of PLCS and actually DuFour is cited quite often in the article. The url for this article is: http://www.amle.org/Research/ResearchSummaries/PLCs/tabid/2535/Default.aspx` . The article actually is also reinforcing that my district really is following the “formal PLC established guidelines.” Up until I read this article I had really no idea where “the four questions” that are listed every week on my school’s newsletter came from. Our news letter includes every week: Student achievement: focus all the teaching and learning on these four big questions: * What is it we want students to learn? * How will we know when they have learned it? *How will we respond when student’s don’t learn it? * How will we respond when students already know it? It is interesting to me to see that my district is actually following the steps of being a successful PLC, but I am not sure how many of the administrators and teachers know it. I know I certainly had no idea that the “incentives” we have been using the past two years were directly tied to an education reform that is taking place throughout the country! I may also have more empathy for my principal as he really is the gatekeeper to change. He is only in his second year as an administrator and many teachers are not on board with all these “changes” taking place and how really important and needed they are to change the apathy and same old same old that is not working. I can see that in our school, teamwork is happening within grade level teams (at least it is in ours and seems to be in all the others as faculty meetings, and professional developments are taking place; but I can see where our school has a need to improve in all of us working as equals. I have actually started running my classroom as a PLC! It seems to really be working. Although my 4th grader’s collaboration time is much more than my colleagues and I get to spend together, they really enjoy the working together and it is building community. We go back and assess the learning we have done and give our community as a whole a grade for each part of our learning community. Are we learning? YES DEFINITELY! We listed all we learned last week and it was amazing! Are we a community, yes we are. We are not completely there yet on the community being what it needs to be; but the great thing is the students KNOW it. We discuss, what we need to be doing to make our community better (working toward the learning without bickering, etc.). Lastly, are we professional? There is where we really still need to work! It is so cool though that they even are at the point of knowing what professionals are. They have to learn to work quietly within their communities, and show professionalism at all times not only in the classroom but also in the common areas of the school and so on. I am really hope they get there. I do offer a lot of incentives with them when they following all the steps to success. It has been a fun way to begin the school year and I will continue to use it throughout the year.

Resources:

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. (Second Edition ed., pp. 59-153). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

 Caskey, M. M., Andrews, P. G., Bishop, P. A., Capraro, R. M., Roe, M., & Weiss, C. (2010). Research and resources in support of This We Believe (2nd ed.). Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
 

Useable URL

Hopefully, this URL will be able to led you to the site!

http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html

RSA1: Professional Learning Communities: What are They and Why are They Important

RSA1:  “Professional Learning Communities:  What are They and Why are They Important”  

The article I choose is “PLC: What are They and Why are they Important,”   http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61/beginnings.html, closely follows and supports DuFour and DuFour’s, Chapter 3, Creating a Focus on Learning.  Both state that it is extremely important that teachers are given structured time to work together in planning, observing each other’s classrooms and sharing feedback.

It supports that school leadership (administration, principals) have a great influence on the outcome of change within a school.  Being in a school that is attempting, I believe, to follow a PLC plan of some kind, I see where having a principal that is so thoroughly dominant and not willing, or ready or secure with the need for everyone to contribute can be the downfall of any successful learning community taking place at all.  Everyone must be playing on the same team and working towards common goals.  In one meeting he says he wants this to happen; but at every informal encounter, he suggests that it is not and we were not given any time last year to have collaboration time.  Collective creativity is focused on and it is stated that all people in the school collaborately and continually work together, from the custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria personnel to teachers and principal.  Such caring is supported by open communication made possible only by trust.

Time for all of this is probably the hardest thing to find to make sure this collaboration and shared thinking can all come together.  We are being told this year, we will be a data-driven school.  It is important that we assess and learn from our data, but it should never be the key and only factor running a school.  It should be used, more importantly to enhance a caring, productive educational environment.

References:

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. (Second Edition ed., pp. 59-153). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

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Astuto, T.A., Clark, D.L., Read, A-M., McGree, K. & Fernandez, L. deK.P. (1993). Challenges to dominant assumptions controlling educational reform. Andover, Massachusetts: Regional Laboratory for the Educational Improvement of the Northeast and Islands.