Capacity 2 Going Critical

What does it mean to be a critically reflective teacher? To reflect on-action?

One of my biggest learning is that I don't have to have an answer. I am a fixer, a solver of problems by nature. If something doesn't go right in my lesson, or a student doesn't engage in the activity - I must understand why so that I can fix it for next time. I have tried to go from this to the bigger picture in my reflections. Why do I what I do? What assumptions and life experiences influence my teaching and my reactions to situations? How do my students perceive events? How does this all interact together to influence the learning environment of my classroom? What is technologies role?

"Reflection becomes critical when it has two distinctive purposes. The first is to understand how consideration of power undergird, frame and distort educational processes and interactions. The second is to question assumptions and practices that seem to make our teaching lives easier but actually work against our best long term interests." (Brooksfield, What it means to be a critically reflective teacher)

Through out this program I have uncovered more and more of my assumptions around education, technology, learning in the 21st century and knowledge. It has been eye opening. I feel like I am assembling a bit of a jigsaw puzzle that is continually changing shape. One moment I think I have a corner and then it morphs into something else. The idea of what knowledge is started out as something concrete in my mind and has changed into something that is constructed together because we each look at it through our own experiences and ideals.

Critical reflection is essential in my continuing growth as an educator. Let me end with a quote from The Reflective Educator's Guide to Classroom Research.

"You understand that engaging in inquiry is not about solving every educational problem that exists, it is about finding new and better problems to study, and in doing, leading a continuous cycle of self and school improvement . . . truly, becoming the best that you can be."

Capacity 1 Looking Back

"A community of practice is a 'group' of people that share the same interest and build relationships that enable them to learn from one another." (Wenger, Communities of Practice).

Even before I started the LTT program I was involved in a community of practice, though i didn't call it that. In my work place I intentionally seek out my colleagues to discuss what we are doing in the classroom, difficulties, strategies and lessons that we have tried that worked or didn't work. Bouncing ideas off of each other - to continually try to improve our practice. I have also been part of the a larger community of practice in the district. Participating in the WIT (Whatever It Takes) initiative, being challenged to look at my practice differently and strive to differentiate my instruction.

LTT has challenged me to take my community of practice to the 'virtual' level. Joining communities on line. I have gone from reading articles and blogs to responding to posts and posting my own blogs to joining a variety of Professional Learning Communities. I have discovered what works for me in these PLNs and what doesn't. I have found that though Twitter can be used in a professional way and not just for updating people about your activities - it isn't the first place I go to when searching for educational sites, or information.

Servage's article Making Space for Critical Reflection in Professional Learning Communities has stuck with me for the whole two years of this program. It challenged me to include 'critical reflection into my PLC and move from 'debriefing' to asking deeper questions about education. One of my colleagues has questioned me on more than one occasion regarding my use of the Smartboard and technology in general. Does it add to the lesson and the students learning, how does it differ from an overhead or the plain old whiteboard? This questioning forced me to take a closer look at the lessons I am doing on the Smartboard.

From my introduction to the term Professional Learning Communities back in August 2009 to now I have had to shift my thinking. It now has to include giving back - not just listening to others, reading others responses, etc., but also fully participating in the community - putting ideas and questions 'out there.'

What I am still learning is to balance time - for me at least it takes less time and energy to have a face-to-face conversation compared to the online one. But both are extremely valuable.