Reflective Practice

By constantly reflecting, I find myself becoming engrossed with my beliefs and values of what makes a great teacher. It provides the motivation which is necessary for me to continue my professional development. 

 

Teachers can use information from their self-assessments to identify-in a nonthreatening and nonjudgmental context-the kinds of changes in practice needed to better serve the learning needs of all students. In this way, teachers can take responsibility for developing their own professional development plan from the very beginning (McCombs, 1997). By reflecting on both strengths and weaknesses, the teacher finds her identity.

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As a painter I find this applies to my practice also. Writing my artist statements allows me to reflect on the process I have gone through to make the artwork. I have found using Stephen Brookfield's reflective framework very beneficial and I hope to continue to use this four lens approach to reflect on work. I replace my colleague lens with the department by maintaining a sense of community of practice and links with the Art Teachers Association of Ireland. In the literature lens the core theorists I use are Piaget and Vygotsky.