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257 Institute for Christian Teaching Education Department of Seventh-day Adventists A REFLECTIVE TEACHING MODEL: AN ADVENTIST ASSESSMENT By Danilo P. Poblete Sr. Ethiopian Adventist College P.O. Box 45, Shashamane Ethiopia 380-99 Institute for Christian Teaching 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 USA Prepared for the 24th International Faith and Learning Seminar Held at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A. June 20 – July2, 1999 258 I. INTRODUCTION Over the years Dewey's theories of reflective thought and the principles of pedagogy it inspired were restated again and again by educators and have taken a revered place in theories of learning and teaching. By the middle of the 1980's researchers confidently claim that reflection (inquiry or critical thinking) is again in "vogue" in teacher education as a useful teaching strategy. It was emphasized that perhaps never before in the history of educational practice has there been a greater push to teach children to think critically. Yet, in spite of this, it was difficult even to achieve definitional clarity to the construct due to a variety of perspective and current conceptualization offered by different authors on what it means to be reflective about teaching (Lesley, 1989; Tanner, 1988:471; Ross & Hannay, 1986:10-11; Sternberg, 1985:194). Corollary to this, reflective teaching as an inquiry-oriented approach to teacher education is considered an ambiguous term signifying a wide variety of meanings (Tom, 1985; Henderson, 1989). This could be attributed mainly to three reasons: first is the varying perspective authors assume in examining reflection (Lesley, 1989); second are the teachers' education rationales designed to develop habits of inquiry are grounded in diverse images of the teacher, with little consensus's on the meaning of particular images, e.g., teacher innovators, teachers as participants observers, teachers as continuous experimenters, adaptive teachers, teachers as action researchers, teachers as problem solvers, teachers as clinical inquirers, self-analytical teachers, teachers as political craftsmen, etc. (Tom, 1985:36; Zeichner, 1983); third, that comparing inquiry-oriented approach to teacher education to alternative views in order to generate a definition of the paradigm limits inquiry as a function of other perspectives which in themselves are not fully developed frameworks (Feiman-Nemser, 1990:271; Tom, 1985:35-36). In spite of the confusion about what it meant by the use of the term reflective teaching, "the slogan of reflective teaching has been embraced by teachers, teacher educators, and researchers all over the world" (Zeichner and Liston, 1996:4). Zeichner and Liston (1996:4) stressed that somehow those who have jumped in the bandwagon have committed themselves in some version of reflective teaching concept and practice. Central to Adventist worldview is the belief that "God created man in His own image" (Genesis 1:27). As such man is "endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator – individuality, power to think and to do" (Ed 17). Thus, "It is the work of the true education to develop this power, to train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of the other men's thought" (Ed 17). To be able to do so, students are "directed to the sources of truth, to the vast fields opened for research in nature and revelation" so that they can "contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny" to expand and strengthen their mind so that Adventist "institutions of learning may send forth men strong to think and to act, men who are masters and not slaves of circumstances, men who possess breath of mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions" (Ed 17-18). Consequently, if reflective teaching as a concept and as a methodology will be of value to Adventist educators in their attempt to attain these objectives, it must be clarified and examined in the context of the Adventist worldview. This essay, therefore, is an attempt to answer the following questions: 1. What is reflective teaching as conceptualized in related literature and studies? 2. How consistent is the concept of reflective teaching to Adventist worldview? 259 II. REFLECTIVE TEACHING Due to the varying conceptualization of reflective teaching as proposed by various authors and as an inquiry-oriented approach to teacher education, the concept of reflective teaching is presented according to the perspective of its proponents. Dewey's Model of Inquiry Dewey proposed hid concept of reflective thinking in his book, How We Think (1910, 1933). He substituted the word "inquiry" for "reflective thinking" in his later work, Logic: The Theory of Inquiry (1938). Inquiry, according to Dewey (1933:9) is the "active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusion which I tends." Inquiry in this perspective seems to connote something more active and operational than thinking. It refers to the activity engaged in to overcome a situation of doubt to generate knowledge, with provisional and tenuous results, posited in the light of new experience and insight. To Dewey, reflective activity occurs when a person decides to face a perplexed, troubled or confused situation and prior to a clear-up, unified and resolved situations. Five phases or aspects of reflective thought are presented. The first consists of suggestions. In this phase the mind leaps forward to a possible solution. The idea of what to do when finds himself in a hole is a substitute for direct action. It is a vicarious, anticipatory way of acting, a kind of dramatic rehearsal. The second phase is the intellectualization of the difficulty or perplexity that has been felt (directly experience) into a problem to be solved, a question for which the answer must be sought. This is affected by noting more definitely the conditions that constitute the trouble and cause the stoppage of action. The third phase is the use of one suggestion after another as leading idea. Insights into these suggestions correct, modify and expand the suggestions that originally occurred, making the suggestion a definite supposition or hypothesis. This hypothesis is then used to initiate and guide observation and other operations in the collection of factual materials. The fourth phase is the mental elaboration of the idea or suppositions (reasoning, in the sense in which is a part, not the whole, of inference). The fifth phase is testing the hypothesis by overt or imaginative action to give experimental corroboration, or verification, of the conjectural idea (Ross & Hannay, 1986; Dewey, 1993 as edited by Boydston; Dewey, 1993). Furthermore, Dewey views thinking as a part of a process that culminated in plans of action for solving problems and the actual testing of the plans, with the objective of altering life conditions in improved ways. It involves a look into the future, a forecast, anticipation or a prediction (Dewey, 1933:208 as edited by Boysdston). Dewey advocated flexibility in his approach to problem solving: "The five phases, terminals, or functions of thought that we have noted do not follow one another in a set order. On the contrary, each step in genuine thinking does something to perfect the formation of a suggestion and promote its change into a leading idea or directive hypothesis. It does something to promote the location and definition of the problem. Each improvement in the idea leads to new observations that yield new facts or data and help the mind judge more accurately the relevancy of facts already at hand" (Dewy, 1933:206 as edited by Boydston). 260 Reflection as a Process of Inquiry Garman (1986) considers reflection as a formal way of generating knowledge by using stable versions of the experience with more than one round of written interpretations. Reflection on action is seen as a procedure for studying immediate, at-hand events in order to understand them and develop a construal )a conceptual framework) for useful practice. Reflection on action includes: (a) involvement in a scenario (an action) in order to get careful record; (b) recording of the scenario for the purpose of getting stable idea; (c) determinations, interpretations and evaluation; (d) formation of educational construal; and (e) confirmation of determine whether the construal has meaning to other practitioners. Reflection through recollection involves: (a) recall, the process in which the practitioner pictures past events or images, etc., (b) representation of the recalled events through various forms, e.g., written, painting, music, etc., (c) interpretation of finding meanings for the conscious expressions of the past events; and (d) confirmation, the process of determining whether the interpretations make sense. Both forms of reflection are processes of inquiry in the sense that both include written interpretations and confirmation from other sources. Reflection in action refers to man's unstable, tacit knowledge that drives his actions, it refers to what happens when he is presented with novel puzzles, the resolving of these puzzles in the context of action, the processes that are unwritten, non-logical and omnipresent in effective practice. Reflection in action unites means and ends, research and practice, and knowing and doing: "practice is a kind of research… means the ends are framed interdependently … inquiry is a transaction with the situation in which knowing and doing is inseparable" (Schon, 1983:165 as cited by Munby & Russell, 1989:71-72). Griffiths and Tam (1992) organized these various categories of reflections into two levels 1. Reflection-in-action: likely to be personal and private. a. Act-react (rapid reaction) b. Reaction-monitor-react/ rework-plan-act (repair) 2. Reflection-on-action: likely to be interpersonal and collegial. a. Act-observe-analyze and evaluate-plan-act (review) b. Act-observe systematically-analyze rigorously-evaluate-plan-act (research) c. Act-observe systematically-analyze rigorously-evaluate-retheorise-plan- act (retheorising and reformulating) Inquiry-Oriented Paradigm of Teaching Education Zeichner (1983) believes that at least four paradigms have dominated the discourse of debate in teacher education in recent years. "Behavioristic," stresses specific and observable teaching skills identified in advance; "personalistic," focuses on the development of the psychological maturity of the respective teacher; "traditional-craft," emphasizes the accumulated wisdom of experienced practitioners; and "inquiry," underscores the issue of which educational goals are to be given priority without ignoring the technical skills needed to achieve these ends. Zeichner (1983) distinguished inquiry-oriented approach to teacher education from the behavioristic, personalistic and traditional-craft by using two dimensions. The first dimension, received-reflexive, refers to the degree to which the curriculum of the teachers' education program is specified in advance. Behavioristic and traditional-craft view prospective teachers as 261 passive recipients of that which is to be imparted in a teacher education program (received) while personalistic and inquiry-oriented paradigms view prospective teachers as active participants in the construction of curricular content (reflexive). In the personalistic and inquiry-oriented paradigms the content of the curriculum is not determined in advance. The self-perceived needs and concerns of prospective teachers are given greater weight and the curriculum is viewed as socially constructed. Zeichner's second dimension, problematic-certain, refers to the degree to which a conception of teacher education views the institutional form and social context of schooling as problematic. In this dimension, behavioristic, traditional-craft, and personalistic paradigms all accept as given the educational and social context within which prospective teachers are to work and evaluate the success of teacher education primarily in terms of its effect upon individual education students. Inquiry-oriented paradigm is considered as one that seeks to foster a problematic attitude on the part of prospective teachers toward existing institutional arrangements. Zeichner (1983:7) emphasized that: "the fundamental task of teacher education from this point of view is to develop prospective teachers' capacities for reflective action and to help them examine the moral, ethical and political issues, as well as the instrumental issues, that are embedded in their everyday thinking and practice." Feiman-Nemser (1990) surveyed five conceptual orientations or sets of ideas about the goals of teacher preparation and the means for achieving them. These are: (a) academic orientation, which focuses on the fact that teaching is primarily concerned with the transmission of knowledge and the development of understanding; (b) personal orientation, which proposes that learning to teach is a trasformative process where the teacher learns to understand, develop, re-socialize, and use oneself effectively; (c) critical/social orientation, which highlights the teacher'' obligation to students and society by promoting democratic principles of justice and equality and habits of questioning taken-for-granted assumptions about teaching, learning, knowledge, etc.; (d) practical orientation, which endorses the primacy of practice and experience as source of knowledge about teaching and a means of learning to teach; and (e) technological orientation, which endorses the acquisition of principle and practice derived from the scientific study of teaching, preparing teachers who can carry out the tasks of teaching with proficiency or competence. Feiman-Nemser (1990) considers reflective teaching not as a distinct programmatic emphasis but rather a generic professional disposition. This is supported by the fact that the presented orientations explicitly endorsed the goal of reflection, even though they embody different conceptual orientations. Tom (1985) developed a set of dimensions to distinguish the varying approaches to inquiry-oriented teacher education. These dimensions are: the arena of the problematic, the model of inquiry, and the ontological status of educational phenomena. He stressed that making a teaching situation problematic means a conscious attempt to suspend judgement about aspect of a teaching situation and instead consider alternatives to establish practices and to raise doubts about what, under ordinary circumstances, appear to be effective or wise practice. . Since inquiry-oriented teacher education differs substantially concerning what aspects of the teaching situation ought to be made problematic, it is therefore possible to represent these variations on a continuum. The arena of a problematic dimension continuum arranged the problematic areas according to the degree of comprehensiveness raging from teaching-learning process as a small arena to the increasingly larger arena of subject-matter knowledge, to the political/ethical principles underlying teaching, and to interrelation of educational and other societal institutions. 262 Tom's second dimension, the model of an inquiry dimension, is based on the belief that the arena of the problematic must be explored through a process of inquiry model. This is arranged on a continuum that reflects a joint concern for scope of inquiry (a focus on knowledge versus a focus upon action and knowledge) and for rigor (commonsense inquiry versus disciplined inquiry). One end of the continuum stresses commonsense approaches to deriving knowledge about teaching, while the other end of the continuum stresses disciplined study of teaching with a concern for the quality of teaching actions. This joint concern for scope and rigor leads to a continuum of inquiry model that varies according to the degree of guidance offered to the teacher educator. Tom (1985:41) stresses that central to the formulation of the model of an inquiry dimension is the idea that both commonsense and disciplined-based models of inquiry have variants which put together the realms of knowledge and action as well as variants which focus on knowledge of teaching. The third dimension, the ontological status of educational phenomena, is bounded on one end by those who view educational phenomena as natural and is, therefore, relatively stable across time and culture. On the other end are those who view these phenomena as socially constructed. To adapt the view that educational phenomena are natural is to make it stable enough for researchers to discover enduring regularities which in turn serve as knowledge base for which to ground intelligent practice. On the other hand, to adapt the view that educational phenomena are socially constructed is to see the entire educational system as potentially part of the arena of the problematic. Reflective teaching by Zeichner (1983) was classified by Tom (1985) as one that is on the large arena of the problematic; high in guidance for teacher educators, linking knowledge and action through commonsense inquiry; and grounded in the view that educational phenomena are socially constructed. Henderson's Ethically Based Model of Inquiry, Reflective Practice. According to Henderson (1992), reflective teachers are expert teachers who know their subject matter and are able to teach it well. They must be experts in time management, discipline, psychology, instructional methods, interpersonal communication, and learning theory. Reflective teachers willingly embrace their decision-making responsibilities. They regularly reflect on the consequences of their actions. They are receptive to new knowledge and regularly learn from their reflective experience. Reflective practice (Henderson, 1992) is characterized by: 1. Ethics of caring. To care as a teacher is to be ethically bound to understand one's students. The teacher probes gently for clarification, interpretation and contribution from what students' say, whether it is right or wrong. Ethics of caring is practiced through confirmation, which stresses that teachers must take time to listen and help students; dialogue, where teachers and students engage in an honest and open communication as an appropriate and integral tool of learning; and cooperative practice, which stresses that practical personal confirmation and honest dialogue with students can be practiced only by working cooperatively with students, e.g., teachers acting as advisors and counselors in their subject field, not just imparters of knowledge. 2. The constructivist approach to teaching. In addition to basic skills and academic content, reflective teachers consider the relationship between what he is trying to teach and students' past experiences (backgrounds) and a personal purpose (needs and interests). Students are considered as active participants rather than passive recipients during the learning process. 263 Thus, in a constructivist perspective, learning is a complex interaction among each student's past experiences, personal purposes, and the subject matter requirements. 3. Artistic problem solving. Reflective teachers seek to continuously adapt the curriculum to students' backgrounds, interest and needs; seek new ways to get their students involved; and constantly exercise good judgement, imagination and flexibility to produce quality education. Reflective teaching is enhanced by an inquiring attitude toward e