Reflection Point 612

Meghan Williams

George Mason University

 In the beginning of EDUC 612, we were asked to reflect on what we knew about

the process of reflection. I began to think about how I used reflection in my classroom

with my students and how I reflected as a teacher. I thought that I was already reflecting

in such a way that would help me improve my teaching. I quickly realized that there was

much deeper reflection that needed to be done since I was not reflecting critically. Even

though I thought of myself as a reflective teacher, I was not viewing myself through

critical lenses that would allow me to see myself how my students saw me (Brookfield,

1995).

This course taught me the various levels of reflection. In the beginning I was able

to identify what type of reflection I mostly did as contextual reflection. Through the

required readings, I was able to see what it would mean to reflect more critically and in a

more dialectical way. Farrell (2012) describes reflection as a compass enabling us to stop,

look, and discover where we are and where we see ourselves going. This is something

that I was continuously required to do in this course. In order to complete my teacher

belief statement and autobiographical study, I was asked to look closely at my culture and

my teaching over and over again. These assignments directly related to the programs

learning outcome that says that teachers will systematically think about their practice and

learn from experience. As Dewey (1944) states, to learn from experience is to

make a backward and forward connection between what we do to things and what we

enjoy or from things in consequence (p.140). Brookfield (1995) similarly notes that

although we (as teachers) may use some philosophies of teaching we have learned from

formal education, the most significant influences are the ones from our models and from

our own experiences as learners.

 Throughout this course I have learned to reflect through different lenses. As a

teacher/learner I have realized that I will always be learning through inquiry, reflection,

and questioning. Servage (2006) mentions that, there is no shortage of challenging

questions to ask in public education: many of which should be drawing our attention to

systematic issues-issues that are not resolved by better teaching alone (p.14). When one

is critically reflecting, they should not only question their own practice, but also policies

that may stand in the way of their students learning. My learning will be ongoing

personally and professionally because I am committed to students and their learning,

which is another ASTL learning outcome.

As an inquirer with a culturally conscious lens, I have learned more about what

culture is and how language and culture are intertwined (Fox, 2012). I have realized that

is okay not to know everything, but to know that I can learn from my students. I have

learned that cultures that arent mainstream can still enrich the cultures of others and

should be promoted in the classroom (Fecho, 2004). The assigned reading devoted to

culture taught me to account for the needs of culturally, linguistically, and cognitively

diverse learners.

In order to improve my teaching, I realize that I need to hone in on my strengths

and weaknesses. I was able to indentify some of my weaknesses by reading the articles

that centered on culture in the classroom (Nieto, Fox, Fecho, Kohl, etc.). They made me

realize that I need to be more culturally aware. I have also realized that I have my own

culture that I bring into the classroom every day and it is much more than my values and

traditions.
 My goal is to continue to research and become more aware of my students

cultures and how they affect their learning. It was through critical reflection that I was

able to look back on my experiences with culture and my teaching and see that I need to

improve. I have also learned that my I need to critically reflect on my teaching and ask

why I am teaching the way that I am. It is through critically reflecting and questioning

that I will be able to see where I am as a teacher and where I want to go in the future.
 References

Brookfield, S. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco,

CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dewey, J. (1944). Democracy in education. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Farrell, T. S. C. (2012). Reflecting on reflective practice: (Re)visiting Dewey and Schn.

TESOL Journal, 3(1), 7-16.

Fecho, B. (2004). Is this English? Race, language, and culture in the classroom. New
York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Fox, R. (2012). The critical role of language in international classrooms. In B. D.

Shaklee & S. Baily (Eds.), Internationalizing teacher education in the United
States (pp. 59-76). Lanham, MA: Rowman and Littlefield.

Kohl, H. (2002). Topsy-turvies: Teacher talk and student talk. In L. Delpit & J. K. Dowdy
(Eds.), The skin that we speak (pp. 145-161). New York, NY: The New Press.

Nieto, S. (1999). The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities.
New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Servage, L. (2006). Making space for critical reflection in professional learning

communities. Education Canada, 47(1), 14-17.