An action research on improving teachers reflection level in in-service teacher training in China

1. 2012-4-27 An action research on improving teachers� reflection level in in-service teacher training in China  ?????????????????????

2. 2012-4-27 Outline Context Motivation Research questions Conceptual framework Research approach Findings Implication

3. 2012-4-27 Context : in-service teacher training in China Two types of in-service teacher training in China Diploma-oriented teacher training ???? Non diploma-oriented teacher training ????? ?Continuing eduction (Teachers advanced studies school; local teachers college/ school-based training) ????(??????????????????,?? ?????????????,??????????) ?National or Provincial special training programs(eg. National Training Program, 2010-2012) ??????(?�????�)

4. 2012-4-27 Context : Diploma-oriented teacher training �Teachers� Act �,Oct 31st,1993 �?????????? � minimum diploma standards: Elementary school teachers: secondary teachers school Junior high school teachers: college degree Senior high school teachers: bachelor degree

5. 2012-4-27 Context : Diploma-oriented teacher training State council&Ministry of Education in China�Education prospering action plan towards 21st century� ????????�??21??????????� 1999-01-13 By 2010,try to make elementary school teachers reach college diploma, junior and senior high school teachers reach bachelor degree; and in developed areas, certain percentage of senior high school teachers get master degree. ?2010???,??????????????????????????????????,??????????????????????????????

6. 2012-4-27 Context By 2001, in rural areas, 20.25% Elementary school teachers hold a college diploma 9.35% Junior high school teachers hold a bachelor degree

7. 2012-4-27 Context By 2009, the percentage of school teachers who reach the diploma standards

8. 2012-4-27 Context : some ways for in-service teachers getting college or bachelor degree: Teach by Correspondence ?? (self-study during work, university-based courses and exam in holidays/ more expense, but easy to banlance time) Self-study Exam ???? (flexible, cheap, but difficult to balance time and pass exam)

9. 2012-4-27 Curriculum is as same as the teacher preparation programs in normal university, knowledge and theory-centered More dense class schedule ( eg. Less than 1 month, 3 or 4 courses) University faculty as educator, emphasizing systematic theoretical knowledge, didactic methods Almost all courses are required strict paper-pencil exam, learning is memorizing for exam Context :Where I did this research Training program for in-service teachers getting college or bachelor degree in university

10. 2012-4-27 Outline Context Research Motivation Research questions Conceptual framework Research approach Findings Implication

11. 2012-4-27 Research Motivation-Why reflection Two general models of teacher education: Technical Rationality & Reflective Practitioner (Donald A. Sch�n,1983,1987 ) Large amount of English literature shows that reflection plays an important role for improving teacher�s practice.

12. 2012-4-27 In western countries, since 1980s, how to improve teachers� reflection ability has become a focus in teacher education /training. Also, many new teaching strategies which can improve teachers� reflecion have been well-documented. In China, large amount of journal articles discuss the importance of reflection, as well as the teaching strategies to promote teachers� reflection, but few authors put into practice. Research Motivation--Why reflection

13. 2012-4-27 Research Motivation�Why non-didactic methods How to improve teacher�s reflection Practitioner research (Dinkelman,1997;Yost, Sentner, & Forlenza-Bailey, 2000) Cases(Harrington, Quinn-Leering& Hodson, 1996; Braun&Crumpler,2004) Journals(Colton & Sparks-Langer, 1993; Reiman, 1999;Valli, 1997;Braun& Crumpler,2004) Group seminar(Zeichner& Liston,1987;Collier,,1999; Jay & Johnson,2002) Reflective interviews(Trumball& Slack, 1991; Collier, 1999 ) ��

14. 2012-4-27 Research motivation--why action research An action research is aiming at: to improve our own work and the way it is understood. to collaborate with others engaged in the project to help them improve their work; (Mctaggart,1997) Aiming at didactic methods and ignoring reflecetive ability in traditional in-service teacher training in China, this action research try to inspire in-service teachers� reflective consciounsness and foster reflective ability.

15. 2012-4-27 Research motivation-why action research Adopting the new teaching methods using reflection as the key element in in-service teacher training, to inspire in-service teachers to reflect their own teaching, and improve their reflection level.

16. 2012-4-27 Outline Context Research Motivation Research questions Conceptual framework Research approach Findings Implication

17. 2012-4-27 Research questions 1. Will new pedagogy emphasizing reflection improve teachers�reflection in in-service teacher trainning in China? ?????????????,???????????????????????? 2. what is the direction of teachers� reflection after changing the teaching methods? ??????????,????????????????

18. 2012-4-27 Outline Context Research Motivation Research questions Conceptual framework Research approach Findings Implication

19. 2012-4-27 Conceptual framework What is reflection [Reflection is] deliberate thinking about action with a view to its improvement;the essential quality of reflection is thinking about practice in order to improve (Hatton & Smith, 1995) The nature of reflection : ?situated in practice ?cyclic ?making use of multiple perspectives.  (John R. Ward & Suzanne S. McCotter, 2004)

20. 2012-4-27 Conceptual framework Hierarchical nature of reflection Low level reflection: Technical (Collier, 1999) Routine (Yost et al., 2000 Descriptive writing (Hatton & Smith, 1995) High level reflection critical reflection (Collier, 1999; Hatton & Smith, 1995; Yost et al., 2000). 

21. 2012-4-27 Conceptual framework --Levels of Reflection (Jay & Johnson, 2002)

22. 2012-4-27 Conceptual framework -Non-didactic teaching strategies for improving reflection Five strategies for improving in-service teachers�reflection: Reflective journals Seminar Group inquiry Cases reflective interview

23. 2012-4-27 Conceptual framework How to evaluate reflection (Winnie W. M. So, David A. Watkins ,2005) Paragraphs were classified as the ��Describing�� stage of reflection when participants only described actual teaching events without explaining the underlying reasons or discussing the effects and consequences of the events. The following is an example of a �Describing Reflection�: eg: I have sufficient lesson preparation. I have prepared many teaching aids in planning my lesson .

24. 2012-4-27 Outline Context Research Motivation Research questions Conceptual framework Research approach Findings Implication

25. 2012-4-27 Research Approach -- Action Research Action research starts small develops through the self-reflective spiral: a spiral of cycles of planning, acting, (implementing plans), observing (systematically), reflecting, and then replanning, further implementation, observing ,and reflecting again.

26. 2012-4-27 Research Approach -- Action Research

27. 2012-4-27 Research Approach-- Sites Diploma-oriented teacher training program in a provincial normal university in Southwest China Major: Education (undergraduate level) one class( Random sample from 3 parallel classes) The fifth semester (holiday) studying in university, 4 courses for this semester (23 days)

28. 2012-4-27 Research Approach -- Sites Course name: Educational Research Methods Duration: ?36 Instructional Periods( 45 minutes per IP) ?original shedule: 6 days ,each day 6 instructional periods, I asked for rescheduling to 12 days(afternoon), each afternoon 3 instructional periods

29. 2012-4-27 Research Approach -- Sites Course content/topics taught

30. 2012-4-27 Research Approach -- Participants

31. 2012-4-27 Research Approach �Source of data (from participants)

32. 2012-4-27 Research Approach �Source of data (from participants) cont.

33. 2012-4-27 Research Approach -Source of data (from researchers)

34. 2012-4-27 Research Approach --Data analysis Carspecken,1996 Low level coding:low inference, explicit several word phrases in participants� words High-level coding:high inference, based on implicit mearning in low-level codes Reflection levels (Jay & Johnson,2002) coding ?descriptive reflection, comparative reflection, critical reflection

35. 2012-4-27 Research Approach --Validation Techniques Participant confirmation Triangulation of observation and interpretation ?Mutiple methods of data collection ?Multiple forms of data analysis ?Peer debriefing: 2 researchers analyzing data

36. 2012-4-27 Outline Context Research Motivation Research questions Conceptual framework Research approach Findings Implication

37. 2012-4-27 Findings Summary Non-didactic teaching methods promote participants to reflect their own teaching All participants reach comparative reflection, the further direction of participants� reflection is reconstructing reflection What teachers reflect is directly relevant to the topic of the class

38. 2012-4-27 Findings I Non-didactic teaching methods promote participants to reflect their own teaching Souce of data: interview, personal professional report, journal( compare at the beginning and at the end),etc. eg:?????,(??)?????,?????????????,??????��?????????????,????????????,????��?????????????????????�� ???????????????????,??????????????????????,?????????????,?????????????,???????,?????????,???????,?????????????????�� ????,???????????????(individual interview )

39. 2012-4-27 Findings II :All participants reach comparative reflection J3(elementary Chinese teacher,Journal) ��?????????????????,????????????;???????,????????,??????????,????????????????????????????,??????????????????????,????????????????????????????,??????????????????????????????,????????????????????????????????????????,?????????????????

40. 2012-4-27 Y2(elementary math teacher,individual interview) ????????????,???????????????????????:??????????????????,?????????????????????,????????????????????,???????????????,??????????????,??,?????????????,??????????????

41. 2012-4-27 W3(middle school physics teacher,journal) ????,?????????????????????????????????????????????,??????????,???????,????????????????????,?????????,?????????,?????????��?????????????????,?????????,???????????????????????????,????????????????????,???????????????????????????????��?,?????????????,??????????,????????,?????????? Findings II :All participants reach comparative reflection

42. 2012-4-27 Findings III Most participants� reflection develops toward reconstructing reflection 16 participants

43. 2012-4-27 Review --Reflection Level (Jay & Johnson,2002) Descriptive reflection Comparative reflection Critical reflection Critical reflection: What does this matter reveal about the moral and political dimension of schooling?

44. 2012-4-27 Findings III- cont. Reconstructing reflection: the participants were able to construct portrayals of her own teaching that was embedded in the specifics of that teaching, and was able to make explicit the qualities of good teaching. (W.W.M. So, D.A. Watkins,2005 )

45. 2012-4-27 Findings III- cont. Typical instance of the ��reconstructing reflection � : See handouts

46. 2012-4-27 Findings IV What teachers reflect is directly relevant to the topic taught in the class.

47. 2012-4-27 Outline Context Research Motivation Research questions Conceptual framework Research approach Findings Implication

48. 2012-4-27 Implications :How to improve teachers�reflection Using multiple systematic aids Make course content relevant to participants� practice Provide multiple perspective Understanding participants� background Teacher educator as model

49. 2012-4-27 Thank you! Comments and questions Email: xixiwyl@126.com