This article presents an analysis of a dean’s early efforts to encourage reflective practice in t... more This article presents an analysis of a dean’s early efforts to encourage reflective practice in the teacher education practicum, in consultation with a critical friend. The focus is on the importance of listening and the identification of assumptions underlying practices. The authors met in 2010 in a week-long seminar focused on the practicum in teacher education programs at a university in Santiago, Chile. A long conversation over dinner one evening revealed a significant interest in each other’s perspectives and experiences. Since that time, more than 20 opportunities to visit each other in Chile and in Canada have established an on-going connection for sharing insights as they emerge from experiences in each other’s country. The authors now consider themselves to be life-long critical friends. In April 2021, Rodrigo was appointed as Dean of Education at Universidad Autónoma in Santiago, with an early focus on encouraging reflective practice by all who are involved in the teacher ...
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (Ne... more Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (New Orleans, LA, April 24-28, 2000). Information about WebCT is available at http://about.webct.com and http://www.webct.com. Supported by the Social Sciences and ...
Abstract: Perspectives on the nature of subject matter in science are offered in this paper. It i... more Abstract: Perspectives on the nature of subject matter in science are offered in this paper. It is proposed that science and its context are better viewed as shifting rather than remaining fixed. The rational, moral, and authentic nature of science is explained in reference to ...
This paper examines, from the perspective of the teacher, the relatively unimportant place of sci... more This paper examines, from the perspective of the teacher, the relatively unimportant place of science in the elementary school curriculum. Two case studies of science education (of eight commissioned by the Science Council of Canada) provided data about science instruction in the K-6 elementary setting. Data were collected by observations made over a 5-month period. Particular efforts were made to collect observation and interview data relevant to how science is perceived by elementary teachers and to how science is actually presented to students. Factors appearing to affect teacher attitude and behavior in science teaching include background preparation in science, personal level of confidence, availability of materials and equipment, time constraints, the school curriculum, and patterns of communication and interaction among teachers within the school. These factors are illustrated with data provided by teachers in each of two schools, focusing on the thoughts and actions of the t...
Why do we emphasize reflective practice so extensively in pre-service teacher education? What evi... more Why do we emphasize reflective practice so extensively in pre-service teacher education? What evidence do we have that frequent references to reflection are improving the quality of the teachers we prepare for certification and careers in teaching? Whatever reflection and reflective practice are, they are not ends in themselves; hopefully, they are means to the end of better teaching practices and better learning by students in schools. In this article I explore reflection and reflective practice from several perspectives, including my personal experiences as a teacher educator working with individuals preparing to become teachers of physics. The question asked in the title captures my fear that the ways teacher educators have responded to and made use of the concepts of reflection and reflective practice may be doing more harm than good in pre-service teacher education. To begin, I consider teacher education practices before and after the arrival of the term reflective practice. I ...
Los programas de formacion inicial docente tienden a estar saturados con referencias a la reflexi... more Los programas de formacion inicial docente tienden a estar saturados con referencias a la reflexion, a la practica reflexiva y a la importancia de volverse un profesional critico y reflexivo. A mas de 25 anos desde que los educadores comenzaron a considerar el concepto de Schon, hay poca evidencia de que el potencial de su idea de un profesional reflexivo se haya desarrollado en nuestras escuelas y programas de formacion pedagogica. Este capitulo hace una revision de literatura especializada sobre la practica reflexiva en la formacion inicial docente para construir una explicacion acerca del hecho que los tan anhelados cambios paradigmaticos no han ocurrido. La complejidad de cambios paradigmaticos, la estabilidad de las practicas docentes, y la significatividad del aprendizaje por observacion que todos los profesores y formadores de profesores traen consigo a su trabajo son considerados en la construccion de una explicacion de los muchos peligros y trampas asociadas al incumplimien...
Context of the Study We are teacher educators working in two different cultures, Rodrigo in South... more Context of the Study We are teacher educators working in two different cultures, Rodrigo in South America (Chile) and Tom in North America (Canada). Rodrigo is Academic Director of an initial teacher education program at a private university; Tom is a Coordinator of Practicum Supervision at a publicly-funded university. While there are few similarities apart from our locations in university-based teacher education programs, we share a commitment to improving the quality of learning in the pre-service program generally and its practicum experiences particularly. Over a little more than 3 years (2010-2014) we have had six opportunities to collaborate in Chile. Rodrigo is familiar with the North American setting by virtue of time at Université de Sherbrooke some years ago and his English allows us to communicate comfortably. Tom knew little about Chile prior to his first visit in 2010, when he and Rodrigo discovered common teacher education interests, including the preservice practicum...
This paper reports data from a three‐year self‐study of teaching two types of students: science m... more This paper reports data from a three‐year self‐study of teaching two types of students: science method students in theBEd program at Queen's University (Canada), and grade 12 physics students in a secondary school. By returning to the secondary school classroom ...
Page 1. An Alternative Approach to Science Education Research: Drawing from Philosophical Analysi... more Page 1. An Alternative Approach to Science Education Research: Drawing from Philosophical Analysis to Examine Practice DOUGLAS A. ROBERTS AND THOMAS L. RUSSELL Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Typical ...
This article presents an analysis of a dean’s early efforts to encourage reflective practice in t... more This article presents an analysis of a dean’s early efforts to encourage reflective practice in the teacher education practicum, in consultation with a critical friend. The focus is on the importance of listening and the identification of assumptions underlying practices. The authors met in 2010 in a week-long seminar focused on the practicum in teacher education programs at a university in Santiago, Chile. A long conversation over dinner one evening revealed a significant interest in each other’s perspectives and experiences. Since that time, more than 20 opportunities to visit each other in Chile and in Canada have established an on-going connection for sharing insights as they emerge from experiences in each other’s country. The authors now consider themselves to be life-long critical friends. In April 2021, Rodrigo was appointed as Dean of Education at Universidad Autónoma in Santiago, with an early focus on encouraging reflective practice by all who are involved in the teacher ...
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (Ne... more Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (New Orleans, LA, April 24-28, 2000). Information about WebCT is available at http://about.webct.com and http://www.webct.com. Supported by the Social Sciences and ...
Abstract: Perspectives on the nature of subject matter in science are offered in this paper. It i... more Abstract: Perspectives on the nature of subject matter in science are offered in this paper. It is proposed that science and its context are better viewed as shifting rather than remaining fixed. The rational, moral, and authentic nature of science is explained in reference to ...
This paper examines, from the perspective of the teacher, the relatively unimportant place of sci... more This paper examines, from the perspective of the teacher, the relatively unimportant place of science in the elementary school curriculum. Two case studies of science education (of eight commissioned by the Science Council of Canada) provided data about science instruction in the K-6 elementary setting. Data were collected by observations made over a 5-month period. Particular efforts were made to collect observation and interview data relevant to how science is perceived by elementary teachers and to how science is actually presented to students. Factors appearing to affect teacher attitude and behavior in science teaching include background preparation in science, personal level of confidence, availability of materials and equipment, time constraints, the school curriculum, and patterns of communication and interaction among teachers within the school. These factors are illustrated with data provided by teachers in each of two schools, focusing on the thoughts and actions of the t...
Why do we emphasize reflective practice so extensively in pre-service teacher education? What evi... more Why do we emphasize reflective practice so extensively in pre-service teacher education? What evidence do we have that frequent references to reflection are improving the quality of the teachers we prepare for certification and careers in teaching? Whatever reflection and reflective practice are, they are not ends in themselves; hopefully, they are means to the end of better teaching practices and better learning by students in schools. In this article I explore reflection and reflective practice from several perspectives, including my personal experiences as a teacher educator working with individuals preparing to become teachers of physics. The question asked in the title captures my fear that the ways teacher educators have responded to and made use of the concepts of reflection and reflective practice may be doing more harm than good in pre-service teacher education. To begin, I consider teacher education practices before and after the arrival of the term reflective practice. I ...
Los programas de formacion inicial docente tienden a estar saturados con referencias a la reflexi... more Los programas de formacion inicial docente tienden a estar saturados con referencias a la reflexion, a la practica reflexiva y a la importancia de volverse un profesional critico y reflexivo. A mas de 25 anos desde que los educadores comenzaron a considerar el concepto de Schon, hay poca evidencia de que el potencial de su idea de un profesional reflexivo se haya desarrollado en nuestras escuelas y programas de formacion pedagogica. Este capitulo hace una revision de literatura especializada sobre la practica reflexiva en la formacion inicial docente para construir una explicacion acerca del hecho que los tan anhelados cambios paradigmaticos no han ocurrido. La complejidad de cambios paradigmaticos, la estabilidad de las practicas docentes, y la significatividad del aprendizaje por observacion que todos los profesores y formadores de profesores traen consigo a su trabajo son considerados en la construccion de una explicacion de los muchos peligros y trampas asociadas al incumplimien...
Context of the Study We are teacher educators working in two different cultures, Rodrigo in South... more Context of the Study We are teacher educators working in two different cultures, Rodrigo in South America (Chile) and Tom in North America (Canada). Rodrigo is Academic Director of an initial teacher education program at a private university; Tom is a Coordinator of Practicum Supervision at a publicly-funded university. While there are few similarities apart from our locations in university-based teacher education programs, we share a commitment to improving the quality of learning in the pre-service program generally and its practicum experiences particularly. Over a little more than 3 years (2010-2014) we have had six opportunities to collaborate in Chile. Rodrigo is familiar with the North American setting by virtue of time at Université de Sherbrooke some years ago and his English allows us to communicate comfortably. Tom knew little about Chile prior to his first visit in 2010, when he and Rodrigo discovered common teacher education interests, including the preservice practicum...
This paper reports data from a three‐year self‐study of teaching two types of students: science m... more This paper reports data from a three‐year self‐study of teaching two types of students: science method students in theBEd program at Queen's University (Canada), and grade 12 physics students in a secondary school. By returning to the secondary school classroom ...
Page 1. An Alternative Approach to Science Education Research: Drawing from Philosophical Analysi... more Page 1. An Alternative Approach to Science Education Research: Drawing from Philosophical Analysis to Examine Practice DOUGLAS A. ROBERTS AND THOMAS L. RUSSELL Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Typical ...
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