Reflective Practices

 Reflective practice is the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate reflection on experience is essential.

Reflective practice can be an important tool in practice-based professional learning settings where people learn from their own professional experiences, rather than from formal learning or knowledge transfer. It may be the most important source of personal professional development and improvement. It is also an important way to bring together theory and practice; through reflection a person is able to see and label forms of thought and theory within the context of his or her work. A person who reflects throughout his or her practice is not just looking back on past actions and events, but is taking a conscious look at emotions, experiences, actions, and responses, and using that information to add to his or her existing knowledge base and reach a higher level of understanding.

Donald Schön's 1983 book The Reflective Practitioner introduced concepts such as reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action which explain how professionals meet the challenges of their work through both in and on practices

The concepts underlying reflective practice are much older. Earlier in the 20th century, John Dewey was among the first to write about reflective practice with his exploration of experience, interaction and reflection. Researchers such as Kurt Lewin and Jean Piaget were developing relevant theories of human learning and development.

Central to the development of reflective theory was interest in the integration of theory and practice, the cyclic pattern of experience and the conscious application of lessons learned from experience. Since the 1970s, there has been a growing literature and focus around experiential learning and the development and application of reflective practice.

Spotting Mistakes

As making mistakes is a nessary part of language learning, theorits denote that mistakes should be spotted and corrected on the spot.

In the normal process of things learners learn more language and being exposed more they would improve and mistakes would automatically lessen up.

Teachers should encourage the students to try the language in different contexts.

Different Levels of Comprehension

Remember that there is different levels of comprehension.

Try to make the students make critical judgements.
Always be ware of what kinds questions you are asking.
Remember that skimming and scanning are not the subskills of reading.

Notes on teaching reading

Remember the PDP framework. The reading is best accomplished when I do the Pre-durig and post stages.

The increase of the difficulty of the text should be gradual.

The jig saw lessons can flipped in which students do the reading at home and they come to class to discuss.

The advantages of a jig saw reading: saves time, sharing, integrating the skill,it can also be used for chapters.

The challenges of using jigsaw is that not all students particpate in the same way, dominating students do not let others speak up.

Try to use authentic material for intermediate or advanced students.

Try to create a class blog. Posting on the wall is really interesting.

Support a weak student by making someone lead them in the beginning.

Discussing the text gives the students the fluency to speak. Making students responsible for a certain part make them feel responsible.

The flipped classroom is great in increasing the time the students are exposed to the language.

When making comprehension questions try to make them not straightforward. Still, remember at a certain level I would like the students to get the very basic level of the text.

Reading

Extensive reading in class is done when the students read for details. At home it done for a long time and for no tasks except general aiming at developing the habit of reading and improving the reading and comprehension skills.
Intensive reading concentrate on a certain aspect.

Helpful discussion questions for extensive reading:
What kinds of books and articles have you read lately?
Have you ever read anything technical?
Have you ever read anything about reading and teaching reading?

Remember the idea of selective reading, upgraded material, reading for a purpose.

Elicit?....draw out
Diffident? Lack self-confidence
Inference? Process of drawing
Tackle?deal with.

While Teaching Listening

Set the pace.
Go back.
Cut up the stream.
Always make the students listen to meaningful chunks.
Pronunciation and accent can interfere with the clarity of the message.
Remember that the end result is a whole class effort.
Always try to find listening or a reading that is related to something they previously took so a new listening can be a way of recycling.

Helpful Ideas

Grade the task not the text.
Build on what students already know and move forward.
Elicit
Integrate technology in the classroom.
Be prepared with plan B.
Put the steps in mind.
Use the PDP checklist to varify that your plan fits the framework well.
SARS the textbook according to the needs and interests of the students.

What I teach, leads to why and how I teach it.
In listening always give tasks, while checking their answers always check their pronunciation.
Listening involves contents, pronunciation, comprehension, and variety of accents.