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Reflective Teaching Practice:

Creating Immediate Change &

Impact for Students

Dr. Jeanne G. Fain, Lipscomb University

Ms. Lisa Bruce, Lipscomb Academy

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Fortify Conference 2017

Nashville, TN

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Today’s Purpose:

We will outline a three-year program in which teachers learned to evaluate their instructional practice .

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We utilized monthly professional development that included reflection tools developed to support teacher growth and improved instructional practices connected to comprehension and writing.

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Why?

  • Comprehension skills were not improving according to ERB
  • Teachers were struggling with critical questions
  • Students were not active in their own learning

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Purpose of Fellowship Project

  • Connect College of Education at Lipscomb University with Lipscomb Academy Middle School (LAMS) to examine a research-based question that creates results with an increase in student achievement
  • Share teaching practices and research-based experiences with a local and national audience through peer- reviewed presentations and publications
  • Increase LAMS faculty knowledge through research-based practices

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Beginning

  • Identify research question directly focused upon a yearlong goal
  • Find and Connect with faculty member of the College of Education with experience that directly correlates to the research question
  • Collaborate and work on time-line for the project
  • Decide on outcomes
  • Define process
  • Find and Connect with faculty member of the College of Education with experience that directly correlates to the research question
  • Co

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Assess Faculty Knowledge

  • July and August: met with faculty to assess knowledge of comprehension through the use of Pre and Post Interviews
  • Met in small groups
  • Same set of questions utilized for each group of teachers
  • Feedback from the interviews was used to create a starting point for faculty professional development

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n a yearlong goal

  • Find and Connect with faculty member of the College of Education with experience that directly correlates to the research question
  • Co

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Comprehension Education

  • Teacher interview results showed that teachers lacked knowledge and confidence in teaching comprehension to students.
  • Many teachers did not have any education on this important topic during their teacher education program.
  • Interview findings led us to decide that professional development and teacher coaching would be two important components of this program.

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Four Important Components

  • Professional Development
  • Task designed for teachers based on target skill
  • Reflection Tool
  • Self - Reflection

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My Role + Your Role

(This work is not easy)

Dr. Jeanne Fain:

  • Analyzed need
  • Recognized and supported the need for change
  • Did not want to disrupt collegiality

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Lisa Bruce:

  • Diffuse fear
  • Encourage collaboration
  • “We are going to make changes”
  • Acknowledge the difficulty

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Focus: Topics for Power PD

Essential Questions

Types of Questioning

Discussion Strategies

Assessment

Engagement

Writing

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Focus: Task

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  • Purpose -The task or assignment was given to teachers to:
  • Facilitate growth
  • Analyze teaching practice
  • Encourage peer collaboration
  • Support accountability

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Task Examples:

Video examples of teachers using questioning techniques

Video of Socratic Seminars

Video of teachers engaging in feedback with students in a writing workshop format

Video of teachers using various questioning strategies to help students think critically

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The Value of Video

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  • Immediate feedback

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  • Creates space for receiving valuable feedback from colleagues
  • Facilitates learning as teachers critically examine themselves and reflect on student participation

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Reflection Tools for Teachers

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The single most important tool to change culture

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Focus: Reflection Tools

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  • Encourages growth through collaboration
  • Opportunity to analyze the teaching practice of other teachers
  • Positive change in academic conversation
  • Self-reflection

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Discussion & Questioning

Evaluation & Reflection

Format for Discussion__________________________________

___What type of questions do I use?

___What type of questions do students use?

___ Questions that Hook

___Questions that Lead

___Questions that Guide

___Essential Questions

___Most students are talking.

___Most students are listening.

Why did I select this format for discussion? What was my learning goal?

What did students say in the debriefing about the discussion?

What type of questions do I use the most in this clip of my teaching practice within discussion?

What types of comments/questions did students generate?

___I control the talk, questions, problems, and critical challenges.

___Students control the talk, questions,

problems, and critical challenges.

___There is evidence of a balance of

teacher and student control in terms

of talk, questions, problems, and

critical challenges.

How are students engaging the material as independent thinkers?

__I am building a context for voices to be

heard in the classroom.

__I am building safe space to talk.

__I am using questions like the following:

What do you think?

How do you know this?

What questions do you still have?

How would I describe the discussion and questioning?

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PD Model

Years 1-3

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Professional

Development

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Focus: Comprehension

Coaching Session

Bring Video of Teaching Practice

Evidence

Analyze Teaching Practice from

Classroom

Change

& Reflect upon Teaching practice

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Goal: Increase level of comprehension

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PD Model

Year 4

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Professional

Development

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Focus: Writing

Semester 1: Book Groups

Semester 2: Application

Of Book Groups

Coaching Session

Bring Video of Teaching Practice

Evidence

Analyze Teaching Practice from

Classroom

Change

& Reflect upon Teaching practice

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Goal: Increase level of comprehension

Years 1-2

Writing 3 & 4

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Change in Culture

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  • Teachers begin to have conversation about what they are seeing in the classroom as a result of new strategies

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  • Teachers begin to use strategies and observe student engagement in a different way

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  • Teachers collaborate with other teachers to learn what is working in other classrooms

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  • Teachers begin to focus on the art of teaching and what it should look like for their students

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Thinking Partners

  • Very few initiatives have an immediate impact

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  • Collaboration with a thinking partner can create an atmosphere of progressive and innovative learning and increase student achievement in a shorter time span.

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  • Faculty have the advantage of a research-based and best practices expert available for them to think alongside on a weekly basis.

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Learning without reflection is a waste.

Reflection without learning is dangerous.

(Confucius).

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