530,158 research outputs found

    The role of emotion in design reflection

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    Reflection on design processes performed by designers is called design reflection. In our view, this kind of reflection aims at answering essential questions like “Is my design answering the stakeholder concerns?”, “Am I solving the essential problems or am I wasting time on irrelevant aspects?”, “Does the result feel satisfactory or are further iterations necessary?”, “Does my design obey the rules of conceptual integrity and aesthetics?”, and “Is my design process appropriate for the problem?”. Design reflection is important since it can improve the design process and the product being designed (Reymen, 2001). It can also help the designers to learn from their experiences, i.e. their thoughts and feelings, and to improve their professional capabilities. Recent design research recognised the need for stimulating reflection, including the development of supporting methods (Badke-Schaub et al., 1999; Reymen, 2001; Schön, 1983; and Valkenburg, 2000). Reflection is, however, often interpreted as evaluating the design rationally, giving no explicit place for emotions. For answering the questions mentioned above, we state that both feelings and thoughts are important. We advocate a balanced approach in which both rationality and emotions play a role. The underlying idea is that we hope that balanced answers to essential questions lead to balanced design decisions and to a balanced design process. The goal of this paper is to explore the possibilities of letting emotions play a role in design related reflection processes. The exploration is partially based on our experiences with a\ud method that supports reflection on design processes; a description and discussion of the method can be found in (Reymen, 2001). This paper introduces the concepts emotion, reflection, and design reflection and with exploring their relations. Based on these insights, the paper continues with describing a prescriptive model of a reflection process in which emotions of designers and stakeholders play an important role

    Directing For the Small Professional Theatre: Directing Nothing Sacred

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    The challenges of producing and directing small professional theatre in any metropolitan area are many. This thesis is concerned with the process of finding a producing theatre, casting, rehearsal and staging the play, Nothing Sacred by George F. Walker, in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Unlike many thesis projects this one was conducted completely outside of the university setting and is thus a true reflection of the small professional theatre community

    Multi-agency training and the artist (Sharing our experience, Practitioner-led research 2008-2009; PLR0809/032)

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    The Multi-Agency Team Project approached issues of multi-agency training indirectly by using an artist as a catalyst in a group exercise examining movement and sound in relation to early childhood. The aim of the research was to run an experiential non-traditional training programme based on using an artist as a catalyst to promote inter-agency dialogue in one setting, Woodlands Park Nursery and Children’s Centre, and to analyse the findings. Eleven participants used this common experiential focus to frame collective research both as a focus group and as individual fieldworkers. The research demonstrated shared professional discourse but also collected judgements relevant to policy issues based on collaborative professional reflection triggered by the exercise. The findings are presented theoretically in terms of critical discourse analysis using the interpretation-supporting software ATLASti. We next take a further look at the role play exercise in which the group constituted itself as a ‘House of Commons Select Committee’ before summarizing what theoretical insights might be brought to bear and attempting to draw some provisional conclusions. Some evidence is presented suggesting there is a degree of tension and ambiguity between alterative models of multi-agency working

    Not-so-critical friends: Graduate student instructors and peer feedback

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    Graduate student instructors (henceforth, instructors) play a crucial role in teaching early STEM courses. Thus, professional development for these instructors addresses an urgent need to improve STEM student success. This paper focuses on a semester-long professional learning community in which six mathematics graduate student instructors engaged in regular cycles of peer observation, feedback, and reflection. In contrast to other professional development work, this approach emphasized that instructors give, not just receive, peer feedback. Analyses of post-semester interviews indicated that all instructors enhanced their noticing of students. The interviews also highlighted the challenges of providing critical, supportive feedback

    Impacts of Early Childhood Professional Development on Educator Practice and Subsequent Student Experience in the Outdoor Environment

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    The purpose of this project was to study the impact of professional development on early childhood educator practice and its subsequent effects on toddlers’ experiences with Risky Play in the outdoor environment. The setting of this project was a toddler classroom within a Montessori school in Missouri. The population for this action research study was three adult assistant guides with varying levels of experience with Montessori and early childhood education and 10 students in a Montessori toddler classroom between the ages of 17 and 32 months. The intervention consisted of a professional development workshop related to Montessori philosophy and benefits of outdoor Risky Play paired with daily reflective journaling. Data collection included my observations, participant journals, interviews, and an attitude scale. As a result of the study, adult participants intervened with children’s play less often and in more constructive ways, and children had more positive experiences in the outdoor environment. In response to this study, future actions include implementing a classroom culture of continued coaching and reflection

    Facilitating the development and maintenance of reflection in speech pathology students

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    Speech pathology students can develop and demonstrate critical reflection over time, although their engagement in reflection as a lifelong learning strategy remains sub-optimal. Educators play an integral role in the facilitation of students’ development and sustained engagement in reflective activities. This is a challenging task due to the nature of the development of reflection, factors that influence student facilitation and methods to measure reflection with tertiary healthcare students. This paper reports on a mixed methods single case study with embedded units, which was used to determine the development, maintenance and facilitation of reflection with six speech pathology students. The study spanned 10 weeks and two professional placements, during which students received a combination of face-to-face and email facilitation to support their reflection development. Quantitative results identified three novel trajectories: 1) steady growth from introspection to reflection and critical reflection; 2) no clear change in depth of reflection over time; and 3) gradual decline in depth of reflection. Qualitative results situated these trajectories with factors that influenced students’ experiences, including the internalisation of reflection, understanding the value of reflection, the influence of time and the mode of facilitation. Outcomes from this study may be used by educators to support the facilitation, development and maintenance of reflection in speech pathology students

    Master\u27s Project: Relationship With and Within the Land at a Preschool - Grade 12 School

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    This project explored the role that relationship with and within a place can play in fostering environmental and community ethics at Riverstone International School in Boise, Idaho. Riverstone International School is an organization recognized for its academic achievement and outdoor program, however, recent events and dialogues have indicated that it does not necessarily always outwardly or inwardly embody right environmental or social relationships. This project focused primarily on two groups, with different, but ultimately convergent objectives: 1) teachers remembering stories associated with the place and, 2) students reimagining what environmental stewardship could look like. Each of these processes provided an opportunity to strengthen individual and collective awareness of responsibility and possibility for growth. Ultimately the process resulted in visible changes to the school campus, deepened relationships, and deepened understanding of individual values, strengths and callings, especially in relation to those voiced and practiced by the school. An additional and related focus of the project was the author’s own reflection on, and nurturing of, his personal and leadership practices which ultimately resulted in reframing of personal and professional calling

    The Role of Critical and Collaborative Reflection with Experienced Teachers (via a Discussion Board) in the Professional Development of Novice Teachers

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    The purpose of this interpretative qualitative study was to explore the role of critical and collaborative reflection in the professional development of novice teachers. This study addressed the research question: What role does critical and collaborative reflection with experienced teachers play in the professional development of novice teachers? Participants in this study were three novice (0-5 years of experience) elementary teachers and three experienced (more than 10 years of experience) elementary teachers. Data were collected through interviews, an initial individual interview and a post focus group interview, written reflections submitted weekly for seven weeks by participants in response to researcher-provided prompts as well as the dialogical comments between participants in response to one another. The transcribed interviews and the teachers\u27 reflections submitted via an electronic discussion board were coded and analyzed for content-related themes and levels of reflection. Matrices and rubrics were used to compare data across participants, interviews, discussion board reflections, and comments/dialogue. The data analysis process was inductive and holistic. Analysis of the data revealed emerging themes, categories, and patterns (Maxwell, 2005). Findings were presented as a set of themes and a description of the teachers\u27 levels of reflective writing in an effort to illustrate the evolution of these teachers\u27 thoughts before, during, and after participation in the collaborative discussion board. Findings were validated through triangulation of data and member checks as well as comparing findings with existing theory (Maxwell, 2005). Four themes, perspective, environment, teacher input, and resourcefulness, consistently emerged throughout the data. An expanded perspective was identified by these teachers as the overall benefit they reap from participating in critical reflection. The participants expressed that a supportive environment which fosters reflection and is conducive to change helps maintain professional growth and development and reduces feelings of isolation. Additionally, the participants wanted to be recognized as stakeholders who were included in the conception and planning of their professional development. The participants agreed that their past experiences combined with their personalities and current teaching environments often dictate the role reflection plays in their professional development. To further analyze the data, two rubrics were utilized to identify instances within the responses which exemplified Dewey\u27s (1933) reflective dispositions and van Manen\u27s (1977) levels of reflection as well as levels of reflective writing based on research in the area of computer-mediated communications and teacher reflection. The findings were situated within recent research as well as within a comprehensive conceptual lens comprised of Schön\u27s (1987) theory of reflective thought, Dewey\u27s (1903) reflective dispositions and phases of reflection, and van Manen\u27s (1977) levels of reflection. Implications for theory and practice as well as recommendations for further research were also discussed

    'Really on the ball': exploring the implications of teachers' PE-CPD experience

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    Continuing professional development (CPD) is currently high on the Scottish Education agenda. Recent curriculum reform in Scotland, with the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence, places physical education (PE) at the forefront for its role in directly supporting learners' mental, emotional, social and physical well-being. This emphasis on PE, along with concerns about the health of the nation, has resulted in a nationwide initiative providing non-specialist teachers of primary PE with the opportunity to develop a specialism in the subject through government-funded CPD programmes at postgraduate level. Using Knowles' andragogical model as a framework, this paper reports data from a larger research study that evaluated a Scottish PE-CPD initiative. This paper comprises a single case holistic study investigating the impact and implications of a PE-CPD programme through the professional learning journeys, from the outset until completion, of four teachers: a nursery teacher, a class teacher, a cluster cover teacher and a PE specialist who participated in the programme. Data were collected over one academic year using two-stage questionnaire interviews and were analysed thematically with special attention given to the emerging general themes to achieve a holistic understanding of the case. Study findings endorse the positive impact of using the andragogical model of adult learning combined with the literature-supported characteristics of effective PE-CPD programmes. Teachers' perspectives on their CPD experiences, integration of acquired learning into working contexts and teaching post-PE-CPD were then examined to determine the next steps. This led to critical reflection on the implications of the findings for the teachers' ongoing professional development. We then challenged the role that university providers play in supporting teachers' lifelong learning. Instead, we suggest new school-university partnerships and alternative ways to support capacity building and lifelong learning towards a sustainable transformational change in Scotland's primary PE

    Students’ Experiences Of Reflecting On Their Development Of Professional Skills In An Engineering Programme.

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    Engineers play a central role in addressing the challenges which face society, and recent literature highlights the need for emphasis on the development of professional skills in engineering programmes. This paper describes the outcomes of a study which investigated students’ experiences of reflecting on the development of their professional skills using an ePortfolio in a pilot project. A focus group was used to capture students’ experiences of the reflection process and the use of the ePortfolio. Transcripts were analysed thematically to draw out the key experiences and to provide feed-forward advice for the next iteration of the project. The findings show that students need support in the reflection process, and clearer signposting between each skill and the modules relevant to their development. Students also found it difficult to ascertain their competency levels and felt that industry experience was needed to help score themselves accurately. Feed-forward advice included incorporating an ePortfolio throughout all years of the programme which would track their improvement in a range of skills, and providing a rubric to help assess their competency. The outcome of this study can be used by educators who wish to incorporate a professional skills ePortfolio in their engineering programmes
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