Reflective conversation for teacher development

Abstract

Reflective practice is emphasized for teachers as it improves teaching and learning practices that result in high levels of students\u27 achievements. Reflection has the potential to transform thinking and practice. Research done on reflective practice in Pakistan suggests that as teachers\u27 teaching repertoire is limited here, teachers must reflect upon their practice. My experience of working with teachers informs me that teachers are not willing to write about their practices, rather it is more an oral culture. Reflective conversation is more an oral reflective practice mode, and it builds on what teachers already do informally in the context of Pakistani schools. The ultimate purpose of reflective conversation is to inquire teachers\u27 classroom practices and to bring forward improvement in their practices. This study was conducted to explore the process and consequences of reflective conversation for teacher development in Pakistan. Shared classroom observation experiences provided a base for reflective conversation sessions with two secondary school English teachers in a private English medium school in Karachi, Pakistan. The aim was to explore reflective conversations as a strategy for school-based teacher development. The study indicates that reflective conversations can be a viable teacher development strategy in Pakistan. Study findings showed that through reflective conversations, teachers were able to enhance their professional knowledge and skills, by extending their range of teaching strategies, developing an urge to implement new strategies, and consequently, becoming more confident teachers. However, there are some essential requisites i.e. teachers\u27 personal capacity and school structures for making reflective conversation an effective teacher development strategy. Reflective conversation also requires effective facilitation, which can be done by a reflective coach. The study also indicated that teacher learning becomes a complex and dynamic process through reflective conversation sessions. The study is significant for teacher educators, researchers, and teachers. It highlights for them some contextual issues that are challenging for teacher educators for using this strategy successfully. Study findings indicate that reflective conversations, if implemented effectively, move from individual teacher\u27s learning to collective learning