Being a Reflective Practitioner in Teaching and Learning

Being a Reflective Practitioner in Teaching and Learning

            Practitioner research is the research performed by an individual or by a group on a professional field working as provider of service (practitioner) and as a researcher and its purpose is to advance practice. This research is essential to teachers for successful student learning outcome and also to improve their performance and educational training systems need to extend teachers professional knowledge through reflective practice and research (Scheerens, 2010, pg.12). Research is also important to learners/students as it help them to have detailed content of everything. A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research within which research is to be conducted. Research design constitutes of data collection, measurement and analysis.

Research methods are techniques used for conducting a research and methodology is a way to solve a problem systematically. Methodology used includes data collection, generating data and findings. According to Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2002) methods used in data collection include observations, sampling, textual or visual analysis (example from books or videos) and interviewing individual or a group. Positivism is used by philosophers and social scientists (Oldroyd, 1986) and according to Duncan (1968) positivism meaning is derived from acceptance of natural science as paradigm of human knowledge. Methodological procedures of science applied to social science positivism imply a stance concerning social scientists as observer and can be formulated in terms parallel to that of natural science (Giddens, 1975). The methodology objective and subjective of positivism is abstraction of reality through mathematical models and representation of reality for comparison respectively.

The best method to use in practitioner research is interview. This can be done by administering questionnaire, in which lists of predetermined and non follow-up questions are asked. Interview can be carried out by first developing the interview by informing the respondents about study details and finding suitable time and location. The second is determining the focus groups for generating information on collective views and consider group composition and size. The last procedure is preparing an interview schedule. The reason for choosing interview method is because it explores the views, experiences, beliefs and/or motivation of individuals or a group and also explores sensitive topics. Interview compared to sampling is the best choice when one considers focus group by composition and size. In sampling one sampled group may consists of individuals of same age and gender. Age is key as it determine the role, career and either parent or child and people with same characters are likely to be found in one group which is not the case in interview.

This methodology is best in both teaching and learning through reflective practice as it improves skills listening, body languages and etiquettes. And it fits in this project as for the teachers it encourages good relation with students and they can discuss together and ask questions openly which results into good outcome. It still fits to students as it improves their confidence, social skills and others like writing skills and recording.

References

Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K., 2002.Research methods in education. Routledge.

Duncan, M. G., 1968. A Dictionary of Sociology. London: Rutledge and Kegan pal.

Giddens, A. ed., 1975.  Positivism and Sociology. Heinemann Educational Publishers.

Oldroyd, D., 1986. The Arch of Knowledge: an Introductory Study of the History of the Philosophy and Methodology of Science. New York: Methuen.

Scheerens,  J.  2010. Teachers’ professional development: Europe in international comparison. An analysis of teachers’ professional development based on the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Union.