I'm baaaacck!!

I  hear that title in a kind of Jack Nicholson "Heeeeeere's Johnny" type voice.


I've got really behind with my Things. This is because:

• I've been on holiday to Yorkshire where yet again I failed to see puffins but had a lovely time otherwise
• I really had to concentrate on writing up my Umbrella experiences for HLG rather than writing in here
• I've been fretting about this week's interview and worrying that the jobs seem to dry up (even more) in the summer.

I'm aware that there's a catch-up week coming up so I'm going to give each topic proper attention rather than rushing to keep up. I will probably need to write here at least twice a week for the next couple of weeks.


First I wanted to return to Thing 5- Reflective Practice because I don't think I really did this topic justice in my previous post.
Having worked in the Health Service and studied alongside full-time practicing teachers I am aware that other professions also place a great deal of emphasis on reflective practice. To achieve my CTLLS I had to keep a reflective diary of my teaching practice.  The model I adopted was taken from Tripp's 1993 book.


I have found this site http://www.prodait.org/approaches/cia/ gives a useful summary of the critical incident analysis in action with examples drawn from teaching.


I found keeping the diary quite difficult. This, I think, was because the reflection requires quite a high degree of self disclosure which does not come naturally to me. Although the tutor emphasised that the incidents did not have to be negative these tended to be the ones from which I felt most learning would take place. Or possibly the ones I remembered best.


I not had come across the ideas of Reflection on Action and Reflection in Action before and these seem useful ways of looking at the kind of moment to moment responses to how well a task is going and the longer-term consideration of how a task went and could it be planned better in order to go more smoothly next time.


Looking around at other cpd23 people's blog posts on reflective practice it is interesting to seee how many have already undertaken reflective practice as part of a teaching qualification. My impression is that there are fewer people already consciously using reflective practice in other parts of their work.


 Lynn Meehan blogging in Librarycow's Library Reflections makes a very good point in her post Mirror mirror on the wall that incorporating reflective practice will help with the struggle to demonstrate our value to our employers. I hope to be able to take this back into the workplace with me at some point. It could also be a useful tool in considering success or lack of it in finding employment.


Tripp D (1993) Critical Incidents in Teaching: Developing Professional Judgement, London: Routledge