Donelle Knight-French-EDLM6200-Reflective-Reflexive Practices in Technology-Enabled Environments

Reflections by Donelle Knight-French

As I started to work on my lesson plan assignment for module 4, I couldn’t help feeling like was between a rock and a hard place.  Here is one of my dilemmas.  I teach from a range of syllabi and none of them includes a reflective aspect.  My question as I wrote the plan was if this element was not included in my syllabus if it really made sense to focus on it in my own practice.   Another dilemma that I faced was in wondering if the use of references as well as presenting the lesson plan really has any benefits. These dilemmas will be the focus of today’s article

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What?

The lesson plan assignment was the most challenging assignment I have done since starting this program.  While I am very much accustomed to writing lesson plans.  I am not asked to justify or to present this information.  Furthermore, I have never associated providing references with the creation of a lesson plan before.  Normally, if I create a lesson plan it is generally a guide for me and in most cases it is never shared with anyone else, except for evaluation purposes.  This was therefore a very disorienting experience.  In addition, I have never been called on to incorporate reflective elements in my lessons because it is not a requirement which is stated in the syllabus. 

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So what?

This experience helped me to realize that perhaps I think of a lesson plan as a personal and private document.  I have notice that this is counterproductive, as collaboration and sharing of ideas is important to the development of a growth mindset of continual improvement.  In terms of providing references and presenting the lesson plan in engaging manner, I am essentially justifying why the lesson will work and explaining why it is important.  Being able to justify and explain the lesson plan fosters a deeper understanding of the lesson and execution of that lesson could become more efficient as a result.  In addition, sharing and presenting lesson plans to colleagues using the presentation allows for valuable feedback and ideas to be shared.  I am also apprehensive with incorporating reflection especially as it relates to my examination classes, however in trying to justify my lesson plan I was able to realize that I can apply reflective activities that are directly in line with the business syllabus.  This is because being able to reflect is an invaluable skill in the field of business (Provis, 2015). 

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 Now What?

1.          I am considering setting up informal meetings with my co-workers who teach the same or similar subject, to engage in present their lessons to me and vise-versa as a means of exchanging ideas and also to improve and strengthen our lesson planning and execution skills.
2.     For our co-workers’ meetings, since I do not want to scare persons away, lessons can be presented orally.  I presented my lesson using PowToon.  However, working with PowToon is time consuming and can be expensive.  I have an account, because I love the program but this may                                                             be a deterrent for busy teachers.  
3.            Reflection needs to be incorporated into students' individual courses so that they can have plenty of opportunities to reflect.  Reflection leads to the development of analytical skills, which are transferable to many situations (Quinton & Smallbone, 2010).  Bearing this in mind I will be incorporating reflective activities into business classes.  The lesson plan assignment formed the basis on which this will occur.

References

Provis, C. J  (2017).  Intuition, analysis and reflection in business ethics.  140 (1), 5-15.  Retrieved from https://link-springer-com.library.open.uwi.edu/article/10.1007/s10551-015-2688-z#citeas


Quinton, S., & Smallbone, T. (2010). Feeding forward: using feedback to promote student reflection and learning - a teaching model. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 47(1), 125–135. Retrieved from https://web-a-ebscohost-com.library.open.uwi.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=46de78d9-568c-4ac2-9f5d-8ee57acfb173%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=47992453&db=ehh  

Donelle Knight-French-EDLM6200-Reflective-Reflexive Practices in Technology-Enabled Environments

Reflections by Donelle Knight-French

video credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kOFLlHWviE

The focus of today's post will be on how I can encourage reflection among students in my Entrepreneurship class.  The video above features entrepreneur Brandon Green and his take on why reflection is so important in the entrepreneurial process.

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What?

The CAPE entrepreneurship syllabus is very dense and my first challenge will be to decide how to incorporate reflection into the course experience while still getting through all the material that must be covered.  Getting through the content has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that an Internal Assessment must also be completed for this course.  In addition, this element of reflection will be new to my class and may perhaps take a large chunk of time and getting accustomed to for students.  In addition, if students pose the question of if these reflective assignments are required by the examining body, the fact of the matter is that it is not a requirement.  Therefore, there are two questions on which I must reflect:

1. How can I incorporate reflection in a way that will be meaningful for students?
2. How can I do this without taking away from time the task of covering the content required for the Entrepreneurship exam?

Maybe the answer to this lies in the fact that the job market of today is one where a person's capacity to adapt to a number of situations is invaluable (Helyer, 2015).  Reflection can be used to critically analyse situations and it is from this point that solutions can be crafted.  

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So what?

My school is very results-based, and unfortunately the reality is that a teacher is only as good as the exam results that the students receive.  Therefore, I am quite hesitant about focusing on an element which is not required.  Students and their parents are also highly competitive and comparison of exam results is rampant as long as they are released.  The exam mentality which to my mind is one which encourages memorization and regurgitation is outdated.  However I believe that this status quo is one which will maintain for a long time.  This is incongruous with the 21st century skills which are necessary if students are to be competitive in today's labour market.  It is dangerous not to have students prepared for life. They must be trained in the art in reflection as it is not an inherent characteristic (Challinor,  Marín & Tur, 2017).  

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 Now What?

Since this practice now has to be introduced not only into the classroom but into the organisation, it is my intention to use the theory of disruptive innovation to inform my practices.  A disruptive innovation refers to a situation where a product is introduced to the marketplace using a strategy of targeting a market that is not being considered by the competition .  The disruptive force continues to improve in the background and  by the time the competition becomes aware of the disruption their main market has already been stolen (Flavin & Quintenero, 2017).  I believe that I can successfully apply this theory to introducing reflective practices into my classroom in three ways:

1. I can include reflection as a part of the entrepreneurial/Internal Assessment process-when students conduct research and go through compiling findings.  More of an effort will made to help students to see that when they analyze these findings, they are essentially engaging in reflecting on those findings.  They also go a step further by using their analysis of findings to inform product and service offerings.  I can make more of effort to demonstrate that business inherently requires frequent reflection and point out the ways that they are engaged in reflection without even recognising it.  This will make reflective exercises feel like less of a burden, or some new additional thing that they have to go learn.
2. I can invite resource personnel in the form of entrepreneurs who appreciate the value of reflection to join our classes.  I believe that as long as students have concrete examples of how being reflective can increase the likelihood of becoming successful entrepreneurs and can also make them more competitive on the labour market, it may not seem like senseless work .  This will involve the use of digital technology as the use of video conferencing software can be used to connect students with Entrepreneurs across space and time.  Since Zoom software is already commonly used for conference classes this should be easy to execute.
3. I can also encourage reflection by giving students the opportunity to critique our Entrepreneurship classes and to share information about what they liked, disliked and ideas for improvement.  I can allow students to periodically complete questionnaires about our Entrepreneurship class via email or google forms.  This digital technology will be used as students may be more comfortable sharing feedback about things that need improvement than if they were in a face-to-face setting.  The fact that the student and teacher are not face to face reduces the feeling of the teacher being in place of power (Cook-Sather, 2017).  In a sense it levels the playing field.

The hope is that the subtle changes will take root and growth mindsets about reflection will start to develop before anyone notices that the changes have already disrupted the status quo.

References

Challinor, J., Marín, V. I., Tur, G.  (2017) The development of the reflective practitioner through digital storytelling.  International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 9(2/3), 186-203. Retrieved http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30977/1/8588_Challinor.pdf

Cook‐Sather, A. (2017). Virtual forms, actual effects: how amplifying student voice through digital media promotes reflective practice and positions students as pedagogical partners to prospective high school and practicing college teachers. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(5), 1143-1152. Retrieved https://repository.brynmawr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=edu_pubs

Flavin, M., & Quintero, V. (2018). UK higher education institutions’ technology-enhanced learning strategies from the perspective of disruptive innovation. Research in Learning Technology, 26. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.1987n.com/

Helyer. R. (2015) Learning through reflection: the critical role of reflection in work-based learning: (WBL). Journal of Work-Applied Management, 7(1), 15-27. Retrieved https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JWAM-10-2015-003/full/pdf?title=learning-through-reflection-the-critical-role-of-reflection-in-work-based-learning-wbl

Donelle Knight-French-EDLM6200-Reflective-Reflexive Practices in Technology-Enabled Environments

Reflections by Donelle Knight-French

I am currently experiencing everything that Louis has experienced in the video above.  Like Louis, my organization is results based and fast paced and I cannot even begin to fathom where I will find the time to reflect.  In addition, it just seems as if the organizational culture simply does not value the impact that a reflective staff can have on efficiency.  However, the other option of surrendering to this environment and being an unreflective teacher is certainly not desirable.  I understand now that this option leads to drone like behavior where teachers are mainly concerned with solving problems that have been predetermined by others (Grant & Zeichner, 2018).  Today I feel empowered with some new reflective skills, so I will go through the process of reflection for this week’s post by using the What? So what? Now what? framework to guide me.

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What?

I work at a school that is run and operated by a religious sect called the Closed Brethren.  All of the Closed Brethren schools in the world are governed by an umbrella management company which is known as  One School Global.  The management style is top-down and the leadership style is autocratic.  In this organization the status quo is fiercely maintained by those in authority.  The extent to which reflection exists in my workplace is that it is stated as mandatory item on the end of year checklist.  However, any teacher knows that the end of the year means mass grading, report writing and a million other tasks.  Therefore, what ends up happening is that this mandatory task becomes not so mandatory as it is lost and forgotten among everything else.

      

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So what?

I am guilty of putting this activity on the backburner as well.  It is just not a priority in my organization.  I guess it just looks good on paper to have it is listed as an activity.  To be honest I have never seen the value in doing reflection especially since the fruits of reflection done by staff are never truly considered.  For example, last school year, I worked as an advisor to several students who were completing individual research projects.  Our grade 12 students are expected to complete this project in order to satisfy graduation requirements.  Based on the guidelines given, students felt pigeonholed into choosing research topics they had no interest in.  I thought about the process, came up with an idea where the students would develop business plans or proposals and pitch them to a panel of businessmen from the community, in a style similar to Shark Tank.  I was told how wonderful the idea was.  However, this school year the cycle continues.   The same old format is being used and the students continue to complain.  This is just one example of many and so I have adopted the attitude that I will simply do what I am told, but this has made me quite uninspired.   This situation describes another deterrent to reflection where teachers just are not motivated to reflect because when that reflection leads to fabulous ideas, or awesome solutions to challenges the status quo always wins.

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 Now What?

As I work on my blog entries my overall aim will be to focus on how I can change the reflective landscape that currently exists in my organization.  I have become disillusioned with reflection and sharing my ideas.  Therefore, I know that the first thing that needs to be adjusted is my defeatist attitude. My plan is to begin the change process by taking baby steps.  Initially perhaps I need to focus on me first, as opposed to focusing on the organization, and use reflection to become a better teacher and a better person in general.  During this process I will aim to collect data so that when the time is appropriate I can demonstrate, using concrete examples, how reflection has helped me.  I will try to lead by example.  In terms of the use of digital technology I believe that it would be a good idea to use blogger.com in conjunction with PowToon and other technology tools so that the evidence collected can be as engaging and as easily disseminated as possible, when the time for sharing my journey comes.  Another tentative idea could be to attempt to encourage staff to utilize a WhatsApp group chat for reflection purposes.  This eliminates the need for staff to meet physically during the very busy course of the day.  The chat can be ongoing and responses and discussion can take place based on participants’ availability.   The question of how a teacher can avoid becoming complacent has been posed and the response to this is to be inquisitive, to continue to question and investigate things in order to move forward (Shandomo, 2010).  This is the quest on which I aim to get started.

References

CIPD. (2017, February 13).  Introduction to reflective practice [video file].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9hyWVEG2x0

Grant, C. A., & Zeichner, K. (1984). On becoming a reflective teacher. Preparing for Reflective Teaching, 1-18.  Retrieved from http://www.wou.edu/~girodm/foundations/Grant_and_Zeichner.pdf

Shandomo, H. M. (2010). The role of critical reflection in teacher education. School-University Partnerships, 4(1), 101-113.  Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ915885.pdf

The Vark Questionnaire & The Big 5 Personality Test: My results

The VARK questionnaire: What is my learning style?

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My results from this test are as follows:

Visual-0

Aural-5

Read/write-15

Kinesthetic-9

This test confirms the fact the my dominant learning style is read/write.  I already use most of the suggested strategies for learning and studying.  My main strategy though is to summarise large chunks of material into diagrams and short paragraphs.  I believe that it was very important for me to be able to identify my learning style.  My rationale for this is that it helps me to avoid unintentionally designing courses which accommodate my own style as opposed to material that appeals to students across the spectrum of learning styles.  I am of the opinion that learning styles must be considered when designing reflective activities.  Since the reflective process is a very personal one I believe that students should be given free reign in terms of options for presenting their reflections.  Reflective assignments should be designed in such way that each student is able to present that information in the format that is most comfortable for him or her.

The Big 5 Personality Test

Watch the video below to learn more about me.  Take a look at my results from the Big 5 Personality Test.

Introduction to Donelle Knight-French

Donelle Knight-French's Blog

EDLM6200 - Reflective/Reflexive Practices in Technology Enabled Environments