Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Education and Training

TEACHING, LEARNING, AND ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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Table of Contents
1 Case Study………………………………………………………….3
2 Reflective Essay……………………………………….……………10
3 Development plan ………………………………………………….16
1.0 Task 1: Case Study
Meaning of Reflective Practice
Reflective practice is a critical process in teaching and professional advancement. It refers to examining one's belief regarding learning and teaching and how it aligns to actual classroom practice after, before, and during classroom practice (Ashraf and Zolfaghari, 2018). It can also be described as one's ability to reflect on a specific move regarding a given teaching stance and continuous adaptation to learning. Therefore it means paying attention to theories and values which determine typical actions reflexively promote student satisfaction. Whenever the teacher embraces reflective practice, they dedicate time evaluating their teaching practice, curriculum options, student feedback, and improving the student learning and capability. The process is critical since it focuses on plans, data interpretation, and data gathering (Brookfield, 2017). It means that reflective practice must be conducted within appropriate scope to ensure the learners adequately gain and comprehend knowledge for future purposes. It must be done within the provided goals and objectives.
The instructor must think critically based on the evidence to make the teaching process successful during reflective practice. The critical aspect is based on different sources; Farrell (2015) notes four considerations: research and theory, personal experience, peer perceptions, and students. Different methods and tools can be used to promote reflective practice. Inter-collegial to personal approaches is necessary for enhancing reflective practice. Reflective practices are also essential since the student's changes annually, and the instructors must adjust to meet such needs. Reflective practice can be a vital tool in promoting practice-based professional interaction where experiences are adequately enhanced. The key determiners of reflective practice are the rate of knowledge transfer or formal learning (Ferdowsi and Afghari, 2015). Reflective practice is a suitable approach to align theory and practice since the instructor can successfully shape their thoughts in a given direction. Reflection is not necessarily rooted in past activities; it is also oriented towards responses, actions, experiences, and emotions. Historically, the reflective practice took shape in 1983 after Schon Donald established the key concepts, including reflection-in-action and reflective-on-action (Gheith and Aljaberi, 2018). It explained the professionals' core aspects to improve and improvise their teaching practice. Additionally, the reflective practice was also considered due to the emergence of different theories which were integrated to make the process successful. Therefore, reflective practice is an effective practice that should be considered for successful learning and teaching practice.
Theories of Reflective Practice
Reflective practice is heavily based on different types of theories. It is a connection between practice and reflection; thus, theories play a critical role in promoting the engagement between the learner and the instructor. Theoretically, whenever a process connects learning and teaching, the site of learning is based on experience (Gheith and Aljaberi, 2018). The theories play a crucial role in shaping the reflective approach. The theories can be categorized as public or personal theories depending on the impact of theories. The common theories of reflective practice include:
Gibbs Theory of Reflective Practice
Gibbs theory is the first theory of reflective practice established in 1988 to ensure smooth learning based on the experiences. The theory offers room for examining different experiences and a cyclic framework for promoting reflective practice (Hampel, 2015). It allows one to learn and plan by reflecting on the aspects that went well and those which did not go well. The theory is based on six phases that shape reflection. The first phase is describing the experience. Before taking any action, it is necessary to know successful and failed activities. At the description stage, the instructor must understand activities, reasons for occurrence, and outcomes, for instance, reflecting from the group assignment provided to the learners.
The second stage is based on feelings, whereby the instructor explores different feelings and thoughts during reflection. The third phase is also vital since it involves evaluation. At this stage, the instructor understands what worked well and the key areas of weaknesses. The instructor or the teacher must be adequately objective to make it effective. The stage makes the reflective practice successful since it creates room for adjustment depending on the strengths and weaknesses. The fourth phase is the analysis and involves comprehensively integrating the options. The fifth phase is conclusions based on making decisions, and finally, an action is the last stage. Action is based on the learner's analysis and conclusion.
Based on the evaluation of this theory, it is one of the most suitable since it focuses on different areas. It is systematic and based on specific phases which the instructor can easily go through and understand. It is essential to note that the instructor's action based on the reflective practice, the outcome must be aligned to learning and knowledge transfer. The theory adequately embraces different ideologies necessary to achieve the stipulated objectives. One of the suitable aspects of Gibbs' theory is that it is easy to use compared to other reflection theories, which tend to be complex. It focuses on experiences, which is a crucial reflection aspect (Hartmann et al., 2021). Therefore, the theory is relevant since it successfully aligns with the practical and provides a framework for successful reflective practice. The major limitation of the theory is that it may promote superficial reflection, leading to less professional or personal development. Therefore, regardless of the restriction, the theory is relevant for growth and sustainability.
Dewey's Theory of reflection
Dewey's theory, which embraces reflection as a rational process, is also a critical theory of reflective practice heavily used in contemporary processes. John Dewey, the founder of the theory, is also reflective practice, which benefits many learners. The theory stresses that reflection in the learning context should not be based on the passive but active aspect. Dewey rooted his theory on correlating events and situations and explaining to the learners to understand new concepts and knowledge (Hayden and Chiu, 2015). Therefore, the theory notes that a reflective process should pose relevant questions and recall the events.
Based on the evaluation of the theory, it is a significant theory since it focuses on social construction and brain-based pedagogy. It is a relevant theory that stresses that effective learning should be based on the previous ideologies that the leaner have. It means that reflective practice is incomplete without focusing on the experience. Dewey's theory is relatively similar to Gibbs' theory; however, it focuses on the future after considering the past ideologies. Regardless of minor challenges such as complexity, Dewey's theory is vital since it promotes knowledge transfer based on past ideologies. Therefore, it should be considered throughout the reflective practice.
Kolb Theory of Reflective Practice
Kolb's theory of reflective practice was established in 1975 after scrutinizing different parts of reflection. It majorly focuses on the experiential learning cycle. Kolb created a learning cycle theory of different components based on scrutiny. According to the theory, learners prefer the learning cycle to adequately conceptualize knowledge (Huda and Teh, 2018). The assumption is significant since it allows learners to sufficiently embrace different ideologies to gain from the learning cycle. In other words, the theory advocate for transformational learning by considering the learning cycle. The theory also advocates for systematic knowledge transfer to allow the learners to adequately engage during the learning cycle. Therefore, it can be related to experiential learning since it successfully engages the learners.
Based on the evaluation of the theory, it is relevant due to its theoretical elements, including active experimentation, abstract conceptualization, reflective observation, and concrete learning. The identified elements are systematically addressed to allow the instructors to engage the instructors successfully. Concrete experience or learning is the first phase and adequately focuses on the new experience (Ossa et al., 2015). It is a critical element since it creates a better understanding based on previous experience. Reflection is all about building growth on the experience. The second element is also crucial and involves reflective observation. Reflective observation focuses on the new experience gained and links understanding and experience. It can be classified as a vital element of reflection. Abstract conceptualization, which is also relevant, focuses on the new ideologies and modification of the concepts. Therefore, it is a critical aspect since it allows the instructor to successfully engage the learners. The last building block is active experimentation, enabling the learners to be all-round. Therefore, it is necessary to justify that the theory is functional and relevant.
Schon theory of Reflective Practice
Schon's theory is determined as a theory of reflection and professional development. The theory majorly advances the elements of Dewey's theory. However, it is unique and relevant since it creates a significant link between professional development and reflection (Pennington, 2015). The theory notes that a reflective practitioner can explicitly use tactical knowledge to gain new ideologies. In other words, the theory correlates the intensity of knowledge acquired and professional development. Therefore, the theory adequately promotes interaction between the learner and the instructor.
Schon's theory is also significant since it is based on specific types of reflection, reflection-in-action, and reflection-on-action. The identified reflections are relevant since they adequately embrace the learner's ability to engage their colleagues (Pennington, 2015). The two types of reflection are also significant since they allow learners to focus on better actions to improve their rehearsed interventions and capabilities. Lastly, regardless of the complex nature of the theory, it comprehensively promotes the reflective practice. Therefore, Schon's theory should be considered since it embraces reflective practice through focusing on professional development.
Benefits to Practice of Reflection on Action and in Action
Reflection on action
Reflection on action is crucial in teaching and occurs after or before the class environment. According to Ratminingsih et al. (2017), teachers must reflect before the actual action. They should think about the lesson before executing it and its activities. Therefore reflective on action can be summarized as a systemic reflection on specific experiences to develop new strategies. There are different benefits to the practice of reflection on action. The key benefit is enhanced problem-solving. Problem-solving is a critical element of teaching. It allows a teacher to reflect before or after the lesson; thus, they can adequately embrace strong coping skills. It will enable the teacher to easily solve problems that may emerge during the lesson, thus adequately reducing any possible issues that are likely to arise. Additionally, it is essential to understand that with an adequate understanding of how to solve challenges, it becomes easy to address any possible issue which is likely to emerge. Additionally, it allows teachers to establish specific strategies relevant to mapping out significant techniques necessary that can be used to help any struggling student. It also ensures that a substantial aspect is essential in making the teachers resourceful and enhancing their work with the students.
Reflection in action
Reflection in action is the second type of reflection and occurs during the actual action. It can also be noted as thinking about an aspect during the actual action. For instance, reflection can be done while the teacher conducts a certain action. It is beneficial since it gives an individual or an adequate teacher time for redesigning the teaching strategy. It is also composed of different benefits, such as making a lesson live. A teacher plays a crucial role in determining whether a class is lively or not, and it depends on the specific actions that the teacher practices while in the classroom. Reflection in action allows a teacher to embrace specific strategies that can be considered in refreshing the class session or troubleshooting any possible problem that emerges (Ryan, 2015). Lastly, reflection promotes a lively class session by allowing the teacher to understand new ideologies from the classroom. Engagement is a crucial element that ensures a transformative and lively classroom; it successfully leads to a successful classroom.
Additionally, reflection in action is also vital since it boosts teacher-student relationships. The relationship is critical since it promotes student-teacher. The identified type of relationship is critical since it determines the success of classroom sessions. Reflection in action enhances the relationship, allowing the teachers to coordinate adequately with the students. There is also a strong connection between reflection on action and higher performance among the students. The students who engage the teachers effectively by considering different requirements and expectations are essential since they identify and address different weaknesses that the students may experience. The teacher also uses the reflective in action to actively apply different theoretical ideologies that resolve possible challenges in the classroom. Motivation and academic performance rely on the teachers' engagement and performance. Therefore, it is necessary to justify that reflection in action is essential and promotes effective coordination and growth. It is recommendable for the teachers to adequately embrace reflective action to make learning effective and substantial.
Task 2: Reflective Essay
Current Performance Requirements
I require significant elements to ensure that I adequately achieve higher performance requirements based on my practice. It is essential to understand that successful growth and practice are based on determining requirements that should be addressed to ensure a successful and timely enhancement of knowledge. The critical performance requirement is problem-solving skills. I require adequate transformative and problem-solving skills to ensure that I successfully engage the students and resolve any possible challenges that are likely to be faced while working with the students. I need to improve my reflection in action by effectively embracing problem-solving skills. Therefore, problem-solving skills would adequately enhance own practice. Additionally, there is a need to enhance engagement skills. Engagement skills are necessary since they reduce any possible disagreement between the teacher and the students (Ryan, 2015). It improves performance since the teacher can adequately embrace growth and development depending on the student's needs and requirements. It is also necessary to articulate that engagement is a skill that promotes performance and reduces the link to reflection in action and reflection on the action. Therefore, it is justifiable that it would be easy to embrace higher performance with adequate engagement skills in teaching.
Additionally, there is a need for critical analysis and des...