My teaching practice has been a long journey of seeking to understand myself and learn my strong and weak areas so that I can be successful in imparting knowledge to the students. The most significant challenges emanate from my presumptions about the students and the teaching profession, where I think the students in my class are informed enough to perceive the information I give them exactly the way I intend. I have my style of teaching students that I believe is the best for them, but I did not seek their input or that of my colleagues before applying it. My conviction is that the students appreciate the teaching technique given that I don’t receive direct complaints from them. I also suppose that the learners are self-driven in their education endeavors so that they do not need much guidance and follow-up efforts from me.
Following an understanding of the theoretical foundations of the critically reflective practice, I noted that my assumptions about teachings and education were not necessarily true. I sought the feedback of the students about my teaching style and what they liked or disliked about me. I interacted more with my colleagues to know how they engage their students and the reaction they get. To my surprise, neither the students nor the colleague teachers believed that my teaching style was the best for the students. While the majority of the students stated that they perceived information from me as I intended, most of them said that I failed to follow-up on their academic outcomes by assuming that they are self-motivated. I needed to keep up with their academic progress to identify each student’s weak areas and take appropriate actions to help them improve. Therefore, I realized that my assumptions regarding education and teaching were not always correct. However, applying the principles of critical reflection and viewing the practice through the four lenses helped adjust my teaching style to accommodate the views of those impacted by my profession.
Importance of making improvements to the craft of teaching and learning
Teaching is the conventional way of imparting knowledge to the next generation of professionals. Improvements made today in the way the art is manifested will have a direct impact on not only the grade of the students but also on their courage and ability to interact with other people while offering services to them (Redmond, 2017). The arts of teaching and learning happen simultaneously, and so it calls for a harmonious combination of both actions to become meaningful and deliver the desired results. Improving the arts is critical to attaining positive results.
First, it will foster cooperation between the students and the tutors. After understanding the needs of both parties, the teacher can adopt the right approach to teaching as the student embraces the proper feedback mechanism to communicate with the teacher, thus, increasing collaboration (Thompson " Pascal, 2012). Therefore, the teacher is alerted on time whenever an issue that requires attention arises.
Secondly, it builds trust as fear between them is significantly diminished. The learner feels at ease to express his grievances to the tutor since the latter understands and gives a positive response. Sharing information at an early stage is critical to the association to find solutions to problems before the situation gets out of control (Brookfield S. D., 2017). Applying the concepts of critical practice ensures that one makes more informed choices since the interaction of the learners, existing literature, colleagues, and a teacher’s own life experiences inform decision making.
References
Brookfield, S. D. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. New York: John Wiley " Sons.
Redmond, B. (2017). Reflection in action: Developing reflective practice in health and social services. New York: Routledge.
Thompson, N., " Pascal, J. (2012). Developing critically reflective practice. Reflective practice, 13(2), 311-325.
