Week 6: Reflective Practice

Introduction to Week 6

For an introduction to this week, watch the following video.

Weekly learning objectives

By the end of this week, you will be able to:

  • engage in reflective practice to understand why it is an indispensable practice of successful numeracy educators who work in collaboration with peers to plan for a cycle of continuous improvement
  • critically review the continuous improvement model for your educational setting
  • articulate what it means to be a reflective practitioner and why it is paramount to being a highly proficient numeracy practitioner
  • argue how critical reflection feeds into a continuous improvement plan
  • illustrate how you are going to foster your peers’ critical reflection on their numeracy teaching.

Activity: The problem—becoming a reflective practitioner

Purpose

At the heart of fostering children and young people’s numeracy outcomes are reflective practitioners who strive for continuous improvement. This activity will help you describe the importance of being a reflective practitioner and its connection to effective numeracy teaching. You will also be challenged to think about the types of questions you might ask yourself to reflect on your numeracy practice.


Task

  1. Consider the following scenario:
    • After teaching a well-planned numeracy lesson, Hoa came away feeling deflated. Hoa felt some students ‘got it’ but many did not. Hoa reflected on the lesson, noting in the reflective journal the successes in the lesson and identifying areas for improvement. Hoa later discussed the lesson with a colleague, and reflected on how to make improvements for the next lesson.
  2. Consider "A reflective practitioner must reflect."
  3. What questions are useful to ask yourself to assist you to reflect on your own numeracy practice?

Complete the activity in your reflective journal.