Elementary Teachers’ Use of Reflection as a Professional Development Practice: A Qualitative Study
Date
2024-02
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Abstract
Sparse information exists on how elementary teachers might use reflective journaling as a tool for professional development (PD) to enhance their teaching methods. The problem is that even though elementary teachers have access to a variety of PD opportunities, these opportunities are often insufficient for meeting individual teachers’ needs to support reflection of their classroom teaching practices. Therefore, teacher PD sessions may be unproductive and unconnected to the participating teachers. Reflective practice is crucial for adult independent learning. Aligned with this concept, the theories of andragogy and transformative learning constituted the study’s theoretical foundation. The purpose of the basic qualitative study was to explore in-service elementary teachers’ perspectives of the use of visual journals as a method of individualized PD through reflection on their classroom teaching practices. Teachers’ perspectives on the PD method, emphasized in the research questions, spotlighted the existing literature gap on elementary teachers’ perceptions of journal writing and reflective practice using a visual reference. The study included 23 elementary teachers from a single school district who participated in reflective visual journaling over 3 weeks and submitted eight entries. After the reflective period, the participants completed a questionnaire to indicate the effectiveness of the journaling process. The two data sources were coded using thematic analysis, and the results appeared in tables. The study yielded two noteworthy findings about elementary teachers’ usage of visual reflective journals: student interactions and personal and professional strengths and limitations.
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reflective practice, professional development, visual journals, andragogy, transformative learning