Using journals as a means of teacher’s reflection on action to enhance teaching quality at faculty of english – hanoi national university of education

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ MINH THANH NGUYỄ N THỊ MINH THANH USING JOURNALS AS A MEANS OF TEACHER’S REFLECTION-USING JOURNALS AS A MEANS OF TEACHER’S REFLECTION-ONON-ACTION TO ENHANCE TEACHING QUALITY AT FACULTY OF ACTION TO ENHANCE TEACHING QUALITY AT FACULTY OF ENGLISH – HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION ENGLISH – HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (Sử dụng hình thức ghi nhật kí để tự đánh giá sau dạy giáo viên nhằm nâng(Sửdụngcaohìnhchthấtứclượghingh ậtgikíảngđểt ựd ạđánhyở giákhoasu tibàiếngdạyAnh, củatrườnggiáoviênĐạnhiằhmọcnângSưcaophạchmất HàlượngNgiội)ảng dạy khoa tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội) M.A MINOR THESIS M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Field: English Teaching Methodology Code:Code:60 6014.14.10.10 HANOIHANOI– –20122012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ MINH THANH USING JOURNALS AS A MEANS OF TEACHER’S REFLECTIONON-ACTION TO ENHANCE TEACHING QUALITY AT FACULTY OF ENGLISH – HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (Sử dụng hình thức ghi nhật kí để tự đánh giá sau dạy giáo viên nhằm nâng cao chất lượng giảng dạy khoa tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dr Hoàng Thị Xuân Hoa HANOI1 – 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION i ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study 3 Scope of the study Methods of the study Significance of the study Overview of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORITICAL BACKGROUND Reflective practice 1.1 Definition 1.2 Reflection procedure 1.3 Types of reflection Journals as a means of reflection 10 2.1 Definition 10 2.2 Functions and advantages of journals 11 2.3 Focus of journal writing 13 vi 2.4 Analysis of journals 2.5 Prompts for journal entries 2.6 Guidelines for writing journals CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY Participants Data collection instruments 2.1 Questionnaire 2.2 Interview 2.3 Journals Research procedure 3.1 Problem identification 3.2 Preliminary investigation 3.3 Hypothesis 3.2 Intervention CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Data analysis approach Results of questionnaire 2.1 Teachers’ understanding of reflective practice 2.2 Teachers’ use of reflective practice 2.3 Teachers’ use of journals Results of analyzing reflective journals 3.1 Participant 3.2 Participant 3.3 Participant 3.4 Participant vii Results of interview 33 4.1 Effectiveness of journal writing 33 42 Difficulties in reflection process 35 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS Findings 38 Implications 39 PART III: CONCLUSION Conclusion 42 Limitations and suggestions for further study 42 REFERENCES 44 APPENDICES viii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Reflective practice has become a major focus in ESL/EFL teacher education programs worldwide since it is undoubtedly beneficial and essential for professional growth and more effective teaching As cited in Maat and Zakaria (2010), reflection has contributed to self improvement (Schon, 1983) This will lead to the changes in teachers’ cognition and teaching practices (Cooney, Shealy & Arnold, 1997, cited in Maat & Zakaria, 2010) According to Cohen and Hill (2000), reflection can be used as a tool to investigate teaching practices in order to achieve meaningful educational reform Some people may argue that experience is the key to professional growth as teachers form routines and strategies to deal with recurring situations of teaching However, according to Parker (1984), research shows that “for many experienced teachers, many classroom routines and strategies are applied almost automatically and not involve a great deal of conscious thought or reflection” (cited in Richard and Lockhart, 1996, p.4) These researchers asserted that it is vital to examine experience in a systematic way so that it can play a productive role Sharing the same viewpoint, Odeh, Kurt, and Atamtürk stated that reflective practice allows teachers to “think about what, how and why they it” and therefore “step out of routine action and make adaptations to match the needs of the learners” (p.3) Larrivee and Cooper (2006) also insisted that there are many reasons why teachers should be reflective One of the obvious reasons is that they have to cope with a wide range of situations and make several decisions regarding their students Being reflective and critical will help them effectively deal with complexities of classrooms Another reason is that there are growing demands on teachers, which may cause them to feel isolated Systematic reflection could help teachers take control of their teaching and feel self-confident In addition, reflective practice helps teachers avoid routines and promotes responsibility for their actions As can be seen, the importance of reflection to professional development of teaching is undeniable However, although teachers are aware of the benefits and importance of reflective practice, they not apply it to their teaching practice The fact that several procedures take place simultaneously during a lesson makes it difficult for teachers to be aware of their own teaching mistakes in classrooms and why they happen This is illustrated by Richard and Lockart (1996) when he quoted the comments by a number of teachers after watching their own videotaped teaching: I had no idea I did so much talking and didn’t let students practice My pacing was terrible I didn't give students enough time to practice one task before going on to another I did a bad job on the group work exercises The students didn't understand what they were supposed to I seemed to ignore half the students in the class Concerning the use of reflective practice, the research by Odeh, Kurt, and Atamtürk showed that “there is a gap between theory and practice” and that the majority of participating teachers practice reflection-in-action and ignore reflection-on-action – a deeper level of reflection The case of EFL teachers at the Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education (FOE – HNUE) is no exception As a novice teacher, the researcher finds that reflective practice is of great value to professional development; however, from her own experience and observation as well as discussions with her colleagues, this activity is not popular despite the teachers’ awareness of its benefits Reflection is especially of great significance because teachers in this context are training teachers-to-be, and it is stated by Scales that “Reflective teachers are more likely to develop reflective learners If we practice reflection we can more effectively encourage learners to reflect on, analyze, evaluate, and improve their own learning.” (p.14) Due to the importance of reflective practice in professional self-development and the above-mentioned current situation, it is desirable to introduce activities to promote teachers’ reflection-on-action In this action research, journal writing is introduced as a means of reflection to hopefully enhance teachers’ reflective practice and teaching quality Aims of the study This study is an attempt to promote teacher’s reflection-on-action in FOE-HNUE via the use of journal writing It will investigate the effectiveness of this activity and the teachers’ difficulties when using journals as a means of reflection-on-action To fulfill this purpose, the study aims to answer the following question: How effective is journal writing as a means of reflection-on-action effective in promoting teaching quality as perceived by teachers? Scope of the study This study focuses on enhancing teachers’ reflection-on-action of teachers at FOE – HNUE using journal writing Within its scope, the research aims at justifying the effectiveness of using this means of reflection as perceived by the participants and investigating their difficulties in their reflective practice Methods of the study This study is conducted as an action research because it aims at promoting teachers’ reflection-on-action within a certain context, namely the Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education In order to fulfill that aim, journal writing is utilized by the participants Interviews and teachers’ reflection journals are employed in order to get data which are analyzed by qualitative method Significance of the study This research provides an opportunity for the participants in the target context to systematically reflect on their teaching, from which they can have their own assessment of the effectiveness of journal writing as a means of reflection-on-action This will accordingly lead to their decision on whether to continue using journals in their professional development process or not In addition, the findings on teachers’ obstacles when using this means of reflection will hopefully help to improve the effectiveness of this activity, which eventually aims at enhancing teachers’ selfdevelopment and teaching quality Overview of the study This paper is divided into the following main parts: Part I: Introduction - presents the rationale, aims of study, research questions, scope, method, significance, and organization of the study Part II: Development - this part is divided into chapters as follows: Chapter 1: Theoretical background – provides the theoretical framework of reflective practice and journal writing Chapter 2: Methodology – describes the study population, the research design as well as data gathering instruments Chapter 3: Results and discussion - analyses and discusses data Chapter 4: Findings and implications - presents findings and implications Limitations and suggestions for further research are also provided Part III: Conclusion – gives summary of the research and limitations as well as suggestions for further study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Reflective practice 1 Definition In teaching, reflective thinking, reflective inquiry, reflective teaching, reflection and reflective practice are used more or less as synonyms In this study, these terms are understood interchangeably Since originated by John Dewey (1933), the concept of reflective practice has been defined in many ways by various researchers According to this educator, it is when people face a complex situation and wonder what needs to be done that they begin to reflect on that situation He stated that the purpose of reflective practice is to direct the teacher in taking actions and in making decisions In order to clarify his ideas, Dewey provided a distinction between routine actions and reflection actions, between unsystematic thoughts and reflective thinking In Dewey’s view, teachers who act routinely react to circumstances without thinking about the reasons or different alternatives These teachers often take things for granted and not try to justify their teaching methods, resulting in limited numbers of solutions As a result, non-reflective teachers often fail to recognize problems, have little motivation for improvement, and are therefore unlikely to fulfill their professional potential In contrast, reflective teachers not follow habitual ways of teaching They spend time considering what happens in classroom and the consequences of their actions with the aim of improving their performance Reflective teachers engage themselves in thoughtful consideration of dilemmas in their own teaching practice and think about these dilemmas in relation to several factors and contexts This distinction between mere thinking and reflection is also emphasized by Scales with a list of features of reflection in professional settings as follows: Conclusions Tell the sts about other teachers’ visits beforehand Set the rule at beginning of the course about coming late What are you going to differently in this type of situation next time? T h o u g ht s a d d e d d u ri n g re vi e w Name: HUONG – Week SELFREFLECTIO N SHEET Description: Today the students did a test While I walked around class, I saw a student copying answer from another paper What happened? (Don’t make judgements yet or try to draw conclusions; simply describe.) Feelings: xi What were your reactions and feelings? don’t move analyzing these yet.) Analysis & evaluation: What were the what I did (or did not do)? What are the reasons for what happened? Conclusions What are you going to differently in this type of situation next time? Thoughts xii Name: HUONG – Week Description: What happened? (Don’t make judgements yet or try to draw conclusions; simply describe.) Feelings: What were your reactions and feelings? Analysis & evaluation: What were the effects of what I did (or did not do)? Con What are you going to differently in this type of situation next time? Thoughts r Name: HUONG – Week Description: What happened? (Don’t make judgements yet or try to draw conclusions; simply describe.) Feelings: What were your reactions and don’t feelings? move analyzing these yet.) Analysis & evaluation: What was good or bad about the experience? Conclusions Thoughts added during review Name: HUONG – Week 10 SELF-REFLECTION SHEET Description: What happened? (Don’t make judgements yet or try to draw conclusions; simply describe.) Feelings: What were your reactions and feelings? Analysis & evaluation: Conclusions What are you going to differently in this type of situation next time? Thoughts added during review  GENERAL REVIEW I can see that I’m quite easy going with students and easily affected by emotions There should be tight disciplines to ensure fairness and transparency for students These should be set at the beginning of the course Dealing with those situations requires sensitivity and understanding of students’ psychology Also, I need to respect students Many problems can emerge in the interaction with students Now I have a lot of solutions for next semester xv TRANSCRIPTION OF POST-STUDY INTERVIEW Interview 1: Huong Interviewer: You have been using journals to reflect on your teaching for ten weeks, right? What you think about this activity? Participant 1: I think this activity is quite helpful; it helps me to become more aware of self-reflecting on my teaching I think there is a habit being established, the habit of reviewing my teaching I’m happy to feel that maybe I’m becoming a more dedicated teacher I think it helps me more aware of self-reflecting on my teaching I think I’m forming the habit of reviewing my teaching I feel like I’ve become a dedicated & conscientious teacher I’m happy about that Interviewer: What can you learn from it? Participant 1: Well, it points out what I did well and not really well in my reactions to situations with my students This helps me better next time when I encounter the same problem Also, I can learn from reviewing my journals; I think that I am too affected by my emotions I should control my feelings so that I won’t overreact Interviewer: Compared with the time before you did this activity, are there any differences in your reflective practice? Participant 1: When writing journals, I can spend time looking at the incidents in details Also, I can keep what I can learn from my mistakes for later use Interviewer: Did you apply what you can learn from your journals in your teaching? Participant 1: Yes For some similar situations, I can apply what I learned from my reflections before that For example, some students cheated in their assignments in many classes, so by time, I know how to deal with that situation in a better way For some situations, I will apply the solutions next semester Interviewer: Did you encounter any difficulties in this activity? xvi Participant 1: Personally, I think it’s quite simple Sometimes, I can give my own solutions, but it will be better if I can ask my colleagues for their advice Interviewer: Will you continue doing this activity? Participant 1: Yes, I think so, it’s very useful xvii Interview 2: Quynh Interviewer: You have been using journals to reflect on your teaching for ten weeks, right? What you think about this activity? Participant 2: I think it’s quite a good activity However, teachers need to be determined to it because it’s quite boring and sometimes you can be disappointed with yourself Interviewer: What can you learn from it? Participant 2: I can learn a lot of things from it Before I did it, I used to underestimate my students I think I have the knowledge, I transfer the knowledge to my students, but now I realize that I can learn a lot from my students I can also correct my mistakes in teaching in the next lessons, and that will improve my teaching Interviewer: Compared with the time before you did this activity, are there any differences in your reflective practice? Participant 2: When I write journals, I can spend time looking at the lesson in details And I can keep what I can learn from my mistakes for later use If I just think, then it doesn’t bother me to find solutions Because the reflection may make me feel disappointed with myself; I want to improve but then I forget But when I have journals, I look back at them and they remind me to take actions Interviewer: Did you apply what you can learn from your journals in your teaching? Participant 2: For some problems, I could find the answer and because I had chance to apply it, I could see the improvement; that makes me happy For some problems, I haven’t known what to yet I didn’t have any chances, so I’ll have to investigate more Interviewer: Did you encounter any difficulties in this activity? xviii Participant 2: Even though I know reflection is really useful, I myself cannot keep doing it on a regular basis I’m a lazy teacher Sometimes I need something or someone to force me to it When the activity failed, the feeling was quite terrible And then when I have to face it again when writing it down, it hurts me a lot Interviewer: Will you continue doing this activity? Participant 2: Not sure I love doing it, but it’s time-consuming and I’m lazy xix Interview 3: Linh Interviewer: You have been using journals to reflect on your teaching for ten weeks, right? What you think about this activity? Participant 3: This activity makes me more responsible for my teaching It helps me feel good about myself as a teacher Interviewer: What can you learn from it? Participant 3: Writing and looking back at my journals help me realize my teaching style I know that each teacher has her own teaching style And when I look back at my reflections, I can realize it For example, I know I usually follow a reasonable teaching procedure; however, I’m not a very talkative teacher, so sometimes it’s hard to create an exciting atmosphere Interviewer: Can this activity improve your teaching? Participant 3: Yes, to some extent Basing on the reflection, I can know what to change in my teaching activities to improve them For some activities, I could make a change immediately in that semester but for some others, they’re not repeated, so I’ll leave the change until the next semester Also, for some problems, I don’t know how to solve them; it requires time to study more about those issues But in general, I think it makes my teaching better Interviewer: Compared with the time before you did this activity, are there any differences in your reflective practice? Participant 3: Writing down helps me to get more insights into the teaching problems and it’s a more serious activity I have to think more and it step by step Interviewer: Did you encounter any difficulties in this activity? Participant 3: I have to come class to study, assignments, prepare lesson plans, teach at schools and English center, so I go almost all day When I come home, I don’t think about reflection Or sometimes I remember but I’m too tired to it I leave it to xx another day and then I forget, then I don’t remember the lesson clearly and less motivation to write down Journal writing helps me discover many problems but I don’t have time to find solutions to them Therefore, the problems accumulate; there are so many things to investigate I have the feeling of being overloaded Interviewer: Will you continue doing this activity? Participant 3: I would like to but I’m not sure I could it regularly and continuously or not xxi Interview 4: SANG Interviewer: You have been using journals to reflect on your teaching for ten weeks, right? What you think about this activity? Participant 4: Well, I think it’s a good activity Teachers can benefit much from it Interviewer: What can you learn from it? Participant 4: After reviewing (the journals), I know many things that I did not notice before Like, I see that I’m quite creative and flexible, capable of dealing with unexpected situations This made me feel confident and have high self-esteem I also know my weakness, which is careless preparation for lessons So I will try to be more prepared for lessons Interviewer: Compared with the time before you did this activity, are there any differences in your reflective practice? Participant 4: Since I write journals, I’m aware that it’s something I should as a teacher, and I should it regularly Before participating in this activity, I sometimes thought about my teaching, usually when there’s something really significant happening But when I have a folder named “Reflection journals” on my computer’s desktop, I it more often Interviewer: Did you apply what you can learn from your journals in your teaching? Participant 4: Yes, I think it’s an advantage when I can teach two classes the same syllabus I really like it when I can apply what I can learn from teaching the first class to another class right away I can see changes! It’s the wonderful sense of achievement and progress Interviewer: Did you encounter any difficulties in this activity? Participant 4: Yes, I cannot it regularly You know, we have no time for things that are not compulsory We are very busy teaching private classes because we cannot live on our salary Interviewer: Will you continue doing this activity? Participant 4: Uhm, maybe xxii ... practice reflection- in -action and ignore reflection- on- action – a deeper level of reflection The case of EFL teachers at the Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education (FOE –. ..VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ MINH THANH USING JOURNALS AS A MEANS OF TEACHER’S REFLECTIONON -ACTION. .. to the professional growth of teachers This action research has attempted to provide opportunities for teachers at the Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education to use journals