Teacher reflection: a perspective from the trenches

Theory Into Practice, Summer, 2003 by Kathleen M. Sharp

Dieker and Monda-Amaya (1995) cite the benefits associated with the reflective process. First, it provides teachers with a tool for making changes in the instructional environment. Second, reflective practice can be a method for evaluating the purpose and effectiveness of teachers' instruction. Third, it is a process for thinking about how to apply content and past classroom experiences to make changes in instruction. Lastly, reflection is a process for systematically evaluating challenges in the teaching-learning process to introduce positive solutions.

At times, I have encountered resistance as I attempted to implement reflective practice that considered culture and race in the suburban environment where I teach. Perhaps this resistance was a function of the conflict created by my efforts to establish a culturally responsive learning environment and, perhaps unknowingly, the school administration's commitment was to a traditional, monolithic, instructional paradigm. The instructional approaches I selected to assist students in learning were cognitive in nature. I wanted my students and colleagues to think about the significance of their racial and cultural identities in our learning environment and in the world. As I thought about who I am and who my students are, both inside and outside of the classroom, I initiated several programs and practices:

1. Introduced a Black History Month showcase in the main entry hallway.

2. Co-created a student group (All One People) to assist all in the educational environment with acknowledging cultural differences and diversity.

3. Assisted with the development of a multicultural writing program for the entire district.

4. Provided consultation to non-White students for scholarships, internship programs, and college visits.

5. Provided consultation to White teachers who needed direction regarding culturally sensitive practices.

6. Advocated for problem-solving methods to nonWhite students in response to their growing awareness of their exclusion from and full participation in school activities (e.g., student council, class officers, prom king and queen, captains of athletic teams, etc.).

7. Functioned as a teacher liaison to all students.

The above programs and practices were developed through my personal reflective lenses and as a result of how I carne to understand my students' needs in a number of different environments (e.g., in my classrooms, other classrooms, the school, the community, and the world). I am confident that my students develop a greater understanding of their place in our multicultural society and the benefits of diverse perceptions because of my conscious attempts to consider who they are as cultural and racial beings. Understanding my students' fit and their perceptions has allowed me to teach them the importance of how to be objective and creative in the learning environment. Thus, I attempt to develop reflective competencies among my students as I reflect on my own practice.

The ultimate goal is to teach the process of reflection beyond the classroom. For example, in my senior composition class, my students are always assigned short stories written by writers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In addition, I use examples of personal experiences to try to polarize social issues that are often related to culture and race. For instance, whenever I teach Alice Walker's Everyday Use (1994), I discuss with my students cultural values that I have as an African American woman and how those values are passed along to my own children. My students begin to see me as a real person--they come to understand that I am not only their teacher, but also a woman who experiences the world as a cultural being.