The pandemic was a stressful time for both students and teachers, leading to a worldwide call for improving how education is conceptualized and carried out in schools. As a result, there is a need for more supportive and effective teacher development approaches, as the voice of teachers is vital in deciding how to move forward. In a recent study, Dr. Jill Ordynans of Touro University and colleagues investigated how critical reflection can be incorporated in collaborative teaching communities. These communities have been offered as a humanizing way to support teachers in improving education. Read More
Collaborative critical reflection communities encourage teachers to work within an intentional structure of critical reflection to understand the underlying reasons for issues they face. As teachers gain this awareness, they begin to feel a sense of agency to act intentionally to address the issues. As they take action and critically reflect on the results, new knowledge is gained that increases teacher efficacy for continued improvement.
Dr. Ordynans and colleagues drew on a model of Generative Transformative Praxis that combines Dr. Arnetha Ball’s Model of Generative Change with a Freirean liberatory pedagogy. This model views teachers as creative agents of change who can work with students to improve education and serve the public good.
For their study, Dr. Ordynans’ team established bi-weekly collaborative critical reflection groups to encourage teachers along the four stages of the model. Reflection journals were kept between the groups and open-ended surveys documented teacher perceptions of the process. They found that the groups were effective in strengthening teacher voice and generativity in their work.
In the initial groups, the teachers questioned and challenged the new world in which they were teaching due to the pandemic, as well as their own practice within it. They began to realize that their actions mattered and played a role in what could happen. As the groups progressed, the teachers advocated for their role as key stakeholders who should carry out innovations to address the pandemic within their classrooms, their school structures, and greater communities.
They began designing, implementing, and improving upon tangible action plans that addressed the complex issues that they faced during this time. Two years later, the teachers’ efforts led to a strengthened belief in their capabilities to do meaningful work, even during the tremendous challenges that COVID-19 brought to the field of education, and to teachers especially.
The findings of this study suggest that when teachers are given a space to intentionally and critically reflect on their work and the factors impacting it, they have tremendous potential to be key stakeholders in educational improvement. Their actions are necessary to promote positive change, even in the most challenging situations.
