UNIT 4: Reflective Teaching and Inquiry-based Teaching

Objectives:

1. Define what is reflective teaching; and

2 identify the components of 5E’s teaching model

Introduction:
Reflective teaching can make all the difference when you consider that many teachers have
good days; however, many more teachers feel overwhelmed and do not know how to cope at the
end of a very stressful and grueling day. In this case, reflective teaching is an imperative tool for
teachers.
Discussion:
Reflective teaching is a personal tool that teachers can use to observe and evaluate the way
they behave in their classroom. It can be both a private process as well as one that you discuss with
colleagues. When you collect information regarding what went on in your classroom and take the
time to analyze it from a distance, you can identify more than just what worked and what didn’t.
You will be able to look at the underlying principles and beliefs that define the way that you work.
This kind of self-awareness is a powerful ally for a teacher, especially when so much of what and
how they teach can change in the moment.

Importance of Reflective Teaching

Reflective teaching is a teacher’s habit of examining and evaluating his or hers teaching on a
regular basis.

 Involves both logic and emotion

 Occurs in two phases: reflection-on-action, reflection-in-action
 Consider underlying assumptions
 Consider moral and ethical issues
 Ways to reflect on problems of practice

 Reflective teaching is about more than just summarizing what happened in the classroom. If
you spend all your time discussing the events of the lesson, it’s possible to jump to abrupt
conclusions about why things happened as they did.
 Reflective teaching is a quieter and more systemic approach to looking at what happened. It
requires patience, and careful observation of the entire lesson’s experience.

The Reflective Learning Process

Identify a situation you encountered in your work or personal life that you believe could have
been dealt with more effectively.

Describe the experience

What happened? When and where did the situation occur? Any other thoughts you have about
the situation?

Reflection
 How did you behave? What thoughts did you have? How did it make you feel? Were there
other factors that influenced the situation? What have you learned from the experience?

Theorizing

How did the experience match with your preconceived ideas, i.e. was the outcome expected or
unexpected? How does it relate to any formal theories that you know? What behaviors do you
think might have changed the outcome?

Experimentation

Is there anything you could do or say now to change the outcome? What action(s) can you take
to change similar reactions in the future? What behaviors might you try out?

The process of reflective teaching supports the development and maintenance of

professional expertise. We can conceptualize successive levels of expertise in teaching – those that
student-teachers may attain at the beginning, middle and end of their courses; those of the new
teacher after their induction to full-time school life; and those of the experienced, expert teacher.
Given the nature of teaching, professional development and learning should never stop.

Approaches to Critical reflection

Peer Observation
Peer observation can provide opportunities for teachers to view each other’s teaching in
order to expose them to different teaching styles and to provide opportunities for critical reflection
on their own teaching. Some suggestions for peer observation:
1. Each participant would both observe and be observed – Teachers would work in pairs and take
turns observing each other’s classes.
2. Pre-observation orientation session – Prior to each observation, the two teachers would meet to
discuss the nature of the class to be observed, the kind of material being taught, the
teachers’ approach to teaching, the kinds of students in the class, typical patterns of
interaction and class participation, and any problems that might be expected. The teacher
being observed would also assign the observer a goal for the observation and a task to
accomplish. The task would involve collecting information about some aspect of the lesson,
but would not include any evaluation of the lesson. Observation procedures or instruments
to be used would be agreed upon during this session and a schedule for the observations
arranged.
3. The observation - The observer would then visit his or her partner’s class and complete the
observation using the procedures that both partners had agreed on.
4. Post-observation - The two teachers would meet as soon as possible after the lesson. The
observer would report on the information that had been collected and discuss it with the
teacher.

Benefits:

The teachers identify a variety of different aspects of their lessons for their partners to
observe and collect information on. These include organization of the lesson, teacher’s time
management, students’ performance on tasks, time-on-task, teacher questions and student
responses, student performance during pair work, classroom interaction, and class performance
during a new teaching activity, and students’ use of the first language or English during group work.

The teachers gain a number of insights about their own teaching from their colleague’s
observations and that they would like to use peer observation on a regular basis. They may also
obtain new insights into aspects of their teaching.

Written accounts of experiences

Another useful way of engaging in the reflective process is through the use of written
accounts of experiences. (Powell 1985) and their potential is increasingly being recognized in
teacher education. A number of different approaches can be used.

Self-Reports – Self-reporting involves completing an inventory or check list in which the teacher
indicates which teaching practices were used within a lesson or within a specified time period and
how often they were employed. Self-reporting allows teachers to make a regular assessment of
what they are doing in the classroom. They can check to see to what extent their assumptions about
their own teaching are reflected in their actual teaching practices.

Journal Writing
A procedure which is becoming more widely acknowledged as a valuable tool for developing
critical reflection is the journal or diary. The goals of journal writing are:

1. To provide a record of the significant learning experiences that have taken place

2. To help the participant come into touch and keep in touch with the self-development process
that is taking place for them
3. To provide the participants with an opportunity to express, in a personal and dynamic way, their
self-development

4. To foster a creative interaction

• Between the participant and the self-development process that is taking lace

• Between the participant and other participants who are also in the process of self-
development

• Between the participant and the facilitator whose role it is to foster such development.

What is the 5E’s Instructional Model?

This model describes a five-stage teaching sequence that can be used for entire programs, specific
units and individual lessons.
NASA eClips™ resources integrate the 5E constructivist learning cycle, helping students build their
own understanding from experiences and new ideas. This model is the work originally for the
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS). It has a growing research base and can be used within
integration, Problem-based Learning (PBL), Project-based Learning (PBL), and Universal Design for
Learning (UDL).
Teachers who can incorporate instructional model like the 5E Model into their classrooms help
students build a strong foundation of knowledge through active participation.

ENGAGE

The first phase of the 5E Model engages students by having them mentally focus on a phenomenon,
object, problem, situation, or event. The activities in the engage phase are designed to help
students make connections between past and present learning experiences, expose prior
conceptions, and organize thinking toward the essential questions and learning outcomes of the
learning sequence.
The role of the teacher in the engage phase is to present a situation, identify the instructional task,
and set the rules and procedures for the activities. The teacher also structures initial discussions to
reveal the range of ideas, experiences, and language that student’s use which become resources for
upcoming lessons.
Student Behaviors

 Asks questions such as, “Why did this happen?” “What do I already know about this?” “What
can I find out about this?” “How can this problem be solved?”
 Shows interest in the topic through curiosity and expression of wonderings
 Demonstrates engagement by expressing ideas, sharing observations, and creating initial
models
 Expresses current understanding of a concept or idea

Teaching Strategies

 Raises questions or poses problems

 Elicits responses that uncover students’ current knowledge
 Helps students make connections to previous work
 Posts learning outcomes and explicitly references them in the lesson
 Invites students to express what they think
 Invites students to raise their own questions

EXPLORE
Once students have engaged in activities, they need time to explore ideas. Explore activities are
designed so all students have common, concrete experiences which can be used later when formally
introducing and discussing scientific and technological concepts and explanations. Students have
time to investigate objects, events, or situations. As a result of their mental and physical
involvement in these activities, students question events, observe patterns, identify and test
variables, and establish causal relationships.
The teacher’s role in the Explore phase is to facilitate learning. They initiate activities and allow time
and opportunity for students to investigate objects, materials, and situations. The teacher coaches
and guides students as they record and analyze observations or data and begin constructing models
or initial explanations.
Student Behaviors

 Tests predictions and hypotheses; Forms new predictions and hypotheses

 Discusses problems with others
 Plans and conducts investigations in which they observe, describe, and record data
 Tries different ways to solve a problem or answer a question
 Creates initial models
 Compares ideas with those of others

Teaching Strategies

 Provides or clarifies questions or problems

 Provides common experiences
 Observes and listens to students as they interact
 Acts as a consultant for students
 Encourages student-to-student interaction
  Asks probing questions to help students make sense of their experiences and redirect them
when necessary
 Provides time for students to puzzle through problems

EXPLAIN
The Explain phase consists of two parts. First, the teacher asks students to share their initial models
and explanations from experiences in the Engage and Explore phases. Second, the teacher provides
resources and information to support student learning and introduces scientific or technological
concepts. Students use these resources and information, as well as ideas of other students, to
construct or revise their evidence-based models and explanations. In engineering, students design
solutions to problems based on established criteria.
Student Behaviors

 Shows models, explanations, answers, or possible solutions, to other students

 Listens critically to and questions explanations offered by others
 Explains using evidence from investigations
 Uses labels, terminology, and formal scientific language
 Compares current thinking with former thinking
 Records ideas and current understanding
 Adjusts ideas, models, and explanations as new evidence or reasoning is presented

Teaching Strategies

 Encourages students to explain concepts and definitions in their own words

 Asks for justification (evidence) and clarification from students
 Formally provides definitions, explanations, and information through mini-lecture, text,
internet, or other resources
 Builds on student explanations
 Provides time for students to compare their ideas with others and if desired revise their
ideas

ELABORATE
Once students have constructed explanations of a phenomenon or design solutions for a problem, it
is important to involve them in further experiences that apply, extend, or elaborate the concepts,
processes, or skills they are learning. Some students may still have misconceptions, or they may only
understand a concept in terms of the exploratory experience. Elaborate activities provide time for
students to apply their understanding of concepts and skills. They might apply their understanding
to similar phenomena or problems.
Student Behaviors

 Applies new labels, definitions, explanations, and skills in new, but similar, situations
 Uses previous information to ask questions, propose solutions, make decisions, design
experiments, or complete a challenge
 Draws reasonable conclusions from evidence
 Critiques the models, explanations, or arguments made by others using evidence and
reasoning
 Makes conceptual connections between new and previous experiences
 Communicates understanding to others
Teaching Strategies

 Expects students to use vocabulary, definitions, and explanations provided previously in new
contexts
 Encourages students to apply the concepts and skills in new situations
 Provides additional evidence, explanations, or reasoning
 Reinforces students’ use of scientific terms and descriptions previously introduced
 Asks questions that help students draw reasonable conclusions from evidence and data

EVALUATE
It is important that students receive feedback on the quality of their explanations. Informally, this
may happen throughout the learning sequence. Formally, the teacher can also administer a
summative evaluation at the end of the learning sequence. The Evaluate phase encourages students
to assess their understanding and abilities and allows teachers to evaluate individual student
progress toward achieving learning goals and outcomes.
Student Behaviors

 Gives feedback to other students

 Evaluates progress or knowledge
 Checks work with a rubric or against established criteria
 Assesses progress by comparing current understanding with prior knowledge
 Asks additional questions that go deeper into a concept or leads to additional learning
 Demonstrates understanding of Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science
and Engineering Practices
 Answers open-ended questions by using observations, evidence, and previously accepted
explanations

Teaching Strategies

 Asks open-ended questions such as, “Why do you think…?” “What evidence do you have?”
“How would you answer the question?”
 Observes and records notes as students demonstrate individual understanding of concepts
learned and performance of skills
 Uses a variety of assessments to gather evidence of student understanding
 Provides opportunities for students to assess their own progress

Sample Template for Developing 5E Learning Sequences

Prior to building a 5E learning sequence, teachers should consider learning goals and
outcomes, select the phenomenon/problem, and identify the essential question(s) that will drive
learning. The “Planning for Engagement with Big Ideas” tool can be used to help with this initial
work.
Assessment tasks:

Carefully evaluate a 5E learning sequence to ensure the three dimensions are integrated and related
to the phenomenon or problem by answering the following questions:

1. How does the 5E instructional sequence provide students the opportunity to explore,
investigate, and explain the phenomenon or identify the design solution to a problem?

___________________________________________________________________________
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___________________.

2. How does the learning sequence help students demonstrate their understanding of the
learning goals and outcomes?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________.

3. How does the 5E learning sequence ensure access to learning for all students through
universal design and best first instruction?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________.

4. What makes Reflective Teaching and Inquiry-based Teaching important in Mathematics

Curriculum?

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_______________________________________.