Theme: efl teachers' reflective practice via online discussions plan: I. Introduction II. Main part

II. Main part

1. 
   EFL teachers' reflective practice via online discussions.
   

Reflection or reflective practice, which is a relatively old concept in teacher education, was first defined by its founder, John Dewey. According to Dewey (1933),“Reflection is an active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge, of the grounds that support that knowledge, and the further conclusions to which that knowledge leads.” (p.9). In other words, it is a deliberate thoughtfulness of teachers through which they can control their own learning with the assessment and application of their knowledge in order to come to a conclusion about a problem or situation.
Dewey’s (1933)concept of reflection inspired many other researchers in the field of education to revise or expand the description of the term. For instance, Daudelin (1997) defined reflection as “the process of stepping back from an experience to ponder, carefully and persistently, its meaning to the self through the development of inferences” (p.39). Schön(1983)went even beyond defining the concept and categorized reflective practice into two separate types: reflection- onaction, which is the type of retrospective reflection done on past experiences, and reflection-in-action, which is done immediately after experiencing the action.
Although Schon’s(1987) conceptsencouraged deeper analysis of reflective practice, they were also criticized and found incomplete by some scholars. It was argued that reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action did not consider the role of experience that may help educators shape their future teaching. Therefore, in 1991, van Manendeveloped the concept of anticipatory reflection as future oriented reflection where individuals lookat experiences and make inferences about possible conditions or problems that may arise in their prospective classroom settings.Many researchers supported the addition of this third type of reflection:Uzum, Petron and Berg (2014) stated that “these three types of reflection (reflection-in-, -on-, and-for- action) frequently take place in a multi-faceted and overlapping manner; that is, they may occur at the same time” (p. 5).
The frameworks suggested for the categorization of types of reflection described reflective practice as a combination of theoretical knowledge with the experience of a deliberate thinking process. In order to engage in this process, several tools, such as reflective journals (Boud, 2001; Lee, 2007) and portfolios (Whitton, Sinclair, Barker, Nanlohy, &Nosworthy, 2004) have been used in several studies. Moreover, to see the role of reflection on the professional development of teachers, over the last three decades, several researchers have developed theoretical frameworks through which to analyze functions and contributions of reflective practice on teachers. Kolb’s experiential learning model, Boud, Keogh, and Walker’s model of reflection, Brookfield’s model for critical thinking, and Gibbs’ reflective cycle are some examples reported by Rivers, Richardson, & Price (2014).
Thanks to advances in technology, tools,including the use of online platforms,to promote reflection have evolved. Blogs, which resemble online and
asynchronous version of written reflective journals, are one of these online means. They have been utilized in the field of English Language teaching, especially in pre­service teacher education, and found to be effective in fostering reflective practice (e.g., Harland &Wondra, 2011; Stiller &Philleo, 2003; Sun, 2010; Tang, 2013; Yang, 2009).
Apart from the use of blogs, online or asynchronous discussion boards, which have been around for more than a decade as a support for face-to-face (FTF) classrooms, also started to be seen as an alternative instrument for reflective practice in various branches of teacher education. Lee-Baldwin (2005) used asynchronous discussions forums as a means to facilitate reflective practice for pre-service teachers who enrolled in a science teaching methods course. Similarly, at the Universite de Montreal, Collin and Karsenti (2012) analyzed the role of online interaction as a support for reflective practice in an initial training program of pre-service teachers studying different subjects. Abodeeb-Gentile, Courtney and Pedro (2012) studied the use of reflective practice oriented (RP-oriented) online discussion forums on pre­service English language teachers and analyzed reflective strategies (e.g. clarifying, enhancing, providing evidence, challenging and different thinking) that participants utilized in their online platform. Although these three studies were all conducted on pre-service teachers of different disciplines, the results suggest that online platforms can yield positive outcomes on reflective practice, and even seem to develop social interactions between participants (Collin &Karsenti, 2012).
Teachers’ beliefs about the use of RP-oriented online discussions via weblogs and discussion boards have also been investigated as one component of some studies in teacher education. These studies have looked at their use from two perspectives: a) to analyze they find online platforms are effective for reflective practice b) to see whether they contribute to reshaping teachers’ teaching and learning. In a study to
enhance reflective practices on pre-service EFL teachers’ education, Yang (2009) analyzed the teachers’ beliefs to see the use of blogs. Similarly, Chanand Ridgway’s(2005) study conducted on pre-service teachers in an educational technology course looked at the effectiveness of blogs as a tool for reflective thinking. In another study, McDuffie andSlavit (2002) utilized online discussions as a support to see the change in beliefs of pre-service mathematics teachers about their teaching and learning mathematics. Results of the studies show that although some of the pre-service teachers evaluate blogs as effective tools for reflective practice (Yang, 2009), some others find them inefficient (Chan, 2005) because the participants only socially interacted with their teachers and peers instead of engaging in reflective practice. Studies also have concluded that online discussion platforms are convenient places to challenge teachers’ pedagogical beliefs by providing them reflection space over a period of time (McDuffie &Slavit, 2002). All in all, more studies should be conducted in order to reach more solid conclusions about the posibilities and roles of online platforms for reflective practice.
Statement of the Problem
The existence of RP-oriented online discussion forums has led to several studies in teacher education. However, findings from these studies present contradictions or provide mixed negative and positive results regarding the effective use of online discussions in reflective practices. For instance, Jones and Ryan (2014) conducted a study on pre-service teachers to improve their practicum experience with the help of reflection by applying blogs and discussion forums and comparedthe content analysis of reflective practices on these platforms. They found that these candidate teachers rarely engaged in high-level of reflectivity. The results also revealed that participants preferred blogs and found them more suitable for reflections, however, they also allocated time to daily life conversations rather than actively engaging in reflections.Tsang (2011) who conducted a small study on the use of online discussion forums for reflective practices suggested that these asynchronous forums might contribute to the development of critical reflective skills. Yet,with more a elaborate finding, Abodeeb-Gentile, Courtney and Pedro’s (2012) study on online discussions with written reflective summaries proposed that online discussion forums and their collaborative feature promote pre-service teachers’ professional development.
Apart from researching the utilization of online RP-oriented discussions, few studies have investigated teachers’ beliefs and the effective use of these asynchronous platforms as a component of teacher education. The results from existing studies revealed some contradictions as well. Some studies put forward that online discussions contributed to a change in teachers’ beliefs about their teaching and learning (Hernandez & Ramos, 2004; Yang, 2009) whereas others claim that they did not reshape teachers’ teaching and learning (Bean & Stevens, 2002; McDuffie &Slavit, 2002). One common aspect of these studies is that the majority of them have been conducted in pre-service teacher education settings, especially in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) and provided inconsistent results both in their effective utilization and contribution to teachers’ reshaping their teaching and learning. However, systematic content analysis of the application of these asynchronous online reflective discussions, particularly with in-service ELT teachers, has not been conducted. Such studies could document its effectiveness and to see how this practice might contribute to changing teachers’ teaching and learning.
While studies on reflective practices have been carried out in Turkey as well (Gün, 2011; Erginel-Çanal, 2006), the utilization of online discussions to promote reflective practice is a relatively new concept. Recently, at a foundation university’s master’s program in teaching English as a foreign language department, online reflective practices have started to be used with experienced teachers in their methodology course. Students have engaged in writing asynchronous reflective papers and taking part in follow-up discussion on an online platform.Since there is not enough evidence of the quality of these papers and the discussions in terms of utilizing reflective practices, a content analysis might provide further ideas for these practices’ better operation. Therefore, this study aims to investigate EFL teachers’ participation in reflective practice oriented (RP-oriented) online discussion forums, more specifically; it aims to explore the reflection types (reflection-in, on and for- action) they engage in.
Research Question
The present study addresses the following research question:
1. What types of reflection (reflection-in, on and for-action) do experienced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers engage in during their reflective practice oriented online discussions?
Significance of the Study
While the importance of reflective practice has been documented through studies, more focus has been put on the use of traditional tools such as writing journals, diaries, and keeping portfolios. However, the use of online platforms such as blogs and discussions for reflection is a relatively new concept in the field of teacher education. The studies conducted to see their effective use in reflective practices and to understand whether they contribute to reshaping teachers’ instruction and learning have provided varying positive and negative results. This study, which evaluates the effective use of online reflective practices, may contribute to the
literature by providing further support for their application as part of face-to-face (FTF) and distance education courses.
In Turkey, reflective practices have been examined in several studies both at pre-service and in-service teacher education, and their contributions to the teacher education have been suggested. At the local level, the findings of the study may first offer implications for the use of reflective practices in online platforms, specifically via asynchronous discussions. The study may provide further suggestions to enhance the course, in which the participants engage during their Master’s degree, and its content to facilitate the effective use of RP-oriented online discussions.