Reflective Teaching: Theory within Classroom Practices
Source: Teaching Education, Volume 25, Issue 3, 2014, pages 294-308.
The purpose of this article was to understand the importance of providing teacher candidates with opportunities to critically read and reflect on theory and research.
The author designed an assignment, Quadruple Entry Journals (QEJ), which asks teacher candidates to -
first, critically read texts on theory; secondly, to reflect and analyze those texts; thirdly, to reflect on the reflections of their classmates; and, finally, to connect these theoretical reflections with practice.
The author explains the pedagogy followed when implementing QEJ with teacher candidates.
Their feedback showed that when theory and research are cooperatively analyzed by teacher candidates, they better understand the connection between theory and practice, thus creating a deep understanding of what to teach and how to teach.