Negotiating the conflicts: Reexamining the structure and function of reflection in science teacher learning

Abstract

Abstract Many researchers and teacher educators propose that reflection is an important way teachers can think about changing their views and practices. The hierarchical constructs used to describe reflection, however, are often interpreted in ways that promote reflection as a tool teachers use to elevate their views and practices toward ideal “end goals” rather than as a more complex intellectual act that could help them learn how to shape their own goals. This research explores how four early career science teachers learned to negotiate the conflicts between their own goals and actual practices by situating their reflections in multiple contexts. They were invited to become aware of those conflicts through interviews and discussions of classroom observations and then to address them by actually teaching toward their own unrealized goals. The data generated from these activities were described with a rubric based on M. van Manen's reflection construct (1977) but were framed with certain perceptions each teacher had about her or his own science teaching. Several patterns emerged across the four teachers' cases that challenge the use of reflection as a tool and suggest how science teachers can reflect as a way to take greater ownership over and responsibility for their own lifelong learning. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 91: 629–663, 2007