The Relationship between Instructional Domain and the Content of Reflection among Preservice Teachers.

Abstract

The challenge of developing reflective practitioners has become an important emphasis in many teacher preparation programs. Reflectivity, or the ability to assess situations and to make thoughtful, rational decisions seems essential for teachers who, in today's schools, are confronted by situations and tasks that have little relationship to the tasks for which they were educated (Smyth, 1989) or to the classrooms described by many teacher education professors. Several benefits have been suggested for preser I vice teachers who practice reflection. They interpret Deborah L. Bainer is an field experiences and classroom observations in assistant professor of more flexible, mature ways (Bolin, 1988) and they educational theory and more frequently consider underlying assumptions practice, The Ohio State and implications when analyzing classroom prac University, Mansfield; tices (Liston & Zeichner, 1987). Further, reflective Diane Cantrell is an preservice teachers seem better able to express assistant professor of themselves in a complex manner and are less anx educational theory and ious about student teaching (Cruickshank, Kennedy, practice, The Ohio State Williams, Holton, & Fay, 1981b). University, Newark. Yet reflection is not well understood by teacher