4.2 DATA ANALYSIS
4.2.2 Phase 2: Interviews
4.2.2.3 Timing of reflection
Senior phase teachers mentioned that:
It is important for teachers to reflect on their practice as you may sometimes blame the learner while the problem lies with you as a teacher.
Self-reflection helps teachers to identify the gap between learners who understand and those who do not understand, so that those who do not understand can be assisted.
When teaching, teachers need to understand that learners are different and that they learn at a different pace. The use of self-reflection helps teachers to identify the gap between learners who understand and those who do not understand, so that those who do not understand can be assisted. During teaching practice, teachers need to reflect on how teaching and learning takes place. The pace of how learners learn is also important for teachers to accommodate all learners in the classroom. It is through the use of self-reflection that teachers may reflect on how learners learn in order to strive for a balance between those who learn faster and those who learn at a slower pace.
Teachers are always encouraged to know and understand their learners and how they learn. Furthermore, self-reflection helps teachers to identify the teaching approaches suitable for learners who learn at a slower pace and those who learn at faster pace (Calderhead, 1989).
Simpson (2005) mentioned in the literature review that during teaching and learning, self-reflection becomes important to teachers in a way that teachers should directly reflect on the way they teach in order to change where necessary. This should not be the end process of self-reflection, but they should also reflect at the end of the teaching process. Successful teachers always make sure that they look at what they taught and try to modify that. This process will result in improvement of their practice. Reflective practitioners always ask themselves questions about their practice to look for ways to improve their practice. Asking learners questions can be an important process that helps teachers to judge themselves and reflect on how the lesson unfolded.
Teachers should always think about their practice and how best they can improve their teaching. Self-reflection provides teachers with the opportunity to think about their practice, and to engage different stakeholders who can help them to improve their practice. Therefore, it becomes important for teachers to seek help on how they can improve their practice in a professional manner. Some teachers become afraid that if they disclose or fairly reflect on their practice; people will judge them that they do not know certain things. This is one of the common problems that most teachers encounter in their practice. If teachers understand self-reflection and its purpose, they will then reflect in way that it helps them to improve their practice, and this will be of benefit to learners as well.
Intermediate phase teachers reflected on their practice after school. They sat down in the staffroom and checked the lessons taught. They did this because they felt that at home there are many things that disturb them. Other teachers in this phase reflected on their practice after presenting their lessons, they did that by writing down how their teaching took place and challenges encountered.
For teachers to reflect after school hours has some advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of reflecting after school is that teachers have enough time to reflect on their practice without time constraints. Another advantage of reflecting after school is that teachers may also seek other opinions from other colleagues, and this helps them to understand how other people view their practice. This is very important for teachers who find it difficult to judge themselves fairly. In contrast to this, the disadvantage of
reflecting after school is that reflection is done when no immediate remediation of teaching can be done. This is found when teachers prepare/plan for a lesson and decide to change or deviate from what they have prepared while they teach (self- reflection while you teach). When teachers plan a lesson, they expect certain responses from learners and it becomes important for teachers to check/reflect if everything goes according to the way they prepared (Moje, 1996: 21).
Senior phase teachers responded as follows:
I don’t have enough time to reflect on my practice.
I reflect on my practice on a daily basis, since teaching takes place on a daily basis.
I reflect on my practice after my lessons and learning activities.
Self-reflection guides me to understand the learners’ progress
I write down my reflection in order to have a record of teaching practice.
One of the common challenges faced by public schools teachers in South Africa is the issue of under-staffing. Most teachers interviewed in the senior phase mentioned the issue of time as a challenge for self-reflection. They stated that they do not reflect on their practice because they do not have time to do self-reflection. What resulted in such a response is the fact that teachers are expected to cover a certain scope within a fixed period; and due to their heavy work load that they are having, they tend to teach to just cover what is expected of them without reflecting on their practice. This points to another very crucial factor in the reflection process, the fact that self-reflection of teachers depend on the work-load faced by the individual teacher (Calderhead, 1989).
Some teachers in this phase do reflect on their lessons after the lesson is being taught and they give learners some activities to be done in order to compensate for the shortcomings discovered during their teaching. Teachers should make sure that they reflect or ask themselves questions after giving learners teaching and learning activities.
The results of activities should challenge teachers to think new ways of teaching. Self- reflection guides teachers to understand their progress; and they also write down their reflection in order to have a record of their own learning during the process of self-
reflection. Valencia (2009) also mentioned that it is important to record the process of self-reflection, as it helps teachers to trace if they are moving towards the right direction of their practice.