Richard McKenna

Book: Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher

Chapter One: What It Means to Be a Critically reflective Teacher
Chapter Two: Becoming Critically Reflective: A Process of Leaning and Change
Author: Stephen D. Brookfield

1. CONCISE SUMMARY OF READING

In these chapters the author explores deep reflective practice and ways of becoming a reflective
teacher and implementing this into the classrooms.
We teach to change the world.
Firstly the author Brookfield talks about how as teachers it is vital for us to be able to critically reflect
as this will help students learn as well as how act towards each other within their environment giving
an understanding of fairness. Teaching innocently means thinking that were always understanding
exactly what it is that were doing and what effect were having (Brookfield, 1995, p. 1), the author
means teaching innocently as the meaning and significance we place on our actions are the ones
students learn from us.
The author explores how reflection can have hunting assumptions whereby Assumptions are taken for
granted, with beliefs about the world we live in and how they seem so obvious to us and not to need
explored in a deeper manor giving a greater understanding. With Paradigmatic assumptions being the
hardest to uncover these being whole world views which people might only be vaguely conscious of.
Secondly prescriptive assumptions are explored these being the assumptions that are what we think
we should be doing, overall in what is best practice. The third assumption is casual assumptions
whereby we fall into habits of justifying what we do by reference to unchecked common sense and
of thinking that the unconfirmed evidence of our own eyes is always accurate.
Its common sense to use learning contracts because they are independent helpful forms of assessment
that give students a sense of control and freedom.
The author then talks about what actually makes reflection critical, with various authors like Smyth
and Zeichmer describing it as a concept that becomes meaningless if people use it to describe any
teaching they happen to like. Brookfield states how reflection is not, by definition, critical. Further
explain how we can teach reflectively without knowing it focusing solely on what goes on in the
classroom and not outside it.
Brookfield (p9) highlights how critical reflection is the illumination of power as such the circle is
used in various forms of activities in the classroom. Explaining how for some students who are
confident, and use to academic culture, they do not fear the circle. It is an experience that is friendly
and genuine which offers a great experience for these students, whereas the students who are shy, and
slightly reserved, some may be self-conscious about their appearance or just not able to speak in
public or level of education this can be a daunting experience. Brookfield highlights the pros and cons
of the circle. But if most in favour of it rather than going back to the old days where the teacher just

talks and students listen.

Another method is Teachers being at one with their students (p10) as well as the teacher being a fly on
the wall (p11) Brookfield breaks these down in this chapter which gives the students more power in
themselves promoting higher order thinking, further explaining how a teacher cannot be a fly on the
wall if that means being an unobtrusive observer. If you say nothing this will be interpreted either as
a whit holding of approval or as a tacit agreement.
Brookfield further explores how discussion can act as a spontaneous combustion (p12) explaining
how discussions and controlled conversations can impact your classroom before talking about the
mandated confessional (p13) whereby teachers promote the use of students journaling and logging
various activities they do and how the experience went for them, highlighting the need for the students
voice to be heard stating I want to hear your opinion not mine (p14). Which highlights the need for
a democratic classroom where the students voice should be prominent in the class and not the
teachers.
Brookfield explores how critical reflection can be used as the recognition of hegemonic assumptions
(p14) by describing the process whereby ideas, structures, and actions come to be seen by the majority
of people as wholly natural, preordained and working for their own good.
The perfect ten syndrome which is what most teachers what to achieve, Brookfield highlights while
those that are negative assume disproportionate significance, indeed the inference is often made that
bad evaluations must, by definition, be written by students with heightened powers of pedagogic
discrimination, conversely god evaluations are thought to be produced by students who are half
asleep (p17) in plan terms Brookfield highlights teachers often set too high expectations for
themselves or mostly NTQ in this field and how this can burn you out. Further detailing how advice
can be gained from reading books, other members of staff can give insightful information and
techniques that will assist with various issues, at some point you will inevitably stumble on the exact
answer to the problem you are experiencing. What stems from the perfect ten syndrome is the
assumption is that all teachers will meet the needs of every one of their students which Brookfield
states how this assumption will leave you feeling incompetent and demoralized (p20).

To Conclude Brookfield gives six reasons why critical reflection is important, firstly as it helps us
understand and take informed actions - whereby informed actions are one that has a good chance of
achieving the desired result. Secondly it helps us develop a rationale for best practice in ourselves
and with our students as a teachers ability to convey what they stand for across to the students and
why he or she believe this is extremely important. Thirdly it helps us avoid self-laceration as when
reflecting it helps teachers learn to stop blaming themselves giving a deeper understanding to the
diverse world they live in and how they cannot blame themselves for every student not doing too well.
Fourthly being reflective grounds the emotions in a teacher high lightening how emotions are vital to
have under control thus keeping the teacher grounded enabling them to react to various situations they
face. Second last the author states how being reflective enlivens our classrooms as teachers know who
students watch their every move and some students mimic teachers and are very quick to shoot down
the faults of a teacher by means of what they say and what they say and what they actually do. Lastly
it increases a democratic society promoting how students are required to act amongst each other and
within society, this stems from how teachers react and encourage students from their questions all

promoting a moral tone and a political culture.

To sum up the latter, if teachers promote critical thinking within themselves and their classrooms this
will highlight the values of justice, fairness and compassion, and critical reflection all promoting a
democratic society.
The author further explains how becoming critically reflective is a process of leaning and change
which can be view through four lens which is called:
Four critically reflective lens
1.
2.
3.
4.

Our autobiographies as learners and teachers

Our students Eyes
Our Colleagues Experiences
Theoretical Literature.

Firstly our autobiographies as learners and teachers indicates how we can look at what we are doing in
a mirrored situation. This allows teachers to become more connected with what their students are
experiencing. Brookfield highlights when once this is complete teachers can test their accuracy
through conversation with the students and colleagues this highlights the fact that when people
recognize aspects of their own experiences in the stories others tell is one reason for the success of
peer support groups for those in crisis or transition. The same dynamic holds true in teacher reflection
groups. Brook field further indicates how teacher may think they are teaching according to a widely
accepted curricular model, but once reflected upon the foundations of best practice have been laid in
our autobiographies as learners. The fact that people recognise aspects of their own individual
experiences in the stories others tell is one reason for the success of peer support groups for those in
crisis or transition.

Secondly our students Eyes, this lens re-positions teachers in the shoes of students allowing them to
be more aware of the actions and assumptions that challenge relationships within the classroom.
Brookfield highlights that when teachers do this lens they are guaranteed to learn something new
every time sometimes this can be reassuring or vice Aversa. One of the main difficulties highlighted
for teachers when trying this approach is when students tend to be reluctant to give honest answers but
once students start seeing the teacher every week day in day out they become more familiar with and
become more honest.
Our colleagues Experiences, is my means of having a colleague sit into your class and observe which
can feed back advice on various habits of teachers practice that would the student in question would
be unaware of. Brookfield further highlights how this mirror situation of reflecting back images on the
actions can often be a surprise, but once the mirror person describes back the same dilemmas, we are
then able to check, reframe, and broaden our own theories of practice.
Theoretical Literature assists the teacher with a greater understanding of various situations by pin
pointing it with different names highlighting various aspects of what was thought where idiosyncratic
events.

2. CRITICAL REFLECTION

From reading this I gained a great amount of valuable information which will assist me in becoming
the reflective teacher I wish to become.
Firstly in this chapter the author gives an insight of why it is important for teachers to be reflective
people, in themselves and in the classroom. The British council are of the same views as Brookfield as
they also see reflective teaching as a key element in teaching. They define it in simpler terms than
Brookfield as looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking
about if it works - a process of self-observation and self-evaluation (Teaching English, 2011)
I found it interesting that Brookfield argues a point that reflective practice is a process whereby you
find out what your assumptions are as you practice, then these assumptions will assist us in our
decisions on how we should be doing, which in turn influences our understandings about what we see
our students doing, and puts a shadow our own beliefs on we will be thought of by others. The points
that he argues are of assumptions which are paradigmatic, prescriptive and causal.
From Brookfields section on the circle method of promoting critical thinking in a class, having done
this process in college for the 1st time, I can relate to the students who found it a daunting experience.
But looking back on it, it was a valuable experience, as it has giving me the confidence to move
forward and not be afraid of the circle as such. Which I have implemented on TP1 when having group
discussions where I would assist in the start-up discussion and then slowly move away once I felt the
students had a control over the discussion this was invaluable as a form of assessment to see if the
students had a good comprehension of the topics being discussed.
I would be of the view in regards to the perfect ten syndrome Brookfield talks about as nave, but as
a soon to be NQT I could see myself trying to achieve the perfect ten but from reading this I have
learned that it is not always possible if at all possible. Tressa Dionne highlights the fact that we wont
be able to amaze everyone all the time, and how teachers can only try their best, that it is healthy for
people to want to do their best and promote a class of excellence but teachers have to realise they are
not perfect (Dionne, 2011). Brookfield also mentioned we teach people who have diverse,
personalities, cultural backgrounds, abilities (Brookfield, 1995, p. 17). Keeping this in mind if
teachers worry too much about achieving the perfect ten we will end up burnt out.

What intrigued me most about this tutorial was the four lens Brookfield describes being the
autobiographical, the students' eyes, our colleagues' experiences, and theoretical literature.

Based on Brookfields view the autobiographical is the foundation of critical reflection which enables
teachers to reflect on previous experiences, assisting them to learn from those said experiences in
order to become aware of the paradigmatic assumptions as said in the latter. Self-reflecting is key and
from this in future teaching I will definitely keep a journal which will assist me with my
autobiographical reflection.

The second lens is the students eyes, and from further research I would have employed some of these
methods which Ben Miller explores those being student evaluations, assessment answers and results,
student journals, and/or student focus groups or interview responses in order to teach more
responsively (Miller, 2010)

Miller also suggests that good teachers will explore within the first two lens, excellent teachers will go
deeper and engage within these which will create a more critically thinking teacher as well as the third
lens our colleagues' experiences which is showing the teacher is not afraid to ask for help, whether
they are struggling or if it is just a form of self-assessment on the teachers behalf this is showing a
great quality in the person,

Lastly the forth lens which nurtures critically reflective teaching is contained in the scholarly
literature on higher education which Miller also suggest that teachers who research or publish
scholarly literature display an advanced vocabulary for teaching.