Being a reflective teacher.docVIP

Being a reflective teacherIntroductionAccording to Pollard and Triggs（1997），reflective teaching is a process through which the capacity to make such professional judgments can be developed and maintained.Then what is a reflective teacher？Reflective teacher is someone who reflects systematically on her practice in a constant attempt to improve it（Goodwyn，1997：45）.As teachers，we regard teaching as a life-long learning；therefore，we develop our teaching with a sense of self-monitoring and self-reflection.For this essay，reflection mainly focuses on group management in English class.1.What is Group work？Group work means students work in groups on learning tasks，which is a way of cooperating in classroom learning.It is often recommended for developing social and language skills and as a means，by which pupils can support，challenges and extend their learning together.In group work，teachers act as facilitators and consultants through questioning or providing information，supporting them to go forward to new knowledge，skills or understanding（PollardTriggs，1997）.2.Reflection on group managementThe aim of reflecting on group management，for teachers，is to decide the most appropriate type and size of grouping for activities in each class.Before class，a teacher plans the activities they want to use for achieving tasks by themselves or with other teachers.Then they arrange them in a sequence.For group work，teachers are often at a loss about how to assign pupils to working groups because every class is a mixed group.Student’s ability level，sex，age，interest，personality and attainment all should be taken into serious consideration.Bennett and Dunne’s study of grouping shows that mixed-ability groups of about four pupils are effective and high attainders do not suffer（as cited in Moon and Mayes，1994）.There is also evidence that working in mixed ability groups is beneficial for lower attaining pupils（PollardTriggs，1997）.However，each grouping way has its own advantages and disadvantages.Ho