REFLECTIVE THINKING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY OF AN EFL TEACHER EDUCATOR

Reflective teacher education for developing critical and inquiry-based competencies among pre- service teachers through enacting noticing, questioning, associating, reasoning and deducing conclusions have served immensely for the beginning of their professional development. Reflective thinking and learning has become a dominant paradigm in teacher education for the last three decades in the Turkish context. Foreign language teacher education within the reflective paradigm has also been accelerated since then. This study is designed as an autoethnographic one where I analyse my own professional developmental journey as an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher educator centralizing the concept of reflection along the timeline. Autoethnographies are in a way self-studies in which the processes are analyzed from the insider’s perspective. In the paper, the term reflection is elaborated for not only the meaning within my English Language Teaching process to follow a career pathway but also as a concept whereby I have developed the use of reflective thinking in educating EFL teachers for the last two decades. The way I developed the concept in my learning and teaching, and its evolution in the training procedures are examined via my practical uses in the coursework with EFL pre-service teachers. As a result, this study reveals a transformation in one’s reflective learning to become a reflective teacher and thus a teacher educator. Such studies, like this one, might present not only valuable insights at the personal level but also a contribution to others for conceptualizing the construction and complex processes of professional development in teaching and teacher identities.

PDF

___

Adams, T. E., Jones, S. H., & Ellis, C. (2015). Autoethnography. Oxford University Press.
Akcan, S. (2010). Watching teacher candidates watch themselves: Reflections on a practicum program in Turkey. Profile Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 12(1), 33-45. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1051541.pdf
Anderson, J. (2020). Key concepts in ELT: Reflection. ELT Journal,74(4). 480-483. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccaa039
Anderson, L., & Glass-Coffin, B. (2016). I learn by going. In S. Holman Jones, T. E. Adams & C. Ellis (Eds.), Handbook of Autoethnography (pp. 57-83). Routledge.
Arıkan, A. (2004). Questions to ask in post-observation conferences for a reflective practice. Proceedings of the Third International ELT Conference, Theory and Practice of TESOL: European Language Portfolio: English as an International Language, Edirne, Turkey.
Arıkan, A. (2015). An autoethnography of teaching English to young learners: From theory to practice. The Anthropologist, 20(1-2), 77-85. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED557135.pdf
Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. Jossey-Bass.
Atay, D. (2008). Teacher research for professional development. ELT journal, 62(2), 139-147. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccl053
Beach, D. (2005). From fieldwork to theory and representation in ethnography, In G. Troman, B. Jeffrey & G. Walford (Eds.), Methodological issues and practices in ethnography (Studies in educational ethnography, Vol. 11) (pp. 1-17). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529- 210X(05)11001-8
Beach, D. (2010). Identifying and comparing Scandinavian ethnography: Comparisons and influences. Ethnography and Education, 5(1), 49-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457821003768455
Beach, D. (2011). On structure and agency in ethnographies of education: Examples from this special issue and more generally. European Educational Research Journal, 10(4), 572-582. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2011.10.4.572
Beach, D., & Carlson, M. (2004). Adult education goes to market: An ethnographic case study of the restructuring and reculturing of adult education. European Educational Research Journal, 3(3), 673- 691. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2004.3.3.9
Beach, D., & Dovemark, M. (2007). Education and the commodity problem: Ethnographic investigations of creativity and performativity in Swedish schools. Tufnell Press.
Beach, D., & Dovemark, M. (2009). Making right choices: An ethnographic investigation of creativity and performativity in four Swedish schools. Oxford Review of Education, 35(6), 689-704. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980903122267
Beach, D., & Eriksson, A. (2010). The relationship between ethical positions and methodological approaches: A Scandinavian perspective. Ethnography and Education, 5(2), 129-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2010.493393
Beach, D., Gobbo, F., Jeffrey, B., Smyth, G., & Troman, G. (2004). Ethnography of education in a European educational researcher perspective. European Educational Research Journal, 3(3), 534-538. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2004.3.3.1
Beach, D., Gordon, T., & Lahelma, E. (2003). Democratic education: Ethnographic challenges. Tufnell Press.
Beach, D., & Lunneblad, J. (2011). Ethnographic investigations of issues of race in Scandinavian education research. Ethnography and education, 6(1), 29-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2011.553079
Bener, E., & Yıldız, S. (2019). The use of blog activities to promote reflection in an ELT practicum. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 44(8), 38-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2019v44n8.3
Beyer, L. E. (2002). The politics of standards and the education of teachers. Teaching Education, 13(3), 305-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047621022000023280
Boud, D., Keogh, R., & Walker, D. (1985). Promoting reflection in learning: A model. In D. Boud, R. Keogh & D. Walker (Eds.), Reflection: Turning experience into learning (pp.18-40). Kogan Page.
Boylorn, R. M., & Orbe, M. P. (2020). Critical autoethnography: Intersecting cultural identities in everyday life (2nd ed.). Left Coast Press.
Brock, M., Yu, B. & Wong, M. (1992). Journaling together: Collaborative diary-keeping and teacher development. In J. Flowerdew, M. Brock & S. Hsia (Eds.), Perspectives on second language teacher education (pp. 295-307). City Polytechnic of Hong Kong.
Bulut, T., & Can, C. (2005). The new teacher profile in Turkey. Çağ University Journal of Social Sciences, 2(2), 49- 58. from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/696265
Burhan-Horasanlı, E., & Ortaçtepe, D. (2016). Reflective practice-oriented online discussions: A study on EFL teachers’ reflection-on, in and for-action. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59, 372-382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.07.002
Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Calderhead, J. (1989). Reflective teaching and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 5(1), 43-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/0742-051X(89)90018-8
Chang, H. (2008). Autoethnography as method. Left Coast Press.
Cochran-Smith, M. (2001). The outcomes question in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(5), 527-546. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00012-9
Cole, R., Raffier, L. M., Rogan, P., & Schleicher, L. (1998). Interactive group journals: Learning as a dialogue among learners. Tesol Quarterly, 32(3), 556-568. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588126
Corder, S. P. (1975). Error analysis, interlanguage and second language acquisition. Language Teaching, 8(4), 201-218. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444800002822
Davies, C. A. (1999). Reflexive ethnography: A guide to researching selves and others. Routledge.
Delandshere, G., & Arens, S. A. (2001). Representations of teaching and standards-based reform: Are we closing the debate about teacher education?. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(5), 547-566. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00013-0
Demir, Y. (2015). All or nothing: English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers’ and teacher trainers’ reflections on a pre-service English teacher education program in Turkey. The Anthropologist, 19(1), 157-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2015.11891650
Dewey, J. (1910/1997). How we think. Dover Publications.
Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective in teacher development. Falmer Press.
Dollar, Y. K., & Mede, E. (2019). The impact of pre-service teachers' reflection on their instructional practices. In Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Education: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 223-233). IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-7305-0.ch011
Dos, B., & Demir, S. (2013). The analysis of the blogs created in a blended course through the reflective thinking perspective. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 13(2), 1335-1344. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1017275.pdf
Evişen, N. (2021). Turkish EFL pre-service and in-service teachers’ views on professional development and related activities. Focus on ELT Journal, 3(1), 43-64. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2021.00048
Farrell, T. S. (1998). ESL/EFL teacher development through journal writing. RELC Journal, 29(1), 92-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368829802900106
Genç, Z. S. (2010). Teacher autonomy through reflective journals among teachers of English as a foreign language in Turkey. Teacher Development, 14(3), 397-409. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2010.504028
Goodman, J. (1984). Reflection and teacher education: A case study and theoretical analysis. Interchange, 15(3), 9-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01807939
Grossman, G. M., & Sands, M. K. (2008). Restructuring reforms in Turkish teacher education: Modernisation and development in a dynamic environment. International Journal of Educational Development, 28(1), 70-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2007.07.005
Gungor, M. N. (2016). Turkish pre-service teachers' reflective practices in teaching English to young learners. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 41(2), 137-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2016v41n2.9
Hayler, M. (2011). Autoethnography, self-narrative and teacher education. Sense Publishers.
Ho, B., & Richards, J. C. (1993). Reflective thinking through teacher journal writing: Myths and realities. Perspectives, 5(2), 25-40. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/aeipt.67855
Holman Jones, S., Adams, T. E. & Ellis, C. (2016). Handbook of autoethnography. Routledge.
Humphreys, M. (2005). Getting personal: Reflexivity and autoethnographic vignettes. Qualitative Inquiry, 11(6), 840–860. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800404269425
İlin, G. (2020). Reflection or description: A document analysis on ELT student teachers’ reflective journals. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(2), 1019-1031. https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.759359
Karagöz, S., & Rüzgar, M. E. (2020). The observations of student teachers in regard to professional qualifications of advisor teachers during teaching practicum. International Journal of Educational Research Review, 5(2), 141-150. https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.691323
Karakaş, A., & Yükselir, C. (2021). Engaging pre-service EFL teachers in reflection through video-mediated team micro-teaching and guided discussions. Reflective Practice, 22(2), 159-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2020.1860927
Kavak, Y., Aydın, A., & Altun A. S. (2007). Öğretmen yetiştirme ve Eğitim Fakülteleri (1982-2007) [Teacher education and Education Faculties (1982-2007)]. YÖK Yayınları. https://www.yok.gov.tr/Documents/Kurumsal/egitim_ogretim_dairesi/Ogretmen-Yetistirme/2.pdf
Kırmızı, Ö., & Sarıçoban, A. (2021). A Study on the reflection levels of pre-service EFL teachers. Eurasian Journal of Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies, 1(1). https://www.eajltls.com/index.php/home/article/view/9/2
Kırmızı, Ö., & Tosuncuoğlu, I. (2019). Becoming reflective practitioners: A case study of four beginning pre- service EFL teachers in Turkey. English Language Teaching, 12(4), 127-138. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v12n4p127
Kızıldağ, A., & Eriksson, A. (2012). Empowering teacher students for diversity in schools: Mentorship model as a mediator in Sweden. In G. Tchibozo (Ed.), Cultural and Social Diversity and the Transition from Education to Work (pp. 145-162). Springer.
Killen, L. R. (1989). Reflecting on reflective teaching: A response. Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 49-52. https://doi.org/10.1177/002248718904000209
Koçoğlu, Z. (2008). Turkish EFL student teachers' perceptions on the role of electronic portfolios in their professional development. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 7(3), 71-79. http://tojet.net/articles/v7i3/738.pdf
Korucu Kis, S., & Kartal, G. (2019). No pain no gain: reflections on the promises and challenges of embedding reflective practices in large classes. Reflective Practice, 20(5), 637-653. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2019.1651715
Lippincott, A. C. (1999). Reflective thinking among and between beginning professionals (Publication No.9961501). [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. University of Chicago Press.
Loughran, J. J. (1996). Developing reflective practice: Learning about teaching and learning through modeling. Falmer Press.
Luttenberg, J., Oolbekkink-Marchand, H., & Meijer, P. (2018). Exploring scientific, artistic, moral and technical reflection in teacher action research. Educational Action Research, 26(1), 75-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2017.1295875
Madin, C. V., & Swanto, S. (2019). An inquiry approach to facilitate reflection in action research for ESL pre- service teachers. TEFLIN Journal, 30(1), 1-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v30i1/1-21
McKernan, J. (2013). Curriculum action research: A handbook of methods and resources for the reflective practitioner. Routledge.
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. Jossey-Bass.
Newman, S. (2018). Philosophy and teacher education: A reinterpretation of Donald A. Schon's epistemology of reflective practice. Routledge.
Ögeyik, M. C. (2020). Expanding normative ways of reflective thinking and enthusiastic behaviors towards teaching profession. The Literacy Trek, 6(2), 28-40. https://doi.org/10.47216/literacytrek.775199
Özkan, N., Demir, G., & Balçıkanlı, C. (2014). ELT student teachers’ evaluations of their program in terms of reflective teaching. Ufuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 3(5), 77-89. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1358752
Öztürk, G., & Aydın, B. (2019). English Language Teacher education in Turkey: Why do we fail and what policy reforms are needed?. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International, 9(1), 181-213. https://doi.org/10.18039/ajesi.520842
Öztürk, H. A. (2020). My quest for negotiating meaning. Reflections on my dilemmas about practices of English language teaching in public school context in Turkey: An autoethnography. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 7, 36-48. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v7i1.352
Park, L. E. (2014). Shifting from reflective practices to reflexivity: An autoethnography of an L2 teacher educator. English Teaching, 69(1), 173-198. http://journal.kate.or.kr/wp- content/uploads/2015/01/kate_69_1_8.pdf
Pembroke, N. (2005). Kierkegaard as a paradoxical therapist. Pacifica, 18(1), 53-66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X0501800104
Pham, T. N., Lin, M., Trinh, V. Q., & Bui, L. T. P. (2020). Electronic peer feedback, EFL academic writing and reflective thinking: Evidence from a Confucian context. Sage Open, 10(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020914554
Reed-Danahay, D. (1997). Auto/ethnography: Rewriting the self and the social. Berg. Richards, J. C. (1990). The teacher as self-observer. In J.C. Richards (Ed.), The language teaching matrix (pp. 118-143). Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C., & Lockhart, C. (1991). Teacher development through peer observation. TESOL Journal, 1(2), 7- 10. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jack-Richards- 5/publication/234669130_Teacher_Development_through_Peer_Observation/links/5580c02b08ae47 061e5f350b/Teacher-Development-through-Peer-Observation.pdf
Rigg, C., & Trehan, K. (2008). Critical reflection in the workplace: Is it just too difficult?. Journal of European Industrial Training, 32(5), 374-384. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590810877094
Rogers, R. R. (2001). Reflection in higher education: A concept analysis. Innovative Higher Education, 26(1),37- 57. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010986404527
Sayers P. (2005) Reflective writing & Reflective Thinking. In G. Rijlaarsdam, H. van den Bergh, M. Couzijn (Eds.), Effective learning and teaching of writing. Studies in writing, vol 14 (pp. 519-531). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2739-0_35
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. Jossey-Bass.
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 10(3), 209- 231. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.1972.10.1-4.209
Sellars, M. (2017). Reflective practice for teachers (2nd ed.). Sage.
Sert, O. (2010). A proposal for a CA-integrated English Language Teacher Education program in Turkey. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly Special Issue on English Language Teacher Education and Development, 12,(3), 62-97. http://asian-efl-journal.com/PDF/September-2010.pdf#page=62
Short, N. P., Turner, L., & Grant, A. (2013). Contemporary British autoethnography. Sense Publishers.
Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.57.1.j463w79r56455411
Smyth, J. (1989). Developing and sustaining critical reflection in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 2-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/002248718904000202
Sparks-Langer, G. M., Simmons, J. M., Pasch, M., Colton, A., & Starko, A. (1990). Reflective pedagogical thinking: How can we promote it and measure it?. Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/002248719004100504
Simmons, M., McDermott, M., Eaton, S. E., Brown, B., & Jacobsen, M. (2021). Reflection as pedagogy in action research. Educational Action Research, 29(2), 245-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2021.1886960
Şimşek, H. & Yıldırım, A. (2001). The reform of pre-service teacher education in Turkey. In R. G. Sultana (Ed.), Challenge and change in the Euro-Mediterranean region: Case studies in educational innovation (pp. 411-430). Peter Lang Inc.
Tabachnick, B., & Zeichner, K. (1991). Issues and practices in inquiry oriented teacher education. The Falmer Press.
Tarjana, M. S. S. (2002). Bringing reflections into the TEFL classrooms. TEFLIN Journal, 13(2), 152-162. http://dx.doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v13i2/152-162
Tezgiden-Cakcak, S. Y. (2015). Preparing teacher candidates as passive technicians, reflective practitioners or transformative intellectuals [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Middle East Technical University. https://open.metu.edu.tr/handle/11511/24751
Tillema, H., & van der Westhuizen, G. J. (2006). Knowledge construction in collaborative enquiry among teachers. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 12(1), 51-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/13450600500365403
Trimble J.E. (2013). Advancing understanding of cultural competence, cultural sensitivity, and the effect s of cultural incompetence. In M. J. Prinstein (Ed.), The Portable Mentor (pp.57-80). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3994-3_4
Troman, G., Jeffrey, B., & Beach, D. (2006). Researching education policy: Ethnographic experiences. Tufnell Press.
Trumbull, D. (2004). Factors important for the scholarship of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 1211-1230). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Tuncer, H., & Kızıldağ, A. (2014). Pre-Service EFL Teachers' Attitude towards the Use of Literature in Practice Teaching. International Journal of Language Academy, 2(3), 170-185. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594724.pdf
Turhan, B., & Kirkgoz, Y. (2018). Towards becoming critical reflection writers: A case of English language teacher candidates. Reflective Practice, 19(6), 749-762. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2018.1539651
Valli, L. (1992). Reflective teacher education: Cases and critiques. Suny Press.
Valli, L., & Rennert-Ariev, P. (2002). New standards and assessments? Curriculum transformation in teacher education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 34(2), 201-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270110093625
Wade, R. C., & Yarbrough, D. B. (1996). Portfolios: A tool for reflective thinking in teacher education?. Teaching and Teacher Education, 12(1), 63-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/0742-051X(95)00022-C
Wajnryb, R. (1999). Classroom observation tasks: A resource book for language teachers and trainers. Cambridge University Press.
Wallace, M. J. (1991). Training foreign language teachers: A reflective approach. Cambridge University Press.
Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Yalçın Arslan, F. (2019). The role of lesson study in teacher learning and professional development of EFL teachers in Turkey: A case study. TESOL Journal, 10(2),1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tesj.409 Yazan, B. (2019). An autoethnography of a language teacher educator: Wrestling with ideologies and identity positions. Teacher Education Quarterly, 46(3), 34-56. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26746049
Yeşilbursa, A. (2011). Descriptive versus dialogic reflection and positive versus negative stance in the reflective writing of Turkish prospective English language teachers. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 5(2), 169-182. https://app.trdizin.gov.tr/publication/paper/detail/TVRNd05ERTBOQT0
Zeichner, K., & Liston, D. (1987). Teaching student teachers to reflect. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 23- 49. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.57.1.j18v7162275t1w3w
Zeichner, K., & Liston, D. (1996). Reflective teaching: An introduction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Zeyrek, D. (2001). Perspectives on professional growth: A study on the diaries of undergraduate ELT students. English Teaching Forum, 39(2), 8-13. https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/01-39-2-c.pdf