HomeAbstract of 7th-ntteconfToday’s Doodle celebrates Ahmed of Marsabit, a legendary elephant with giant tusks who roamed the African wilderness. Ahmed was declared a national treasure and living monument during his life by presidential decree.

Today’s Doodle celebrates Ahmed of Marsabit, a legendary elephant with giant tusks who roamed the African wilderness. Ahmed was declared a national treasure and living monument during his life by presidential decree.

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on New Trends in Teaching and Education

Year: 2023

DOI:

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Reflective Practice of a First-Year English Teacher

Hiroyuki Okazaki

 

 

ABSTRACT:

This article investigates the development of personal practical theories in the context of a Japanese junior high school English teacher’s professional journey, employing a journal-style self-reflective approach. The study also assessed whether the teacher’s reflective levels evolved to higher levels, potentially enhancing her teaching practices and fostering professional growth. A first-year teacher who commenced her English teaching career at a Japanese junior high school in 2022, consented to participate in this three-month reflective practice study. The researcher encouraged and guided the novice teacher to reflect on her teaching experiences from the students’ perspective and to prioritise the exploration of the positive teaching experiences, aligning with the principles of strengths-based reflective practice articulated by Ghaye (2010). Data derived from the teacher’s 15 days of journal reflection entries were segmented into forty-one distinct ideas. The study aimed to uncover the teacher’s personal practical theories embedded within these segments, with the potential to support her future teaching. The depth of reflection in each segment was evaluated using the framework of Lee (2005). This reflective approach empowered the novice teacher to formulate ten practical theories instrumental in enhancing her future teaching. Among these, the most articulated practical theories centered on strategies aimed at fostering and enriching student learning experiences. Notably, 5 of these 10 theories were consistently put into practice, leading to improvements in her teaching practices in the subsequent year. Impressively, 82.9% of her reflections demonstrated a heightened level of reflection.

keywords: first-year Japanese junior high school English teacher, personal practical theories; reflection level, strengths-based reflection, student perspective