How different reflective learning activities introduced into a postgraduate teacher training programme in England promote reflection and increase the capacity to learn

Abstract

Student teachers in England are expected to learn from experience in order to become reflective practitioners and to achieve Qualified Teacher Status. This study is a qualitative project studying whether and how different reflective learning activities introduced into a postgraduate teacher training programme promote reflection and increase the capacity to learn. It takes an interpretative approach, generating qualitative data on the reflection of students and the most effective learning methods. The study took place over a one-year period in one teacher training institution. The data arose from Post Graduate Certificate of Education student teacher responses to different reflective learning activities and subsequent interviews followed by an evaluation of the effectiveness of the overall learning strategy. Of the four activities used to promote reflective learning (discussion groups, action learning sets, journals and interviews), the action learning sets had the most impact on the student teachers’ ability to reflect. The implication for initial teacher training programmes is that providers need to recognise the importance of oral reflection within a communal setting.