Reflective Teaching

Question: How can pre-service teachers be trained to be problem-solvers?

Answer/Quote: “Fiene says students are taught to think like ‘reflective practitioners.’ In one pre-student-teaching course, students come in and ponder questions in the same way teachers do. ‘How do I handle a child like this?’ ‘What do I do when I have this type of issue?’ ” p. 8.

Comment: Training in problem solving could begin with the many problems introduced in articles in professional education journals. Another idea to consider: After students read articles related to the topic of the course, the students should both summarize and reflect on them. Too often students stop with the summarizing and do not reflect on the ideas expressed in the articles. RayS.

“Successes in English Teacher Preparation: Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers—What are the Best Practices?” Lorna Collier. Council Chronicle: The National Council of Teachers of English (March 2011), pp. 6-9, 19.