Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early efforts

This article presents an analysis of a dean’s early efforts to encourage reflective practice in the teacher education practicum, in consultation with a critical friend. The focus is on the importance of listening and the identification of assumptions underlying practices. The authors met in 2010 in...

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Main Authors: Rodrigo Fuentealba Jara, Tom Russell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1040104/full
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author Rodrigo Fuentealba Jara
Tom Russell
author_facet Rodrigo Fuentealba Jara
Tom Russell
author_sort Rodrigo Fuentealba Jara
collection DOAJ
description This article presents an analysis of a dean’s early efforts to encourage reflective practice in the teacher education practicum, in consultation with a critical friend. The focus is on the importance of listening and the identification of assumptions underlying practices. The authors met in 2010 in a week-long seminar focused on the practicum in teacher education programs at a university in Santiago, Chile. A long conversation over dinner one evening revealed a significant interest in each other’s perspectives and experiences. Since that time, more than 20 opportunities to visit each other in Chile and in Canada have established an on-going connection for sharing insights as they emerge from experiences in each other’s country. The authors now consider themselves to be life-long critical friends. In April 2021, Rodrigo was appointed as Dean of Education at Universidad Autónoma in Santiago, with an early focus on encouraging reflective practice by all who are involved in the teacher education practicum—student teachers, mentor teachers and faculty supervisors. Tom retired in 2019 after 42 years in teacher education practice and research at Queen’s University, and he continues to explore the complex issue of how people learn to teach.
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spelling doaj.art-576be9cc8abd413bb94b85b51f28a96a2023-03-23T06:49:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2023-03-01810.3389/feduc.2023.10401041040104Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early effortsRodrigo Fuentealba Jara0Tom Russell1Facultad de Educación, Universidad Autónoma, Santiago, ChileFaculty of Education, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, CanadaThis article presents an analysis of a dean’s early efforts to encourage reflective practice in the teacher education practicum, in consultation with a critical friend. The focus is on the importance of listening and the identification of assumptions underlying practices. The authors met in 2010 in a week-long seminar focused on the practicum in teacher education programs at a university in Santiago, Chile. A long conversation over dinner one evening revealed a significant interest in each other’s perspectives and experiences. Since that time, more than 20 opportunities to visit each other in Chile and in Canada have established an on-going connection for sharing insights as they emerge from experiences in each other’s country. The authors now consider themselves to be life-long critical friends. In April 2021, Rodrigo was appointed as Dean of Education at Universidad Autónoma in Santiago, with an early focus on encouraging reflective practice by all who are involved in the teacher education practicum—student teachers, mentor teachers and faculty supervisors. Tom retired in 2019 after 42 years in teacher education practice and research at Queen’s University, and he continues to explore the complex issue of how people learn to teach.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1040104/fullreflective practicepracticumcritical friendassumptionslistening
spellingShingle Rodrigo Fuentealba Jara
Tom Russell
Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early efforts
Frontiers in Education
reflective practice
practicum
critical friend
assumptions
listening
title Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early efforts
title_full Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early efforts
title_fullStr Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early efforts
title_full_unstemmed Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early efforts
title_short Encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum: A dean’s early efforts
title_sort encouraging reflective practice in the teacher education practicum a dean s early efforts
topic reflective practice
practicum
critical friend
assumptions
listening
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1040104/full
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