The re-framing of practice: writing anecdotes as a tool for critical reflection

The re-framing of practice: writing anecdotes as a tool for critical reflection

A person has observed a stained glass window from the road many times and marvelled at its beauty. One day an opportunity arises whereby that person can enter the building to view the window from the inside. The initial perceptions are now intensified, expanded and deepened as the detail is viewed, appreciated and understood. How has the ‘outside’ perception changed now that the inside has been seen?

This research is about how beginning and experienced teachers can use anecdotes as a tool to step inside their own understandings of themselves as learners and teachers and gain greater appreciation of themselves as professional educators. The challenge is to develop tools and strategies which promote a dialogical process whereby the professional educator can engage in critical reflection in a private and public professional conversation in an ongoing safe and supportive context. The focus of this research has been to investigate how a specific tool, anecdote, can be used by beginning and experienced teachers to engage in a critically reflective dialogue about their tacit knowledge and understandings of learning and teaching, their role as teachers and how their practice is or could be affected by those understandings.

The writing and re-writing of an anecdote provides an opportunity and means to assist teachers to comprehend what has happened; to appreciate and accept that their view is always partial (in both senses of the word), and that through dialogue with their peers they can perceive, understand and capture both the complexity and ‘accuracy’ of the incident.

The key findings reported here relate to the changes which occurred during the re-writing process and how this is reflected in an increased depth of understanding of the events, reactions and in particular how this ‘re-membering’ might influence current and future practice.

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