Reflectivity and Cultivating Student Learning: Critical Elements for Enhancing a Global Community of Learners and Educators

About the Book

Many educator preparation programs have a teacher reflection component and/or model; however, the current available literature provides little information regarding reflection’s impact on teacher performance and student learning. Reflectivity and Cultivating Student Learning includes theory, research, and practice appropriate for teacher educators, teacher candidates, classroom teachers, school administrators, and educational researchers. This text will be useful for teacher education programs, graduate programs in education, and professional development for educators.

The goal of this book is to substantiate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that have been used to establish teacher reflectivity as a foundation of teacher education and to advance the acquisition, applications, and appreciation of teacher reflectivity as a critical aspect of professional growth and development. Pultorak and his contributors enrich the literature and provide greater clarity regarding reflectivity’s impact on student learning in our global society.

Table of Contents:

Foreword by Daniel P. Liston
Introduction by Edward G. Pultorak

Research Element I: Reflectivity and Cultivating Student Learning in Theory and Research
Chapter 1: Investigating Advanced Professional Learning of Early Career and Experienced Teachers through Program Portfolios
Rebecca K. Fox, C. Stephen White, and Jie Tian
Chapter 2: Scaling the Pyramid of Self-Reflection: A Model for Teachers to Contest Demographic Destiny
Angela Webster
Chapter 3: Does Reflection Lead to Action and Transformation? The Effects of Two
Facilitated Opportunities for Educator Reflection
Twyla Miranda

Research Element II: Reflectivity and Cultivating Student Learning in Educator Preparation Programs
Chapter 4: Reflective Practice and Student Teaching Portfolios
Sherrie Chan Pardieck
Chapter 5: Reflective Practices in Microteaching: Observation, Feedback, and Video Analysis
Shaoan Zhang and Emily Lin
Chapter 6: Applying Teacher Reflection Strategies to Promote Greater Differentiation of Instruction: A Practical Research Model and Procedural Guide
Walter S. Polka and Monica Jo VanHusen

Research Element III: Reflectivity and Cultivating Student Learning in Teacher Candidates
Chapter 7: Summative as Formative: Reflective Practices from Pre-Service to In-Service through Teaching Performance Assessments
Tseh-Sien K. Vaughn and Stephanie Demaree
Chapter 8: Stimulating Critical Reflection in Novice Teachers: Applying Research and Cultivating Practical Tips
Edward Pultorak
Chapter 9: Cultivating Reflectivity and Cultural Competence in Inservice Candidates
Carolyn Talbert-Johnson, Treavor Bogard, and Tamela J. Dixon

Research Element IV: Reflectivity in Schools and Classrooms and International Perspectives
Chapter 10: Inquiry as a Vehicle to Foster Teacher Reflection on the Common Core State Standards
Nancy Fichtman Dana, Rachel Wolkenhauer, and Jamey Bolton Burns
Chapter 11: Perspectives from Australia: Theory to Practice Using Core Reflection
Maxine Cooper and Joan Stewart
Chapter 12: An International Field Experience for Pre-Service Teachers: A Model of a Reflective Process to Understand Cultural Diversity
Jayne M. Leh, John A. Guiseppe, and David S. Bender

Afterword by Edward G. Pultorak
Appendix A: “University Instructors Reflective Practice Survey”
Appendix B: Graduate Course Assignment “Keeping a Philosophy Journal”
Appendix C: Observation Checklist

About the Author :
Edward G. Pultorak, Ph.D. is professor and coordinator in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Southern Illinois University. His research areas are teacher reflectivity and teacher education.

Review :
This book provides compelling and significant insights on a topic that is of utmost importance for all professionals, including researchers involved in the preparation and education of our future generation of teachers. This is an exciting collection of studies on reflection, a central topic in teaching and teacher education. Reflectivity and Cultivating Student Learning is extremely useful for both research and practice and can strongly promote the further development of the teaching profession. Teacher reflection is at the heart of highly effective educators who implement timely and appropriate student assessments and support and sustain students' learning and emotional development. Pultorak has collaborated with a talented group of researchers to provide a tremendously useful text for teachers, teacher educators, and professional development leaders. They analyze multiple issues that affect educators worldwide and provide direction for implementing reflection work that is meaningful and that has considerable potential for enhancing teachers' development. Across a spectrum from the individual teacher's reflective practice, to the preparation of reflective teacher practitioners, to the value of reflective inquiry on core standards, this volume advances our shared understanding of the importance and promise of reflectivity for all educators. Self-reflection is the major part of teacher education that is often obscured by emphases on the structure and content in teacher education programs. Yet self-analysis and self-examination of one's teaching and its effect on students are perhaps the most vital catalyst for continually improving teaching throughout one's career. Pultorak and his chapter authors not only synthesize the research on reflection of prospective and experienced teachers but put the research in the broader context of a teacher's development. Teacher educators will find the content to summarize cogent research on reflection and many ideas about how it can help transform the career-long development of teachers. This book successfully bridges the gap between theory and practice with essays from practitioners, researchers, and policy makers. The diversity of thought, practical applications, and personal narratives make it a must-have for professional educators, current and future, who want to expand their knowledge of the impact that reflectivity can have upon teaching and learning.