Reflection as meta‐action: Lesson study and EFL teacher professional development

Abstract

This article explores the nature of reflective practice in a professional development process based on lesson study. The authors examine how a lesson study model initiates reflection as a meta‐action scaffolding reflective practice among teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) at a university in Turkey. Fieldnotes, interviews, and audio diaries were used to collect both introspective and retrospective data. These data sources enabled the researchers to focus on reflective action both as a process and as a product. Using thematic content analysis, the research demonstrates how reflective practice permeates lesson study as teachers reflect on their practice both individually and collaboratively. Moreover, the research also shows how teacher agency can be promoted in reflective practice throughout lesson study. The findings reveal how reflection as meta‐action in lesson study can support transformative teacher agency among EFL teachers.

Reflexive professional development in reflective practice: what lesson study can offer

“…In light of the second research question, we discuss a further aspect of LS as a reflection-as-meta-action (Uştuk and De Costa, 2021). This aspect is the reflexive PD constituted by the constant communication between the agent(s) and the meta-activity.…”

“…Teaching, though, cannot be limited to these separate concepts of reflection (Gutierez, 2016), and it can be improved by integrating the act of reflection as a part of the teaching practice, which was called reflection-as-action (Farrell, 2018). Moreover, some also underscored the value of collaborative reflection in communities of practice (Mann and Walsh, 2017; Uştuk and De Costa, 2021).…”

Eksplorasi Lesson Study pada Mahasiswa Calon Guru Sekolah Dasar di Perguruan Tinggi Islam Negeri Surakarta

“…Pendidikan yang bermutu perlu diupayakan dalam rangka menghasilkan lulusan yang mampu berdaya saing dalam berbagai kondisi (Sulisworo, 2016). Upaya meningkatkan mutu pendidikan dapat dimulai melalui peningkatan praktik pengajaran di dalam kelas (Uştuk & Costa, 2021). Menurut Freeman (2016) peningkatan praktik pengajaran dapat terjadi apabila guru bisa mengubah kegiatan yang sudah umum dan biasa digunakan di kelas menjadi kegiatan yang lebih bervariasi dan dapat meningkatkan aktivitas siswa.…”

“…Namun, sebagian besar upaya yang dilakukan masih menerapkan praktik pengembangan konvensional seperti lokakarya, kursus singkat, serta berbagai acara webinar yang hanya dilakukan satu kali dan tidak berkesinambungan (Mark & Ager, 2017). Dalam pendekatan pengembangan konvensional tersebut, pengembangan kompetensi guru lebih ditekankan pada sesuatu yang dilakukan oleh orang lain dan ditujukan pada guru bukan dilakukan sendiri oleh guru (Johnson, 2009) sehingga jarang memberikan kesempatan bagi guru untuk merefleksikan praktik pengajarannya sendiri (Uştuk & Costa, 2021). Hal ini tidak sesuai dengan pandangan Freeman, (2016) dan (Borg, 2015) terkait keadaan kelas ideal dimana guru harus mampu memodifikasi dan melakukan tindakan terhadap aktivitas di dalam kelas sehingga diperlukan pengalaman langsung dari guru.…”

Students’ reflections in teaching practicum: A case study of EFL pre-service teachers

“…In line with the importance of reflective practice, there has been abundant research related to reflective practice in various contexts such as in English language teaching (Cirocki & Widodo, 2019;Lee, 2008;Valdez et al, 2018), teaching English to speakers of other languages (Eickhoff & De Costa, 2018;Farrell, 2016;Nguyen & Ngo, 2018), and in English as a foreign language (Cirocki & Farrelly, 2016;Fakazli & Kuru Gönen, 2017;Rozimela & Tiarina, 2018;Uştuk & De Costa, 2020). In an EFL context like Indonesia, for example, being professional is one expectation for being teachers in the 21 st century (Norahmi, 2017).…”