Critical incidents as a reflective tool for professional development: an experience with in-service teachers

ABSTRACT

Reflection has long been used as a professional development tool in teacher education. However, researchers have criticised that reflection is a loosely defined term and that there is little agreement on how reflection should be conducted. To achieve a more systematic application, a critical incident framework is proposed in this study and used as a reflective tool in a workshop with in-service teachers in Hong Kong. This small-scale study is based on the stories of critical incidents, journal entries and follow-up interviews provided by a sample of Hong Kong teachers. The results show that after being given the opportunity to reflect on their practices with a small community of peers, the participants showed more engaging participation in professional development and became more mindful of their ability to learn from personal experience. Moreover, after practising reflection, the teachers engaged in self-cure and used the knowledge of their previous experiences to effect changes in their classroom practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher reflection
• critical incidents
• in-service teachers
• teacher professional development
• teacher experience

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank all of the teachers recruited by the local Catholic Curriculum Development Centre who participated in the workshop and the anonymous reviewers who provided helpful suggestions for improving this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. COTAP is an advisory committee that was established to make recommendations to the government on policies and plans for the professional development of teachers and principals.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wai Ming Yu

Wai Ming Yu is an experienced teacher educator, currently working an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, at the Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China SAR. She is passionate in research focusing on narrative inquiry, curriculum reform, higher education, and teachers’ professional development.