Journal entry about critical incidents



Critical Incident Technique (CIT): Common Experiences to Learn

According to Kennedy and Wyrick (1995), critical incidents are personal narratives that focus on a problem depicted through the description of participants, roles, actions, feelings and thoughts.  However, several questions about their further implications in our teaching situation seem to emerge: Is it possible to use these incidents as a source of reflection and analysis?  Can we teachers learn from what other colleagues had faced in their classroom?  May a discourse community be established so as to share experience?

Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez (2003) assert that “en un asesoramiento de Formación y Perfeccionamiento del Profesorado, consideramos de especial interés una preparación para afrontar la problemática que se le suele presentar al profesor en el aula cuando sucede una situación inesperada” (p.  104).  Critical incidents seem to be preparatory instruments because they allow teachers to record, analyze and share experiences in order to resort to them when unexpected situations take place.

 According to Fernández González et al., (2003), critical incidents should be structured as follows:

• Context: general description of the course and the students in terms of age and level.
• Problem: brief account of the incident, retelling it as a sequence of events.
• Possible causes: set of ideas of those factors that could have led to the problem.
• Possible solutions: several alternatives that could solve the problem. 

In this way, colleagues may read all the information above and get a proper insight of the situation.  This will naturally relate to their own experience, providing them with exemplary reactions, feelings, worries and reflections based on the teaching context. As Rahilly and Saroyan (1997) explained,  “(…) CIT shows people’s meaningful experiences up and this, in turn, allows to collect qualitative and quantitative data about classroom teaching and teaching thinking” (p.4).

In conclusion, critical incidents constitute a fruitful tool in the teaching profession because they enhance cooperative work and the analysis of real encountered situations, learning from positive courses of action as well as from mistakes.  What is vital to remember is that knowing the subject matter as well as the teaching techniques does not account for those mayor or minor problems that may occur in the class. Particularly important is the effect this technique has for those recent graduates like me, who need to get experience and advise to successfully approach this challenging profession. 

References

Fernandez González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N., & Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17- 001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved October 2011, from http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=274 17107

Kennedy, R. L. & Wyruck, A. M. (1995). Teaching as reflective practice. Tennesee. The University of Tennessee.

Rahilly, T. J, & Saroyan, A. (1997). Characterizing poor and exemplary teaching in higher education: Implications for faculty development. Montreal, Quebec: McGill University.