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. 

Building a discourse community

Building a Discourse Community

A definition of what a discourse community theoretically and practically involves has been posed by numerous scholars.  The aim of this paper is to analyze Swales’ (1990) basic criteria as regards the six requirements a discourse community should fulfill. These will be supported by theoretical evidence found in supplementary articles.

Swales (1990) affirmed that having common goals and interests is the first requirement in a discourse community.  Similarly, Ovens (2002) stated that the situated learning discourse community uses reflection when teachers plan and set activities and objectives. This reflection is not only individual, but implicitly claimed and shared within the social community of the school. Therefore, all the participants attempt to achieve a certain set of goals.

The second established criterion involves the participatory mechanisms that allow teachers to share information and obtain feedback (Swales, 1990).  Several scholars (Blanton, Simmons and Warner, 2001) have agreed that “journals or virtual systems of communication can be used to mediate teacher learning so that they recall, share and respond to one another’s experiences” (p.3).  This relates reflection and action in a unique and integrated process, which is suggested to enhance professionalism.

Interaction in the discourse community is another significant criterion since its participants need to communicate and cooperate continually.  The focus is not on the individual per se, but in the relationship he/she can establish with the rest of the community.  This may be assured by the use of a cohort, which involves teachers supporting each other in the process of learning and reflecting (Fullan, 2001).

Community specific genres are Swales’ fourth requirement.  Holquist and Emerson (1991) noted that “a social language is a discourse peculiar to a specific professional or ethnic group at a given time” (as cited in Wertsch, 1991, p. 57).  This language is a determined genre acquired by the community, and may include views on culture, roles, learning, justice and educators. It may take oral or written forms.

The fifth item considered is the highly specialized terminology, carried out by the use of abbreviations and acronyms. In addition, there are words that acquire a particular meaning when used in the discourse community. Such is the case of “open door”, which in this context refers to the possibilities of success given to the participants. (Kelly- Kleese, 2004) 

A high level of expertise is the final requisite highlighted by Swales (1990). A discourse community deals with knowledge continually, since all the participants make their contribution in terms of experiences, practices and theories. As Soltis (1981) pointed out, knowledge and learning are the results of interactions among people, who change and adapt their views when working together.   

In conclusion, Swales’ (1990) depiction of a discourse community has been supported and agreed by several authors. Common goals, participation, interaction, a specific genre, specialized terminology and a high level of expertise seem to be the intertwined elements that enhance teachers’ development as professionals. 

References

Blanton, W.E., Simmons, E., & Warner, M. (2001). The fifth dimension: Application of cultural-historical activity theory, inquiry-based learning, computers, and telecommunications to change prospective teachers' preconceptions. Journal of Educational Computing Research. 24. Retrieved September 2011, from http://faculty.soe.syr.edu/takoszal/IDE800-Adv-ID-and ET/IDE850_sp06/additional_readings/blanton_simon-CHAT.pdf

Fullan, M. G. (2001). Teacher educator as advocate. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators . New Orleans.

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Ovens, A. (2002). Discourse communities and the social construction of reflection in teacher education. Retrieved from September 2011, from http://www.ecu.edu.au/ conferences/herdsa/main/papers/ref/pdf/Ovens.pdf

Soltis, J. F. (1981). Education and the concept of knowledge.  Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education.

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Wertsch, J.V. (1991). Voices of the mind: A sociocultural approach to mediated action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Welcome to our discourse community!

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The main purpose of this blog is to share my works with you and reflect on different eduactional issues we are all surely interested in. I hope to receive your feedback, since there is no better way of learning than analyzing and sharing!

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Silvana