(Page 1 of 6) - Developing Reflective Thought in Preservice Educators: A Collaborative Investigation of Experiential Learning, Role-plays, and Digital Video authored by Kelley, Bridget., Robinson, LeAnne. and Parker, Jennifer.

Developing Reflective Thought in Pre-Service Educators: A Collaborative Investigation

of Experiential Learning, Role-plays, and Digital Video

Statement of Problem

In a course focused on collaboration between professionals and diverse families,

an instructor at a teacher education college had been utilizing role-plays to increase
student communication and collaboration skills. Following the role-play activities,
students participated in informal, guided reflection activities designed to increase the
students’ awareness of their own collaboration strengths and weaknesses. After teaching
the course numerous times, concern arose over the lack of depth present in the responses.
In an effort to strengthen students’ communication skills, methods were sought to further
develop the quality and quantity of reflective thought by the students. An investigation
of reflective practices used in social work revealed existing interview protocols that
appeared to support practices used in special education.

Theoretical Framework

Researchers, educators, administrators and families continue to state that effective

collaboration between families and teachers is correlated with many desired outcomes in
education including parent involvement and student achievement. According to Berla
and Henderson (1994) “The evidence is now beyond dispute. When schools work
together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but
throughout life” (p. 1). These strong correlations are especially true in the fields of social
work and special education where families and professionals must work closely when
designing effective programming and plans for children and youth. Special education
research is replete with articles and studies that suggest the importance of effective
collaboration between families of children with disabilities and special education teachers
(Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001; Bauer & Shae, 1991). According to Turnbull and Turnbull
(2001), a collaborative relationship between special education teachers and family
members serves as a strong foundation on which students’ educational plans are
developed. Some findings suggest a strong correlation between effective family/teacher
relationships and variables such as successful IEP meetings, stronger family
relationships, extended learning opportunities (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001) and family
involvement (Epstein, 1995). Messages from the field consistently report that
family/teacher collaborative partnerships are necessary and important. Effective methods
with which teachers develop those collaboration skills are not clear.

Engaging families and professionals in collaborative interactions is a challenging

endeavor (Kroth & Edge, 1997). One of these barriers is a lack of teacher preparation.
Shartrand (1997)states that teacher education programs and teacher candidates could
impact the quality of family/teacher relationships. According to Sileo and Prater (1998),
“future and current teachers must be taught to initiate appropriate strategies and
interactions that engender confidence in parents and other family members, and empower
families to become influential partners in their children’s education” (p. 514). While
many researchers, policy-makers, instructors, teachers, and families agree that teachers
need this knowledge, research indicates that teachers and teacher candidates are not
receiving the necessary training (Epstein, 2001; Hiatt-Michael, 2001; Shartrand et. al.,
1997).