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This study explores English Language Teaching (ELT) teachers' experiences of reflective practice in Türkiye. It looks at the role agency plays in reflection in relation to teacher growth. Thirteen ELT teachers were interviewed through narrative interviews and critical incidents. All teachers were engaged in reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action; however, they differed in the criticality of their reflection and what they reflected on. Their ability to engage in critical reflection, and therefore their growth, was shaped by their agency. Those with a future-oriented agency could focus on their aspirations, detach themselves from present constraints and engage in critical reflection. However, those with present-oriented agency tended to view external factors as disablers and struggled to reflect critically. As critical reflection can lead to teacher development, developing agency to support reflective opportunities throughout pre-service and in-service years seems essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building upon the interrelationship between learning and changing, this study investigates how cyclical engagement in reflexive practice influences the teachers' professional development. We implemented our video-enhanced 'Reflexive Practice Triplication Model' which we developed in our specific context. We conducted the research with 8 secondary school teachers of English at a private K12 school in Ankara, Turkey. Drawing on multiple sources of data, we used a triangulation technique to reveal the qualitative and quantitative impact of reflexive practice. The findings showed that collaborative engagement in reflexive practice contributed substantially to EFL teachers' professional development traceable in the changes in beliefs on reflexivity, attitudes towards collaboration, contextual and pedagogical knowledge. The study provides implications as to how reflexive practice can be used in local contexts where specific needs are to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A teacher's professional life comprises several experiences with a pivotal role in shaping the very essence of teaching. Critical Incidents constitute a significant part of these aforementioned experiences of teachers. Within this study conducted at a high-school in Turkey, 17 experienced teachers' critical incidents which left a mark in their professional lives and their attitudes towards these incidents were revealed through Critical Incident Technique developed by Flanagan in 1954. Besides, teachers' current opinions regarding their attitudes at the time of incidents were questioned. This study aimed to explore the difference between the way how teachers acted towards critical incidents and how they would act if they experienced the incidents today. The study also targeted to demonstrate if teacher attitudes undergo a change as they become experienced. This study is expected to contribute to literature concerning teachers' mental lives and to have implications for teachers and other researchers on the field in terms of reflective teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher feedback has been often appreciated over the years; however, the current paradigms in teacher education have introduced further reflective practices such as peer feedback and self-reflection. For this purpose, this study aims to explore what reflective practices among teacher feedback, peer feedback and self-reflection could help preservice teachers (PSTs) improve their practice skills in classroom. The study lasted 13 weeks and was conducted with 48 PSTs. Comparison of the usefulness of these reflective practices revealed that teacher feedback and self-reflection were considered useful, respectively. On the other hand, peer feedback was criticized for its undetailed, inefficient and subjective nature. Despite the criticism for peer feedback, PSTs highlighted the importance of using three reflective practices. In consideration of PSTs' negative comments on peer feedback, this study, therefore, suggests that the classroom context should be improved by allocating increased time on peer feedback instruction alleviating anxiety and social barriers among PSTs, and raising peer awareness about the value of their reflective returns. To conclude, the study is expected to provide insights to teacher trainers how to model reflective practices in micro teaching in accordance with sociocultural approach to teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective professional development that builds meaningfully on teachers' classroom experiences should provide teachers opportunities to reflect on their own teaching acts. Teachers who are aware of what they are doing as a teacher, act with the awareness of what they professionally need and transform their practices. A teacher portfolio is an unfolding of teachers' understandings about their development as a professional. This study aimed to explore four early childhood teachers' experiences through the teacher portfolio. Case study design was utilized with an inductive approach in order to explore this contemporary topic. Semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, focus group interviews, and teacher portfolios were used as data collection tools. This study provided evidence for the contributions of the teacher portfolio in terms of reflecting on teaching acts, needs assessment and professional development plan, and teacher portfolio as a portrayal of professional growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflective teaching is considered as the optimal approach to teacher education and it is suggested to be taught before the practicum starts. However, there is a lack of research investigating whether large classes constitute an obstacle to the implementation of reflective practices in teacher education programs. Engaging 60 third-year English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers in reflective practices through the procedures of self-monitoring, peer-observation, and journal writing in a campus-based course, this study aimed to find out what benefits and problems student teachers would experience throughout the process. Participants acknowledged that involvement in reflective practices helped them develop self-awareness, criticality and reflective mindsets while also expanding understanding of new content. They also indicated three major challenges in observing self and peers, and writing journals: lack of reflective skills, time pressure, and repetitive process. The researchers conclude that implementing reflective practices is demanding but attainable in large classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This year-long study examined the nature of reflections belonging to four EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pre-service teachers. It was longitudinal in nature, taking place during the phases of teachers' initial observation, teaching practice, and entry into the teaching profession. This study aimed to investigate the nature of student-teachers' individual reflections throughout the phases of school experience, teaching practice, and entry into the workplace. Data collection was facilitated via interviews conducted throughout the study's duration, and the collected data were subsequently analyzed deductively using content analysis. In addition, the onion model of reflection of was employed for interpretation of the data. The findings of this interpretation indicated that although most of the reflections concerned environment, behavior, and competence (outer level of the onion model), some of the reflections nevertheless pertained to mission (inner level of the onion model). Moreover, an examination of participants' individual reflection processes revealed that although reflections initially were outer-level in nature, by the end of the study they had become more inner-level-oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]