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Newton`s third law of attraction holds very true in the teaching profession. As teachers every action that they do has certain very important consequences. These repercussions either turn out to be a boon or a bane. However teachers can train their thought processes in order to produce desired outcome. Reflective thinking ensuers that teachers do not fall prey to experiences of others but grow through their own strategic though processes. According to Paul Satre, a philosopher, only an individual with a thinking mind can fully and freely accept and act on their beliefs, as they are attained through self-reflection. In the past, teachers were viewed as technicians who narrowly constructed the nature of the problems confronting them and merely carried out programs and ideas formulated elsewhere.
If we look at the present educational scenario we see that any staff development and school improvement initiatives ignore the knowledge and expertise of teachers. Rather they rely heavily on water tight models of school reform that attempt to get teachers to comply with some externally generated solutions to school problems. This is cheifly because present teachers were never shown the avenue of reflection by their teachers. Thus there is a growing need felt to encourage notions of viewing the teacher as a reflective practitioner who can directly improve the quality of teaching and learning and in turn produce better reflective thinkers.
According to the National Curricular Framework-2005 the process of preparing teachers in a new and improvised teacher education system should provide opportunities for self-learning, reflection and provide opportunities for understanding self and others. Thus to better equip teachers, reflective thinking must become an integral component in the teaching process of pre-service teachers.
This book is meant for anyone who wants to learn ways of reaching higher levels of reflective thinking. It is rightly said that, a good teacher makes you think even when you don`t want to. (Fisher, 1998, Teaching Thinking). Thus it is highly essential for teachers to be well equipped with the skills of fostering reflective thinking skills within themselves and also within their students. Through this book the authors have not only tried to offer help to prospective teachers, but to classroom teachers and teacher educators as well. The authors have provided a rich description of the different levels of qualitative research.
About the Author
Dr. Sybil Thomas (Ph.D., Education) is an associate professor at the University of Mumbai. Professor Thomas has distinguished herself as an educator, researcher, guide and a mentor for more than a decade. She has co-authored a book, "Education and the Gender Debate". Her research interests include educational psychology, economics of education and educational management. She is an avid reader and a keen researcher which in turn has led her to publishing in reputed journals.
Nahida Coatwala has attained her Masters in Philosophy and Education. Her exposure to deep analytical thinking and the problems faced in effective teaching and training created in her the quest to seek ways to metamorphose the methods of teaching. She believes that the knowledge of reflective practices in teaching is a corner stone for the development of quality teachers and this knowledge needs to be articulated and communicated through out the entire teaching professor. She is presently teaching in Rizvi College of Education and strives to implement such practices to benefit not only the teachers but also student teachers who in turn will mould the future citizens of our country.
The authors uphold a simple philosophy; "to fill what is emply, to empty what is full and to scratch where it itches the most."
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