TUTORIAL PAPER

ID of Student: G00362102
Article/Reading Brookfield Chapter One

1. CONCISE SUMMARY OF READING [1 x A4 page]

Note:
Before beginning I would like to clarify that I am working from the second edition of Stephen Brookfield’s book ‘Becoming
a Critically Reflective Teacher.’ While many aspects of the original 1995 first edition are still relevant and have been reused
and rewritten in the second edition, there are more up to date insights into the contemporary teaching styles and strategies in
the second edition that were not included in the first edition. Although the first edition is very beneficial, I feel that the
second edition is much more suitable and relevant to myself. With the teaching profession, and education itself going
through continual renewal and development, I believe I would benefit much more from learning about the most advanced
and up to date approaches to education and reflection. Brookfield himself reflects on this at the beginning of the second
edition when he states that when the first version was written in 1995, that this was before the explosion of the internet and
before social media changed the way everyone communicated. This is something that is also now included in chapter 11 of
the second edition, where Brookfield explores and discusses how to incorporate social media into critical reflection, another
area of interest for myself.

Intro
The first chapter of Brookfield’s book does, in my opinion, what every good book should do through setting the scene for
what is to come later. Brookfield begins with a description of what the critically reflective teaching process is. After some
discussion he defines critical reflection quite simply as the sustained and intentional process of identifying and checking the
accuracy and validity of our teaching assumptions (Brookfield, 2017).

Brookfield then clarifies the purpose of reflective practise as that of helping us take more informed actions, and he
distinguishes between the three different kinds of assumptions that he identified through his own reflective practise:

1. Paradigmatic assumptions- these are the assumptions we make in order to understand the world as we perceive
it. These assumptions are the hardest and most uncomfortable to come to terms with and according to Brookfield
we do not even recognise them as an assumption, even after they have been pointed out to us. It would make sense
then that it would be very difficult to admit to ourselves that something we believed or assumed to be true or
correct was actually not and it would be discomforting to try to change them.

Prescriptive assumptions- these are assumptions about what we think should be happening in particular situations. They are
linked to paradigmatic assumptions in that we assume something to be one way and so we form our own idea of how things
should be based on these assumptions. For example, if your paradigmatic assumption as a wood technology teacher was that
students learned best from visual instruction, you would form the prescriptive assumption that doing physical demonstrations
would be the best method of teaching or instructing students.

Casual assumptions- these assumptions as the name implies are perhaps lighter or lesser than the others. These are
assumptions that we can uncover quite easily and are not as difficult as Paradigmatic or prescriptive assumption to change.

© GMIT Letterfrack 2021-2022

 The key points that Brookfield makes in chapter one is:

 Teachers have many forms of assumptions and if they are unexamined, we lead to believing that others read into
our actions exactly what we intend, not realising that how they perceive what we are doing can and often is very
different from what we intend.

 This leads us into justifying our actions as we are fully convinced that we are right and valid.

 No matter how much teachers try to be at one with students or create a friendly or ‘equal status or power’ the fact
is that there will always be a strong hierarchy of power. Brookfield states that teachers cannot simply ‘wish away
students’ perceptions of their superior status.’

 Teachers who take the role of facilitator and try to create a student-centred atmosphere cannot simply disappear.
Students are always weary of their presence and if they are not giving any input this can often make the students
uncomfortable and can cause them to avoid participating fully. Teachers cannot be a ‘fly on the wall.’

 Critically reflective teachers are aware that trying to meet all students needs all the time is unrealistic and in fact
dangerous as teachers tend to form a very narrow view of what students needs are. While in theory it is
compassionate and progressive to include all students personally, it is unattainable and physiologically unsound.

 Students are always attentive to what the teacher is doing whether we realise it or not and this means that
everything we do will affect their view of us.

In conclusion, the first chapter of Stephen Brookfield’s book ‘Becoming a critically reflective teacher’ is very insightful and
informative. Brookfield defines what being a critical reflective teacher is and what the purpose of reflection is. He
distinguishes the three main kinds of assumptions teachers make and discusses many areas in his own life where critical
reflection uncovered these assumptions. He creates a system or a mindset of continuous self-assessment and checking of
opinions, in order to challenge and better equip ourselves as educators to be as self-aware and honest as possible.

2. CRITICAL REFLECTION [2 x A4 pages]

The first thing that I found quite interesting about Brookfield’s writing is the fact that it is written in the first person. The
personal and informal tone used in this book contrasts with many other books and scholarly articles on education and
pedagogy, which are generally written in third person and are quite formal. I feel that by taking this approach to writing,
Brookfield conveys a great understanding of communicating with an audience. He involves and centres the person as the
focus of reflective practise. In doing this, I think the reader is more likely to connect and perhaps relate to the points being
presented. Although I realise that this way of writing is not always possible or appropriate, I do believe that it is very this
effective in some cases and I found it very helpful in this instance.

Overall, I found the first chapter of the book to be very insightful and informative. Brookfield distinguishes between the
different kinds of assumption, and these are categorised into three clear groups: Paradigmatic assumptions, Prescriptive
assumptions, and Casual assumptions. Although these make sense to me and I can understand them from the reading of the
book, they are points that I never really considered. This indicates that my own assumptions of understanding my thoughts
and opinions were quite unchallenged and this for me clarified his point that without adequate reflection, we are unaware of
our assumptions and biases. Reflecting further on some of the points Brookfield makes I can identify similar weaknesses in
my own practice. Although it would be easier and less uncomfortable to avoid accepting or even acknowledging these
weaknesses, I believe that they are in fact the biggest strengths if used correctly. While knowing the areas in which you are
strong or excelling is great, it cannot further your ability to improve, in the same manner that knowing your weaknesses can
(provided they are approached correctly).

I think that the information and instruction given by Brookfield is quite relevant and in keeping with all aspects of teaching
and reflecting on that teaching, in that there are not any sections that are not useful or appropriate. I think the first chapter is
structured in a way that is easy to navigate with main headings followed by relevant statements, instructions, and
information. This means that there is a continuation and a flow to the ideas and points that are presented, and this allows the
reading to flow in a similar manner.

Having now completed my SP4 placement, I am in a good position to reflect on and consider my own practice using
Brookfield’s approach. Challenging assumptions is something that I had not actually considered before, and I was surprised

© GMIT Letterfrack 2021-2022

 at how I make and have made many assumptions while teaching. One assumption that I noticed myself making quite often is
that because I understand something, students will also understand it. This has led to some of my explanations or
demonstrations being ineffective or students failing to grasp the concept because I was assuming they knew the basics of a
topic and building on that. Instead of progressing and moving forward however, this led, in fact, to confusion and further
need of explanation. Although I was able to realise this while it was happening and go back to the basics to ensure everyone
was following, it was not ideal. This kind of reflection is called reflection in action, and it involves reflecting in the moment
and adjusting what you are doing according to what you perceive (Schön, 1991). However, this is not always possible, and it
leaves the option of reflection on action. Where I cannot reflect on what is happening in the moment, I am starting to see the
benefits of reflecting on the situation after it has happened. The purpose of reflective practice is that of helping us take more
informed actions after we have reasoned and thought about what has happened (Brookfield, 2017).

While I have always reflected briefly on things in my head, I am beginning to see now how effective it is to take note of
things I have reflected on and try to act on these to better equip myself in my role of being an educator. Reading Brookfield’s
outlook on reflection has opened my eyes to the way critical reflection can be utilised as a major asset to my own
improvement and professional development. I believe, as an educator, that it is our duty to put ourselves in the best possible
position to fulfil our role in fostering student learning (Allison, 2014), and through constantly and continuingly scrutinizing
our own actions, we can grow and augment our ability to be the best teacher possible (Brookfield, 2017). This idea is also
central to the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers, the document in which The Teaching Council sets out the
standards to which teachers should adhere at all stages of their career, and which also describes a vision of what good
teaching should look like (The Teaching Council, 2016). It is therefore essential that reflection is a constant part of the
teaching profession and I believe Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning is also very useful in this regard.

Although I can now appreciate the importance and effectualness of reflection, I can also identify the areas where I have not
completed the circle of reflection to end in action that will improve or rectify areas of weakness that I have identified. The
example that stands out to me most is the safety within the wood technology room. In every class I taught I put emphasis on
the correct and safe use of tools within the wood technology room. However, it was not always very effective as there were a
couple of instances where students cut themselves using the chisel. While I always reflecting on it after lessons and
considering how best to resolve this, I never took the final step in the process to rectify this. Students were doing everything
correctly and using the tools safely, however, they did get a little complacent and when they were working quickly or
rushing their work, they became a little careless.
Reflecting on it now, I must admit that it was probably my own fault because I pressured students to finish projects or
different stages of projects at times and this meant that they were rushing their work to finish on time and this led to
carelessness in terms of safety. Although I have not acted on all my findings during placement, I am looking forward to
continuing this reflective approach to teaching and incorporating as many different approaches to reflection as possible.

According to Bolton, reflective practice is the process of learning and developing through examining our own practice and
studying texts from a wider sphere (Bolton, 2001). The value of having a reflective approach to educational practice allows
me, as an educator, to consciously develop and adapt my role as a facilitator, within the classroom environment and, having
reflected on many aspects of my school placement thus far, I am looking forward to growing in confidence and ability with
the aid of critical reflection in and after each lesson in the future.

3. LIST OF REFERENCES

References
Allisom, S. (2014). Perfect teacher-led CPD. Carmarthen: Independent Thinking Press.

CDET. (2017). Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers. London: Council for Dance, Drama and Musical
Theatre.

Department of Education and Skills (2015). Irelands Education and Training Sector Overview of service
delivery and reform.

Teach Dont Preach. (2018, February). Religious and racial discrimination in the education system - Teach
Dont Preach.. https://www.teachdontpreach.ie/2018/02/cerd-report/

© GMIT Letterfrack 2021-2022

The Teaching Council. (2016). Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers. The Teaching Council.
Retrieved from The Teaching Council: https://www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/publications/fitness-
to-teach/code-of-professional-conduct-for-teachers1.pdf

© GMIT Letterfrack 2021-2022