Course name:Critical Thinking and Reflective Practices

Level: BED, ADE

Course Code: 8611 Semester: Autumn 2022

Assignment no. 2

Name: Kainat Umar

Course code : 0000146469

B.ed Second Semester

Q.1 How action research is different from applied research? When will
action research be more practical?
In international development cooperation, there is an increasing focus on adaptive

management, intentional and resourced learning, and the use of learning to improve

activity implementation and impact. Programs are being called on to incorporate

operations or action research into their Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

plans. Recognizing that there is a continuum of what can be considered "research"--

from self-discovery with individual action to randomized control trials--this post is

focused on action or applied research which we identify as having the following

characteristics:

• Practical and collectively undertaken

• Locally defined and carried out

• Quick turn-around, low cost

• Designed to address an immediate and specific challenge.

How, practically, can this be done? Two examples from USAID supported and RTI

implemented education activities in Uganda are used to illustrate a key finding from

our experience: including those who are expected to “act” upon findings to define the

issues and carry out the research takes us further towards adapting for better

implantation and outcomes. The first is an action research training for the Ministry of

Education and Sports (MoES) carried out by the USAID/Uganda Literacy

Achievement and Retention Activity (LARA), the second is action research on

different modes of teacher training carried out by the USAID/Uganda School Health

and Reading Program (SHRP).

Think about the last research endeavor you were involved with. Who articulated

the research questions? Who carried out the research? Who was expected to act

on findings? Did they? Did anything change as a result?

As a way to increase engagement of MoES and district officials to support Early

Grade Reading, LARA introduced the concept of action research. In September,

2018, the team brought together 72 Ministry and district officials to discuss action

research as a way of

• expanding collective learning

• co-creating new knowledge and

• building leadership skills.

Officials gained a deeper understanding of how they could use this type of research to

improve implementation and sustainability of the MoES’ Early Grade Reading

program, shift the “status quo” and demystify research. Building on previous

appreciative inquiry work, LARA staff designed the action research to expand

collective learning, co-create new knowledge and build leadership skills. Participants

planned individual and group action research initiatives with the overall goal of

improving educational learning outcomes and reflected on how they could use action

research to improve children’s reading performance. In addition, participants learned

how action research could be used as a tool for quick, interval learning and

understanding what is working within the context of the Ministry and their districts.

Facilitators coached participants to develop action research proposals that emphasized

teamwork, collaboration and critical thinking following the iterative pattern of

reflecting, planning, acting, observing.

Participants recognized that action research could be undertaken with available

resources and as part of their oversight role. Ministry participants noted that the action

research skills could help them contribute to the current debates within the MoES

around improving the quality of education. At the end of the training, participants

working in district groups and working as individuals, identified action research

topics, developed draft proposals, and shared their proposals with their colleagues and

supervisors for input. Action research plans were carried out by district staff using

their own funds.

Recommendation: Action research can be undertaken with available resources

and as part of oversight role

Action research is simple, workable, and hands-on and up to the point. It helps

teachers to improve teaching skills and competences” Robert Muwhezi-Centre

Coordinating Tutor, Bishop Brown Coordinating Centre, Kayunga.

“Action research is participatory realistic and dependable in fostering effective and

efficient teaching & learning in schools”. Alice Doya- District Education Officer,

Kayunga.

The School Health and Reading Program (SHRP) had been training teachers in

the program’s Early Grade Reading (EGR) methods since early 2013. At the

program’s peak in 2016, SHRP trained over 8,000 teachers over a 2-week period. As

of 2018, all in-service teacher training (initial and refresher) had been large-scale,

residential trainings at the teacher training colleges. These central trainings are

expensive and, given the observed level of proficiency in teaching EGR in

classrooms, perhaps not as effective as they could be. In May, 2018, SHRP piloted

smaller scale teacher refresher training as a viable, cheaper (and more sustainable)

alternative.

The research was conducted by program staff, as they were monitoring the teacher
training sites (both residential and non-residential). The research was designed to be

undertaken by staff supporting the training venues. The outcome of the research was to

determine if the smaller, Coordinating Centre (CC) /non-residential training was more

effective, or at least as effective, as the larger trainings in terms of teacher attendance,

content coverage and learning, answering the following questions:

• Are teachers present? Are we training the right teachers?

• Is the training lasting as long and covering the same amount of content?

• Are teachers learning (at least) the same amount as they are in the larger

trainings?

Research was conducted at five coordinating centres (the local, non-residential sites)

and 3 residential training venues. Views of participants, facilitators, SHRP and MOES

officials was also sought on the pros and cons of local, non-residential compared to

residential training vis a vis content coverage, participant engagement and other

issues related to the training. Importantly, the impetus for this research came from the

teacher training technical team, the technical team worked with program M&E staff to

develop data collection instruments and protocols, and all data were collected by

program staff while overseeing teacher training at no additional costs.

Major findings and recommendations to action: Findings from this study showed

that CC-level, non-residential trainings were an equally and, potentially, more

effective structure for training delivery, and that the key component to ensuring high

quality trainings lies in the content delivery and individual trainers. In general, CC

level training is better for ensuring that teachers attend and the “right” teachers are

trained. Class sizes are smaller and teachers may be learning more (they do not appear

to be learning any less). Fears about CC level training (that teachers would not attend,

content would not get covered, teachers would not learn as much) were not supported

by the data (See Graphic below depicting teacher’s attendance).

Q.2 Using Gibbs model, write a reflection report of an interaction
between a student who failed in exam and a parent.
Gibbs' Reflective Cycle was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988 to give structure to

learning from experiences. It offers a framework for examining experiences, and

given its cyclic nature lends itself particularly well to repeated experiences, allowing

you to learn and plan from things that either went well or didn’t go well. It covers 6

stages:

• Description of the experience

• Feelings and thoughts about the experience

• Evaluation of the experience, both good and bad

• Analysis to make sense of the situation

• Conclusion about what you learned and what you could have done differently

• Action plan for how you would deal with similar situations in the future, or

general changes you might find appropriate.

Below is further information on:

• The model – each stage is given a fuller description, guiding questions to ask

yourself and an example of how this might look in a reflection

• Different depths of reflection – an example of reflecting more briefly using this

model

This is just one model of reflection. Test it out and see how it works for you. If you

find that only a few of the questions are helpful for you, focus on those. However, by

thinking about each stage you are more likely to engage critically with your learning

experience.

The model

A circular diagram showing the 6 stages of Gibbs' Reflective cycle

Gibbs' reflective cycle

This model is a good way to work through an experience. This can be either a standalone experience
or a situation you go through frequently, for example meetings with a

team you have to collaborate with. Gibbs originally advocated its use in repeated

situations, but the stages and principles apply equally well for single experiences too.

If done with a stand-alone experience, the action plan may become more general and

look at how you can apply your conclusions in the future.

For each of the stages of the model a number of helpful questions are outlined below.

You don’t have to answer all of them but they can guide you about what sort of things

make sense to include in that stage. You might have other prompts that work better for

you.

Description

Here you have a chance to describe the situation in detail. The main points to include

here concern what happened. Your feelings and conclusions will come later.

Helpful questions:

What happened?

When and where did it happen?

Who was present?

What did you and the other people do?

What was the outcome of the situation?

Why were you there?

What did you want to happen?

Q.3 Take English syllabus of grade four and five. Critically analyze the
continuity of concepts, complexity of concepts and newness of concepts
in both syllabi.
Ralph Tyler and Curriculum Design

Ralph Tyler was a 20th-century American educator who played a large role in guiding

how curriculum would be developed. He identified the importance of three key

principles in this process: continuity, sequence, and integration. If you know the TV

show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, this may help you remember the first letters of

the terms. Now let's look at how you would apply Tyler's principles to your U.S.

history curriculum.

Continuity

Teaching curriculum by focusing only on following a textbook is a bit like having

students walk down a narrow hallway. For example, let's say lesson one of your class

covers events from 1865-1870. Your next lesson covers events from 1870-1875. Using

this approach, your students never revisit the events of lesson 1 again. They simply

move ahead from event to event as though they're walking down that narrow hallway.

They don't get a good look back at the material until it's time to study for a test.

Continuity involves revisiting material more than once. This reinforces students'

learning by allowing them to practice skills they learned earlier and to consider old

information in a new way, reinforcing it.

This approach is more like a spiral staircase where a student can look around them as

they make passes around the center. They can see what has come before and how it

relates to what's in front of them now. This idea of curriculum that revisits learning

over time is also referred to as spiral curriculum, per American psychologist Jerome

Bruner.

Sequence

The historical events in your textbook don't go in a spiral, so how are you supposed to

order the information in your curriculum? The answer lies in the principles

of sequence, or how material is organized when presenting it to students. The goal of a

good sequence? The information you present today should build on information that

you presented yesterday.

Chronological order is one valid way of organizing the information. The problem with

only focusing on chronological order is that you may miss out on other ways of
organizing the material. Here's an alternative approach that uses different ways of

sequencing to improve continuity. You decide to organize your curriculum by time

period (chronologically) and by complexity. For example, you plan to first cover the

key events of Reconstruction. Then, you cover the time period again from the

perspective of how the lives of everyday people were affected by these events. When

you discuss Civil Rights in the 1960s, you circle back again to revisit how the

Reconstruction era period related to civil rights of black Americans into the late 20th

century, an even more complex topic.

There are also other options for organizing your curriculum. You could also focus first

on giving an overview, prior to diving into specifics. You broadly describe the key

eras within the timeframe of 1865 to the present. Then you could go back to dig into

each era in more depth.

Q.4 Identify five activities from your daily life which demand critical
thinking.
Critical Thinking

While making your academic assignments or thesis, you are required to do some

research and analyze various things, or for making a career decision or any other

decision you are required to think of all pros and cons of that decision. Well, the most

important thing that helps us to effectively take these decisions is what we call critical

thinking. Critical thinking is very important in both personal and professional life. The

process of critical thinking involves the analysis of the various facts and figures in a

particular situation before straightaway acting on that situation. Critical thinking

demands keen observation, creativity, problem-solving skills, which helps the

individual to thoroughly evaluate the gathered information and then use this available

information as a guide to making accurate decisions. From doing academic works or

regular activities to solving various large scale problems, critical thinking is required

in everyday life. In this article, we will learn about some real-life examples where
critical thinking plays an important role.

Critical Thinking Examples in Real Life

1. Critical Thinking in Problem Solving

Suppose your manager asks you to find an effective solution to a problem that is

affecting the business. What would be your first step? Like most people, you may also

start looking for potential solutions to deal with that situation. Well, one requires the

use of critical thinking here. Before looking for the solution one needs to take a step

back and try to understand the cause of the problem first. One should ask for the

opinions of the other people that how does this particular problem impact them and the

overall business. If you arrive at a solution, you should not only just rely on one

solution, instead, you should always have various backup plans in case the first

solution does not work as expected. Most people feel that they are great at problemsolving, but if
one is not following all these above discussed steps before making a

final judgement, he/she is not a critical thinker. Critical thinking allows people to find

the best possible solution to any problem. Critical thinking is an important factor of

problem-solving skills, one needs to look at any situation from multiple perspectives

because in some cases, your decisions not only impact you but also the people in your

surrounding.

2. Critical Thinking in Analysing Risks

Risk assessment is another important factor, which requires the use of critical thinking.

Risk assessment is required in various sectors, from children analysing the impact of

eating junk food on their health to large businesses in analysing the impact of certain

policies on the growth of the company. Let us understand the implication of critical

thinking in analysing the risks with some examples.

▪ While constructing a building, the engineers need to evaluate all the potential

risks or hazards that could occur on the construction site to make sure that the

workers can do their work safely. If the engineers or the project managers do not
use critical thinking for analysing the potential risks, the chance of injuries or

deaths of the workers is high, which may negatively impact the workforce and the

reputation of the project managers.

Before implementing certain rules or regulations, the government has to understand

the various aspects such as the impact on people and the economy of the country due

to that decisions. Decisions that may seem easier on paper may be a lot more difficult

to implement in the real world and may lead to bad consequences if critical thinking is

not used.

In the financial sector, the authorities have to assess the influence of the current or the

newly implemented policies on the clients. This requires various skills of critical

thinking such as creativity to imagine the various scenarios that may arise, analysis of

different laws and policies, and evaluating the responses of the existing clients to

formulate better policies. If the banks or the insurance companies do not use critical

thinking, this may result in huge losses.

3. Critical Thinking in Data Analysis

Whether analysing the performance of the children in the schools or analysing the

business growth of a multi-national company, the skill of data analysis is very crucial.

In today’s era, almost every sector demands experts that can accurately evaluate the

available data or information and draw out effective conclusions from it. With the rise

in technology, the various tasks of the data analysis such as finding profit and loss,

creating balance sheets, and issuing invoices are done with the help of various

software, but it does not mean that human skill is not required. Various kinds of

software can just convert a large amount of data into some simpler and readable

format, but it is the critical thinking of the humans that is required to effectively

interpret the data and apply the obtained insight for the benefits. The data analysis can

even help us to estimate the future trends and potential risks of taking any decisions.
4. Critical Thinking in Hiring Employees

The ability to objectively view any situation without getting influenced by your

personal beliefs or thoughts is one of the important characteristics of critical thinking.

In business, the hiring managers require critical thinking to evaluate a large number of

resume’s to choose the suitable candidates for the required position. Critical thinking

here enables the hiring managers not to hire a candidate on the basis of various factors

like gender, age, religion or country, these factors may influence the hiring managers

unconsciously. The hiring manager may tend to choose the candidate on his/her

subjective beliefs if he/she does not use critical thinking. Hence, critical thinking can

help HR’s to hire the best employees that may eventually lead to the growth of the

company.

5. Promoting the Teamwork

In a team, every individual is unique and has his/her different ideas to tackle the

proposed problem. It is the responsibility of the team leader to understand the

perspective of each member and encourage them to work collectively to solve the

common problem. You may find the opinion of the other members of your team as

ineffective, but instead of straightway denying their opinions one should logically

analyse their suggestions and try to put your point of view regarding the problem in an

effective and calm manner. If the team leader does not use critical thinking, instead,

he/she boost his/her opinions on others, the team is sure to collapse.

6. Critical Thinking in Self-Evaluation

Critical thinking plays a major role in self-evaluation. The knowledge of critical

thinking skills allows you to accurately analyse your performance by controlling

various subjective biases. People should always evaluate their reactions towards any

situation and the way they think, this may help them to get a deep insight into their

thought processes, hence improving their thinking abilities to take accurate decisions.
Self-evaluation is very important in professional life too. Suppose your manager has

set a new target for the company. Every employee is thus required to analyse his/her

contribution to the company and try to accomplish the set target. If you know your

contribution to the company, it will help you to analyse your performance, and you can

try to improve your performance in the areas where you lag.

Q.5 Describe principles of building communities of knowledge and

practice.
Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice as a concept is relatively new in the NHS, but as a learning

approach is more recognized in the corporate world. You might recognize the term

‘Learning Network’ which is used more frequently for the same type of approach.

“Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for

something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”

There are three key Characteristics of CoPs:

1. The Domain of Interest – where there is shared competence between peers, in

relation to a specific practice. This is not about strategy or other people’s work,

it is about the granularity of the CoP member’s work. Members are passionate

about the issue, they come together because they care about it.

2. The Community – with members who help each other in service to their domain

of interest, though sharing knowledge and experience. The key here is repeated

interaction and supportive learning relationships. There is depth to these

interactions that includes reflective skills.

3. The Practice – practice in this context means creating meaning (why we do this

work together), creating coherence (how we do our work together), and for

learning (what works and why – and how do new members learn about our

work). Practice is the application of knowledge, and in this process this practice

is shared, i.e. all members are developing their shared approach

Critically therefore CoP member instigate and join a CoP because:

1. They care about the domain

2. They have shared competence and practice

3. They want to learn together how to develop their practice (at a detailed

competence level).

Communities or Practice are knowledge seeking, both from the tacit knowledge within

the members , and as all learning networks, by seeking out knowledge about their

shared domain and practice. (looking for best practice, published evidence).

Principles of Communities of Practice

The basic principles for communities of practice are:

1. Participation – everyone in the community has a voice, can be heard and can

contribute to the practice. Difference explored.

2. Commitment to practice – to uncovering what the work it, why we do it, how its

done, and to reciprocity with others wanting to learn.

3. Understanding boundaries and scale – what works here and does it change as the

scale changes for instance if the boundary to the community changes.

4. Reflection using evidence-based conversations as a core practice in itself.

5. Creativity as a source of energy for practice – using imagination, permission to

explore, finding new ways of exploring work.

So Communities of Practice are networks of members committed to learning how to

do the best they can in their domain of interest creating relationships for learning and

development, and clarifying what information needs to be generated and shared across

the community.

The CoP Process

Communities of Practice like all networks need nurturing. There is usually someone

who takes the lead in setting one up – because they care about the issue enough. They
invite colleagues to learn together. There are two types of convening that take place:

1. The lead member in the CoP who takes the role of a network leader – being a

good host, bringing members together, making sure the conversations are adding

value to everyone, helping members work well together. Here the network

leader facilitates the CoP process

2. A facilitator. Where there are a number of CoPs taking place, these might

happen in the same space, in which case a facilitator can be helpful in

supporting the process of the learning conversation – bringing in an element of

reflection and review, and helping the CoP sustain the principles of shared

learning and the focus on practice.

Once established CoPs are often self-organising.

The learning conversations take an inquiry approach – working together to deepen the

members understanding of practice, seeking out the best evidence to help them

improve their practice (in relation to their domain of interest).

They interact regularly. Once the first meeting or two has taken place CoPs usually

‘take off’ with members talking online as well as face to face. CoP members often go

visit each other’s place of work to deepen their understanding of practice; they might

set up a knowledge sharing platform (Trello, Slack) or a space to chat together e.g. a

What’s App group or Linked In Group, so they can talk between meeting up. They

will be sharing resources (e.g. protocols; articles).

The Success of CoPs

One of the key principles in terms of the success of CoPs is: ‘You own what you

create’

As with all networks CoPs will thrive if:

• There is clear shared purpose and identity

• They are creative and innovative

• They meet member needs

• They are supported by adapted leadership

• They have strong relationships and ties

• They generate helpful outputs

Critical to this at the outset of a CoP is to determine how to track impact – what are

members learning, how are they applying that and what difference is it making. In

effect members need to be able to answer the question ‘So What’?

Convening

Convening CoPs isn’t difficult, the biggest issue for the NHS is that this is an

unfamiliar conversational learning process in an NHS dominated by hierarchy and

project management. The convenor needs the following:

1. Knowledge

• The difference between CoPs and other group learning processes (e.g. Action

Learning Sets) or group project delivery processes (Task and Finish groups)

• What a CoP entails, the design and trajectory of CoPs

• How to lead a network approach to learning

2. Skills

• Reflective and Reflexive Practice

• Facilitating groups to hold onto the key principles of a CoP for instance how to

support CoP groups as they form to ensure everyone participates. These are

basic organisational development and group facilitation skills, but the work here

is knowing which of this broader set of skills apply to CoPs.

• Securing impact – how to gather data on and demonstrate CoP impact

The best way to learn about convening CoPs is to:

1. Secure a good understanding of the process (read all about it, talk to people who

have done it)

2. Start the work of convening a CoP and review your practice as a convenor