Reflective Practices: A Connecting Bridge between Theory and Practices in Teacher Education

Abstract

Reflective practice has become a buzzword in teacher education as a mark of professional competence. The purposes of using reflection in their practices for pre-service teachers are not only for illuminating their pedagogical and professional learning experiences, but also critically reflect to their values, beliefs, attitudes, and evaluate learning experiences. Although the significance of reflective practice has long been acknowledged, a mutual agreement has still not reached on how it should be defined or what processes should be initiated in teacher education programs. It serves as a bridge connecting the gap between theory and practice as it allows pre-service teachers to apply the theoretical knowledge and teaching techniques that they acquire in their coursework in the real classroom setting. As a result, pre-service teachers gain a better understanding of teaching in the real-world context, recognize the students’ needs, and acknowledge the difficulties in teaching that they may face in the future (Smith & Lev-Ari, 2005). This article discusses concept of reflection, reflective practices and how it is implemented in educating pre-service teachers on their early stage of professional learning. Besides this article has also highlighted some perceived difficulties to implement reflective practices, as well as the way how reflective practices are employed in teacher education for overcome the gap between theory and practices.