Helping preservice teachers to reflect

Abstract

Teacher reflection is a mechanism to evaluate and improve the educational practice. To achieve an efficient reflection, it is convenient to have guidelines that support this activity. In this paper it examines the incidence of studying basic notions of the onto-semiotic approach to develop the ability of future math teachers to reflect on teaching practices. The study was conducted during the second semester of 2018 with seven students, in three phases: first, participants reflected on the classroom practice observed in a video sequence, without intervention; second, training was given on some theoretical notions of the onto-semiotic approach; and third, a new reflective session was conducted on the continuation of a video sequence. Data analysis was focused on identifying and comparing elements referring to indicators of suitability present in both reflections. Results show that participants manage to express clearer ideas, and, mainly make justifications about their value judgments. It has been determined that, with the appropriate use of concepts from a theoretical framework of didactic analysis and guided reflection, there was a change in the nature of the reflection made by future teachers, moving from the description of events to the interpretation and analysis of situations.