Evidence based practice and the reflective practice

Evidence ground suffice and the contemplative practiceFrom my point of view, I believe that the 2 main sorts of research turn up that could inform educational practices argon the point establish practice and the meditative practice. I cool it hold back on my mind the words of Ravitch, I am late grateful that my treatment was based on medical examination examination research and not education research. Otherwise, I would not be here to tell my rehearsal (Ravitch, 1998, p.33) and her insistence from her experience that educators have something to submit from physicians as she was as well educators. The evidence based practice was first introduced on medical research as evidence-based medicine. Their main source was the development of a piece of musicicular kind of medical research the disarrange controlled trial (RCT) which was designed as a substance to assess the value of new drugs in order to check the claims of their manufacturers (E891 educational Enquiry, cha mpaign Guide, p.18). However, there is a movement in the late 1990s, in several countries and also in the UK, for both educational practice and educational policy to become more evidence-based-or at least evidence- sure (E891 Educational Enquiry, arena Guide, p.15). From my receive experience of commandment traffical practice has al tracks been informed by evidence. What we inculcate on the class is based on evidence. It is a fact that reliance on a body of scientific cognition has been treated as a defining feature of any profession, and has reckon largely in the attempts by many an(prenominal) occupations to gain this status. Looking back, in the beginning of the twentieth century it was taken to be one of the traits that attach professions off from other occupations (Flexner, 1915). The movement for evidence-based practice does not repeat the ideas of the commentary of a profession, it does involve distinctive requirements. It proposes that practice should be take awayd clusters more directly by research evidence than previously. Furthermore, education as a profession, or a collection of professions, has al commissions been a heterogeneous and contested one. It is well kn induce that, in most countries, schoolteachers have never gained any autonomy and power achieved by other professions such as lawyers and doctors. In addition, the main body of knowledge on which their practice was divinatory to be based was in truth often casing knowledge. Thus, in new-fashioned decades, in the UK and some other societies, a weak grasp of subject knowledge on the part of primary-school teachers, especi entirelyy in the areas of science and mathematics, has been held amenable for what has been identified as poor levels of educational performance (Traianou, 2007, p.11). In job to this, research knowledge has been shaping the educational practice well onward the evidence-based practice began. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, the two famous educational research ers have worked a few decades ago and their ideas have been generated diverse recommendations for educational practice. It is obvious since Piagets gain often has been invoked by advocates of discovery learning and progressive education two approaches that strongly emphasise the autonomy of the learner. Furthermore, his work also highlights the important theatrical role that cognitive structures play in childrens learning, and, more gener tout ensembley, that what learners learn entrust search on where they are starting from (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p.18). At this point, it is also important to quotation that Vygotsky drew on Piagets work, and they both believed that learners should actively piddle their recogniseing of the world. They both denied that learning is a passive response to outdoor(a) stimuli save it has implications well beyond the context of childrens learning. Indeed, it carries an important message or so all forms of education. In addition, H argreaves literally mentions Teaching is not at innovate research-based profession and he continues I have no doubt that if it were, tenet would be more effective and more satisfying (Hargreaves, in Hammersley, 2009, p.3). The medical profession has gained a lot of prestige lately delinquent to the process of its research which mainly is based on evidence based practice. In contrast, the teaching profession did not take such a step. very(prenominal) rarely, teachers would look on other professional fields to examine and learn from their structure (Hargreaves, in Hammersley, 2009, p.4). As a teacher, I certainly understand that even though we heavily rely on what we learn from our own experiences which are private trials which might be right or wrong. In contrast, in the evidence based medicine process they convert the discipline demand into answerable questions, track down with the maximum efficiency the dress hat evidence with which to answer, critically appraise that evide nce for its validity and usefulness, take to the results and rate performance (Hargreaves, in Hammersley, 2009, p.13).Reflective practice can be traced way back be fore the twentieth century, while more of what is involved in the notion, for example the idea of phronesis outlined by Aristotle. However, the statement by Schn that In recent years there has been a growing cognizance that researchers, who are supposed to feed the professional schools with useful knowledge, have less(prenominal) and less to say that practitioners find useful(Schn, 1987, p. 10) does really disturb a lot since the reflective practice was happened a long before and has not scarcely developed. Furthermore, Schn stated that it is modified by reflection-in-action (the ability to think approximately what one is doing while doing it) and reflection-on-action (the capacity to reflect after the event on what has happened and on its implications for ones practice) (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p.41) . Developing these abilities, these forms of reflection that professional readiness and wisdom can be built up in the eat of experience, and these capacities are important be fount real-world problems do not usually present themselves in ways that would match the technical knowledge produced by research. The notion of reflective practice has been under different names in the early 1970s, came to the fore in the 1980s through the works of Schn, Valli and Elliott. This notion places as much emphasis on teachers own evaluation of their practices as on the supplying and management skills into which such evaluation feeds( Moore, in Hammersley, 2009, p.122). One of the recent recommended techniques in the reflective practitioner discourse is the developing of teachers own diary or journal that can systematically reflect. With this method, teachers can improve themselves and develop their own valid teaching method. As usual, the introduction of new ideas was accepted by less experience d teachers kind of than more experienced ones. As Mitchell and weber (1996) stated experience teachers suggest that they are just likely to cause concern, confusion and mis betokend behaviour through their over-personalization of teaching activity (Mitchell and Weber, 1996, p.34).Up to this point, I have described the two main sorts of research evidence that could inform educational practice. Furthermore, I willing mention differences and significant similarities. Hargreaves and others who have concerned how research serves evidence based practice are not simply putting forward a particular view of the blood between research and practice. It is clear that they think educational research needs to change in character, although neither Ravitch nor Hargreaves insists that it must take the form of randomised controlled trials (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p.26). However, from the point of view of advocating evidence-based practice, the practices of professionals are based on knowledge that must be eliminated in favour of procedures determined by sound, scientifically validated research evidence. In contrast, Schns perspective, those traditional practices are commandn as skilful and principled strategies that cannot be go againsted by the substitution of research based knowledge rather, they can scarce be improved by except reflection in and on professional practice (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p.41). In addition, Moore suggests that, the reflective practitioner discourse was not influential in official circles during his times. He insists that there are connections between each get and particular approaches to educational research. In a sense, the competences discourse has an affinity with quantitative method, and the reflective practitioner model with qualitative method (Moore, in Hammersley, 2009, p.127).In my opinion, I believe that there could be another similarity due to the fact that both are considered to be unrepresentative. It cant be presumed that all subjects taking part in RCT trials are representative of the people who will eventually be taking the drug or treatment and the information that a teacher personally gathers from his/her own classroom conditions cannot be presumed to chip in to all conditions. Both of them have the same goals which are to enrich the school principal of knowledgeand to inform educational practice. Also, they both rely on philosophical one thousand positivist one and interpretivist (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p.79). On the other, it cannot be presumed that all subjects taking part in RCT trials are representative of the people who will eventually be taking the drug or treatment and the data that a teacher personally gathers from his/her own classroom conditions cannot be presumed to apply to all conditions. Nevertheless, it seems to me that they share a lot of points in common, such as theirposition with theory, which they dont question as both tend to look a t teaching strategies rather than the sense of teaching and what is taught. To sum up, I would not discord that RCTs provide measurable outcomes, and the reflective discourse emphasises the practitioners experience, this doesnt mean that it ignores the skills and techniques needed just that it tries to look at the wider picture. so if their spectrum of research and practice is limited what part does critical theory of research play as I see it to be connected to reflective practice. The Cyprus educational system unfortunately has been very weak as far as the new teachers are concerned, in particular the ones that teach in secondary and high schools. A lot of them recruit the teaching classrooms without any educational experience apart from the fact that they are graduates of universities. The same fact has happened to me also. Suddenly, I found myself from the hotel industry to teach in the school hotel labs and classrooms. From that day on I had to find a way of how I could bec ome more effective within the classroom and be more efficient with my students. Having studied part one of the study guide for the course I am more confident to explain which methods I use during my teaching courses. However, I remember that I always mention to my colleagues that the teaching plans I have, are never stable. Every time I conclude with the lessons, I keep change them. I used to decide myself (reflective) what went right and what needed a change and I was doing it. Without realising, I was use the reflective method and in a sense I was up myself. However, as a teacher in a technical and vocational school, I spend most of my teaching hours in the lab rather than in the normal classrooms. From what I have studied up to now, I find myself that I used both educational methods of teaching, i.e. evidence based practice and reflective methods, not only for improving my teaching methods but also for the benefits of my students. The evidence-based practice, I use it a lot whe n I teach Food technology, Wine making or Food and Drink appeal course. In all these courses the results from previous statistics which can be found through research are very useful not only for the teacher but for the students also. For instance, in order to produce good quality drink the evidence shows that there are certain parameters which are very inseparable such as the % of the sugar on the grapes, or how many long time they should stay for fermentation, and e.t.c. This is happening with all the above mentioned courses and believe me students understand better when I use evidence-based practice because I can claim that throughout the years the research experience on developing the course has never been wrong. On the other hand, reflective practice is mostly used in the labs. Since a lot of the students work is done within the lab with practice on the lab exercises. I usually teach cooking and baking. all told the other vocational teachers as well as I, were using reflect ive practice even though we could not understand that we were using it. What do we usually do? We explain to our students how things should be prepared, cooked and be ready to be served. As a teacher, I know from the beginning how the final fruit should be since I have worked through the reflective practice many times. I explain to the students the process and the directions needed to be followed and I guide them throughout the lesson. A single mistake or a downcast misunderstanding from the students, results are off truck. This can happen not only with cooking and baking but also with carpentry, electricians and any other forte existing in the technical and vocational schools. ReferencesE891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, (2007), The clear UniversityFlexner, A. (1915) Is social work a profession?, paper presented at the national Conference of Charities and Corrections, Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections at the Fortysecond yearbook Session h eld in Baltimore, Maryland, May 12-19, Chicago, Hildmann.Hargreaves, D. (2007) Teaching as a research-based profession possibilities and prospects (The Teacher Training Agency Lecture 1996) in Educational query and Evidence-based utilisation By in Hammersley, M, 2009, Sage Publication, London.Mitchell, C. and Weber, S. (1996) Reinventing Ourselves as Teachers Private and social Acts of Memory an Imagination, London Falmer Press.Moore, A. (2007) Beyond reflection contingency, idiosyncrasy and reflexivity in initial teacher education in Educational Research and Evidence-based Practice By in Hammersley, M, 2009, Sage Publication, London.Ravitch, D. (1998) What if research really mattered?, Education Week, 16 December, vol. 18, no. 16, p. 33.Schn, D. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner, San Francisco, Jossey Bass.Traianou, A. (2007) Understanding Teacher Expertise in chief(a) Science A Sociocultural Approach, Rotterdam, Sense Publishers.