Fostering Reflective Practice: Taking a Look at Context.

This paper first examines how the graduate institute of teacher education at Bank Street College of Education, New York, has worked to foster reflective practice over time and across program components. It examines the mission and structures that have been enacted to this end and identifies ongoing challenges encountered. The paper first discusses how Bank Street faculty define reflection and how Bank Street courses and fieldwork support reflective practice. Next, the paper examines how the portfolio process supports reflective practice, focusing on the decision to implement portfolios and the structure of the portfolio. The impact of context is discussed, looking at the influence of external documentation and internal documentation. Finally, the paper focuses on embedded challenges, including developing new habits of mind, having feelings of risk and vulnerability, and meeting the needs of today's classrooms. Evidence suggests that reflective practice can be nurtured and extended within the context of teacher education programs. The presence of a cohesive discourse community supports the development of reflective habits of mind for teachers and teacher educators. Participants must be constantly vigilant to keep the context of the dialogue conducive to safe expression of all points of view. (Contains 30 references.)