Engaging teachers in reflective practice: An activity theory approach from Hong Kong

Hau Fai Edmond LAW

Research output: Contribution to conferencePapers

Abstract

This presentation was originally designed to explore the impact of a pedagogical innovation upon teacher learning in 2003-2005. Previous papers have found positive effects of teacher engagement in school-based curriculum development (Law et al., 2010; Law & Wan 2006; Law, Galton, & Wan, 2010). It is also found that factors such as leadership, power, and status have asserted various degrees of constraining and facilitating effects upon the spaces for teacher learning and development, which shape the direction of the discourse in the meetings (Law, 2010). The current paper uses the conceptual framework of activity theory; in particular, its expansive learning cycle to analyze discourse data from the video-taped meetings, teacher and student interviews, video-taped practice lessons and teacher reflective journals. The research covers the whole process of engaging a team of teachers in planning, experimenting, and reflecting (PER model), a model similar to that found in action research and problem-solving models. It was found that the interactions and the process of teacher engagement here are far more complex and sophisticated than the expectations embedded in many teacher development models.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Citation

Law, E. (2012, December). Engaging teachers in reflective practice: An activity theory approach from Hong Kong. Paper presented at the Joint International Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education and the Asia Pacific Educational Research Association (AARE-APERA 2012): Regional and global cooperation in educational research, the University of Sydney, Sidney, Australia.

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