The transmission of craft knowledge: factors of influence on the process of reflection

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to explore and describe the process of reflection as it developed during a school year for one cooperating teacher engaged in the coaching process with two student teachers. My interest was driven by the need currently expressed by researchers (Munby, 1989; Russell, 1988; Schon, 1987; Shulman, 1987; Weiss & Louden, 1989) to extend our understanding of reflection to the work of individual teachers. Using Schon's (1983, 1987) account of reflection as the theoretical framework, this study describes the evolution of one teacher's reflective practice as it occurred within reflective interviews, dialogues with her student teachers, and during classroom instruction, tracing the development and changes that occurred in her perspective on her work before, during, and as a result of events of practice.