Teachers facing themselves: An action research investigation of community college faculty members use of instructional reflection as a means of instructional improvement

This study explored how full-time faculty members at a community college in New England perceived the use of reflection as a means of instructional improvement. The purpose of the study was to analyze and compare the perceptions of full-time community college faculty members, some of whom practice reflective journaling and some who do not, regarding the utilization of reflection as a means of instructional improvement. The conceptual framework of the study was Schon's (1983) dimensions of the Reflective Practitioner. Using a practical action research design, thirteen faculty members, three journalers and ten non-journalers from the college's Center for Teaching (CFT) were surveyed and subsequently participated in focus group meetings to assess their perceptions. Prior to the teacher interviews, a pilot interview was conducted in order to test the interview questions. The interviews and focus group meeting transcripts were transcribed and coded using open and co-axial coding.; The results of the study showed that community college faculty perceived that their use of reflection was student centered. Furthermore, they reported that the administration at their community college did not assign a high priority to the use of reflection at their institution. However, they reported that there was formal and informal support of reflection, particularly through the institution's Center for Teaching. In addition, the study revealed that full-time faculty felt that their instructional reflection aids the teaching and learning process. They felt their teaching was enhanced by their instructional reflection techniques because it helped build stronger academic bonds with their students and increased their pedagogical skills. Additionally, the faculty members felt instructional reflection helped their students learn the material by fostering richer student engagement leading to better student focus and ultimately greater understanding of the material. When comparing the faculty members that journal and those that do not journal differences in perceptions were found in two areas. The journalers reported that their reflection helped build relationships with their students whereas the non-journalers reported that it improved their pedagogical skills. The second distinction between the two groups was that the journalers engaged in reflection after instruction more often and the non-journalers reported that they reflect before instruction more often.; The dissertation presents recommendations for practice focusing on professional development. One example is creating additional journaling groups to afford other faculty members the benefits of journaling. Another is collaborating with the college administration to discover ways of further promoting instructional reflection. Research recommendations included replicating the study in other settings to determine if similar results are found and investigating the perceptions of students about the reflective practice of their instructors.