| The purpose of the study was to describe the reflective practices of physical education student teachers during their student teaching experience. Data collection consisted of student documents, non-participant observation and student interviews. Participants (n = 11) were a sample selected from a teacher preparation program in an urban university in the Northeastern United States.; From the analysis of data the physical education program provided plenty of opportunities for the participants to reflect on their own teaching by completing the assigned reflective practices which included videotaping, journal writing, a weekly seminar, etc ... While some of the participants maximized their opportunities to reflect, others reflected very little. The reflective practices of videotaping and the journal writing were very successful in stimulating reflection among the participants. Other practices did not appear to be as successful.; Within each reflective practice the amount of reflective statements on the part of the participants varied greatly. For instance, the journal writing was the reflective practice that yielded the greatest volume of student teacher reflection when compared to other reflective practices.; The findings also showed that the planning of reflective practices does not always guarantee a match with the realities of the actual student teachers' reflective practices. The participants attempted to reflect within one reflective practice more than another. They seemed to struggle to complete the reflective cycle, which consists of planning, teaching, analyzing, generating alternatives, and re-teaching. The study discovered inadequate follow-up assistance needed by the participants which was not provided by their university supervisors and/or cooperating teachers on a regular basis. Further analysis revealed the participants may have been too busy and prioritized over the assigned reflective practices.; The literature supports reflection as an appropriate means for self analytical growth. However, teacher educators may need to look at the reflective practices in their programs and carefully scrutinize whether the participants are benefitting from these practices. If they aren't, then the teacher educators may need to tinker with certain reflective practices to ensure their usefulness in promoting reflection for student teachers. |
