Transcript using the SOAP strategy to analyze pedagogical

CRITICAL REFLECTION FOR CONTINUING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
using the SOAP strategy to analyze
pedagogical experience
Padmini Boruah
Department of English Language Teaching
Gauhati University
23.02.2014
Reflection
• Definition: recording and analysis of experience
• Includes: experiencing, observing, analyzing,
hypothesizing and application
• Requires: self knowledge, meta cognition,
hypothesization, synthesis of experience
Models of reflection
• Bloom’s taxonomy of reflection (1956):
Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing,
Evaluating, Creating
• David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model
(1976): Concrete experience, Observation and
reflection, Formation of abstract concepts, Testing
in new situations
• Gibb’s reflective cycle (1988): Description,
Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, Action
Plan
The SOAP Strategy
•
•
•
•
Subjective narration
Objective data and observation
Assessment
Planning
Imp difference: Includes inputs from others
(From the UCSF LEaP Guidelines developed by
Aronson L, Kruidering M, Neihaus B, O’Sullivan P. MedEdPortal; 2012,
available from: www.mededportal.org/publication/9073)
The acronym: SOAP
– Subjective: exploring your experience - your
thoughts, feelings, and perception of events
– Objective: incorporating inputs from others,
additional research
– Assessment: analyzing the experience to
integrate the subjective and objective data, so
that it leads to new understanding and more
focused learning goals
– Plan: evolving an action plan that is specific,
detailed, achievable and measureable
Step 1: Subjective (narration)
• Describe what happened : the events, your
thoughts and feelings (content)
• Describe how it happened: how you acted, how
students acted, what went well, what didn’t
(pedagogical process)
• Discuss why it happened: what were your
assumptions, what were your students’
assumptions, how did the physical / linguistic /
social environment contribute to it (context)
Step 2: Objective interpretation
Reconsider the experience and identify key issues
• by eliciting opinions, perspectives and
feedback from other professionals
(colleagues / peers)
• by consulting objective data from the
literature
Step 3: Assessment
• Analyze the data gathered from subjective
experience and objective inputs
• Synthesize the learning obtained
• Identify strengths and weaknesses
• Relate this experience to past experiences to
identify patterns and challenges
Step 4: Plan
Make a SMART plan
•
Specific next steps
•
Measurable goals
•
Attainable objectives
•
Relevant action
•
Timely intervention
Language of reflective questions
• Vague generalizations
– I need to give proper instructions
• Specific comments
– The pair work activity took more time than
planned – I should have given instructions before
giving away the worksheets and made students
repeat instructions; this would have made
students do it quickly
Statements about teacher beliefs
1 Good teaching involves explaining the lesson to
students; they would otherwise not understand
what it contains
2 Pair and group work sounds like a good idea; but try
it in your own classroom – it’s noisy, messy and
unmanageable
3 Reading aloud has many benefits; when the teacher
reads aloud, students get an opportunity to hear
the spoken form of the language. When students
read, they get pronunciation practice.
Statements about teacher beliefs
4 English classrooms are unbelievably large and noisy
– there’s no question of using an activity based
approach to develop language skills
5 It’s okay to talk about developing the language skills
(LSRW) at Primary level; but after that, students are
expected to use these skills, not learn them.
6 Many things can go wrong in a class – I can’t
possibly take care of everything that doesn’t work
– I don’t think a good class is my responsibility
alone.
Statements about teacher beliefs
7 No matter what people say, I still feel formal
grammar teaching is important; if we only focus on
fluency, chances are that students will always speak
and write ungrammatically.
8 My students know so little English that I need to
translate every sentence, every word into the local
language – the syllabus has to be finished - where’s
the time for special language activities?
Statements about teacher beliefs
9 Most of my students understand English, but cannot
speak or write it. Making them pass exams is my
responsibility, so I cannot afford to let them write
whatever they like. I dictate answers and make
students memorize them – this way they learn at
least a few sentences in English.
10 Frankly, my own English is not very good – so it is
better to use the local language to teach English – at
least I can make them understand the lesson.
Demonstrating SOAP
Types of statements for SOAP steps
Practising SOAP reflection
Practising SOAP reflection
Tips for effective reflection
• Pick an experience that evoked a strong
emotional reaction in you.
• In your subjective analysis, avoid making
excuses for your actions and do not indulge
in self pity or self-congratulation.
• Adopt an attitude of suspended judgment
until you get more data
Tips for effective reflection
• Follow every step because this is a cyclic
process, and each step builds from the
previous
• Work with an open mind, so that you can
accept a new perspective and a new set of
skills or attitudes.
• Remember that the aim of critical reflection
is professional development, not writing a
good narrative or advertising your skills
Thank you!