Implications for Professional Development Based on Physics Faculty's Reflective Writings

The development of reflective practitioners has been identified as one of four dominant change strategies in the STEM education literature. Reflective writings, wherein instructors document their thoughts, actions, and plans surrounding different situations, are often utilized as a component of professional and intra-departmental reviews. However, despite the apparent interest and increasing advocacy, little research concerns the content and depth of instructors' reflections. Thus, it remains unclear whether instructors are achieving critical reflection: the depth of reflection which centers on the political, moral, and ethical implications of their teaching. Before professional development programs can effectively incorporate reflective writings as a tool for introspection and personal improvement, it is necessary to first understand the current state of instructors' reflections. To accomplish this goal, 46 physics instructors were recruited from a new faculty professional development workshop. The participants followed a scaffold to guide their reflection on a self-identified challenging teaching experience wherein the situation is detailed, emotions are explored, contributing factors are identified, and alternative actions are considered. Preliminary results indicate that few participants engaged with topics such as gender, accommodations, and cultural differences. Overall, the depth of reflection remained low, indicating that instructors do not readily engage in the type of reflection that would lead to meaningful instructional, departmental, and institutional change. Therefore, the current standard, where reflections are simply required by professional reviews, is not expected to lead to pedagogical reform. Before developing reflective practitioners can be more effectively and broadly used as a change strategy, individual instructors must be trained in reflective practices.