Part 3: Inquiry into instructional practices

Professionalism

is personal: Howteachers in Japan M
help themselves
develop through selfreflection practices

Nanci Graves

Teachers College, Columbia University& Kobe Steelnanci@gol.com

Stacey Vye
Meikai University
stacey.vye@gmail.com
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About Nancy

I have taught in Japan for the past twenty years, and am teaching at Kobe Steel's in-house
English training program. I have been teaching workshop and practicum courses at Teachers
College, Columbia sincel988. Recently, I have been pursuing research in teacher and learnerautonomy, reflection and motivation.
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About Stacey

I have been teaching English for 17 years in Japan. Currently I am teaching English foracademic purposes at Meikai University, and assist Nanci Gravesteaching practicum courses
at Teachers College, Columbia at the Tokyo campus. I am also a fan and co-coordinator of the
Learner Development SIG at JALT.
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Acknowledgements

We want to thank the survey respondents for taking the time to share their reflections, and to
Soroush H. Maleki for the Mandala graphic design.
Abstract

In thischapter we discover what motivates in-service teachers to useself-reflective practices personallyand professionally. The rationale is that teacher development courses ask teachers to reflect onourselves, however whether we continue to examine our beliefs and practices is another matter. We
believe thisis notsimplyan issueofself-interest, because if teachersfind self-reflection activitiesusefulin their lives, they will be well-informed while explaining their benefits to language learners, which
is a critical process of learner autonomy. To gain insights on reflective teaching, we did an extensive
review of literature, and then teachers responded to an open-ended survey on self-reflection. We
report thevoices of these teachers' self-reflective practices, which suggest thatself-reflection connectedwith their lives helps keep them being inspired. Because of this, we hope the reader can decide if andwhatkindof self-reflective practices are meaningful for themselves.
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Many teacher education sources recommend that teachers regularly engage in a self-reflective
process to refine their teaching skills and deepen their understanding of learning fromthe learner's perspective. Teacher development coursesconsequentlyoften ask teachers
to study themselves through such means as diary studies, reader-response journals, andautobiographical histories. Whether we continue to examine our beliefs, our practices andourselves throughout our careers is another matter, however. In the midst of other demands,
even the most conscientious of teachers may find it difficult to devote sufficient time to reflect
on their own developmental needs in beneficial ways. The purpose of the current study istherefore to reconsider what value self-reflection activities hold for us and what motivates us tomake the choice to voluntarily engage in them.
Our main interest lies in discovering why and how in-service teachers utilize self-reflection
practicesfor both personal and professional reasons. Without downgrading the importanceof instructional growth, we feel that it might be worthwhile to explore whether limiting our
focus to the improvement of teaching skills as the central goal of self-reflection can sustain an
on-going process of self-inquiry. Rather than primarily work-related, the incentive to develop
is generally strongest when the effort has direct personal benefits. For that reason, it appears
advantageous for teachers to see themselvesas the first learner for whose sake they need toreview their instructional abilities at different stages of their lives,and adopt self-reflection
practices that aid their own development as life-long learners. This is not purely a matter ofself-interest since, if teachers have experienced efficacious results from self-reflection activities,
they will also be better able to explain to students how to get the greatest value from their use.
Clarifying the multiple goals of self-reflection beyond the professional sphere is thus one aspect
we want to investigate in this study.
A further aspect we wish to consider is how the metacognitive strategies used for
self-reflection can serve a therapeutic function to reduce teacher stress and increase selfunderstanding. If these strategies are found to help us deal more effectivelywith the changes
and dilemmas we encounter both in and outside the classroom, it should become easier torecognize how involving ourselves in some form of self-reflective activity can literally be goodfor us, not only as teachers but also as people who have to cope with whatever life throws at us.
Particularly in the absence of peer or institutional support, teachers' proficient use of self-help
strategies could provide an essential safety net to carry them through difficult experiences.
It is our belief that working to understand autonomous learning and how to foster it in
the classroom should be seen as an opportunity for teachers to review and forward theirown level of autonomous development. For both learners and teachers, the benefits ofpersonal autonomy are not limited to the academic sphere but encompass the holistic realmof our growth as human beings. Certainly, gaining a fuller sense of control over our inner
development will increase our confidence and expertise as guides and counselors of ourstudents. More directly, however, we will function better as our own guides and counselors
as we pursue our individual paths to self-actualization. Although the process is a universal
construct, it is valuable for EFL teachers in Japan to consider how various self-reflective
practices might contribute to their personal as well as professional development.
WHY ARE SELF-REFLECTIVE PRACTICES CONSIDERED IMPORTANT FOR TEACHERS?

Before reviewing how self-reflective practiceshave been described in Englishlanguage teaching
literature, we would first like to base our discussion on a broad view of what reflection means

and what it can be useful for. As defined by Wikipedia (2006):

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Human self-reflection is the capacity of humans to exercise introspection and thewillingness to learn more about our fundamental nature, purpose and essence. The
earliest historical records demonstrate the great interest which humanity has had in
itself. Human self-reflection invariably leads to inquiry into the human condition andthe essence of humankind as a whole.

Additionally, self-reflection is closely connected with the psychological need to make senseof and draw individual meaning from our experiences,which can include the formation of apersonal philosophy as well as a search for 'the truth' in tangible terms. Equally important is
the metacognitive ability to step back and view ourselves with greater objectivity, which canraise our awareness of outer reality and be used to intelligently shape the beliefs we hold as wellas the choices and decisions we make. Thus, although reflection takes place within the self, it
functions as a connective device that guides how we learn from our encounters with the world
at large.
Although the importance of self-reflection is not a new idea in teacher education (Jersild,1955), there still seems to be a dissonant tendency for teachers to expect their students tobecome more reflective learners without considering their own need for self-reflection. Since
the nature of teaching requires teachers to deal with psychological factors that support or limit
the capacity to learn:

A teacher cannot make much headway in understanding others or in helping others
to understand themselves unless he is endeavoring to understand himself. If he is notengaged in this endeavor, he will continue to see those whom he teaches through thebias and distortions of his own unrecognized needs, fears, desires, anxieties, and hostile
impulses (p.14).
Krishnamurti (2000) also believes that teachers are able to give, grow, and awaken

intelligences in learners only if they themselves practicethis reflective process. Accordingly, it
makes sense that when teachers exhibit a willingness to reflect, learn, and change, they provide
a role model for students to do the same, transforming the classroom into a collaborative

community of learners on a shared journey to explore the meaning of their experience (Imel,1998). This communal collaboration is of course equally important within the wider context ofteacher education courses, teaching staffsand other professional group learning experiences.
Within languageteaching in EFL settings, Plain (1991) advocates the importance ofteacher reflectionby suggesting that a crucial element in the teacher/learner connection is thepractice of a teacher's awareness of self. This is not an easy task, because teachers tend to focus
awareness on learners' development without lookingat their own. Similarly, psychology andlanguage learning researchers Williams and Burden (1997) promotea humanistic approachin education that places an individual's thoughts and emotions as a priority for the personal
growthof both learnersand teachers. The rationale is that teachers' views of teaching mirror
their own views of themselves, and their teaching behavior reflects their essence as a person.
The humanistic approach can thus be seen as person-centered, rather than simply learnercentered, highlighting the fact that a reflective teacher is vital for the learning process.
Bailey, Curtis, and Nunan (2001) also suggest that, just as students are ultimately responsible
for their own learning, so are teachers. While avenues of growth should be available in theteacher's workplace, that is not always a reality, and so seeking their own ways to develop
become necessary. Furthermore, as Jersild (1955) points out, no amount of outside assistancecan overcome the sense of alienation that stems from a lack of self-understanding: "It is the

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person who is not at home with his own thoughts, the one who is alien to his own feelings, theone who is a stranger to himself- he is the loneliest person of all" (p.75). Teachers therefore
need to be able to pick themselves up by their boot straps so to speak, by relying less oncontextual support and more on their own self-counseling abilities to cope with whateverchallenges they might face.
Oprandy (Gebhard & Oprandy, 2001) believes that self-reflection is crucial for language
teachers because the closer teachers in the classroom are to who and how they are outside it,
the more genuine they can become in the presence of students. Perhaps more significandy, themore teachers are self-actualized, the more inner resources they will have to draw upon bothduring classes and in life in general. The value of authenticity is also noted by Barlett (1990),
who includes "Is the teacher I am the person I am?" (p.206) in a list of questions a criticallyreflective teacher might ask herself. Rather than attempting to conform to a stereotyped imageof the ideal teacher, a humanistic approach to the process of self-reflection in teacher education
thus emphasizes the importance of better understanding and expressing our personal identity
through the activity of teaching.
HOW IS SELF-REFLECTION CONNECTED TO TEACHER AUTONOMY?

Although teacher autonomy is less researched than learner autonomy, it should be notedthat discussion of its meaning has developed beyond the sake of fostering autonomy forlearners and can also be incorporated as part of a broader definition of the teacher's own
need for professional freedom and personal reflection (Benson, 2001). Self-reflection torecognize obstacles that impede one's development of inner autonomy is hard work and canbe ego deflating, but without it, the teacher ignores greater potential for both personal andprofessional growth.

In a teacher narrative study, Aoki (2003), like Oprandy, addresses the interconnectedness of
personal and professional development by revealing that teacher autonomy complexly involves
the person's multiple facets as a whole person. Viewing teacher development as a matter ofconducting action research to stimulate reflection merely as a professional is therefore too
simplistic in scope. Along similar lines, Smith (2003) proposes a definition of autonomy that
includes the notion that the teacher is a learner going through a learning reflective process,described as teacher-learner autonomy. In his words (Smith, 2003): "In order for teachers
to gain better abilities and a greater willingness to learn for themselves in developing'an
appropriate expertise of their own,'this kind of reflection seems essential" (p.8).

Through an introspective study of her own learning experiences as a language learner andteacher, Sakui (2002) also discovered the complexities of learning, teaching, and developing
teacher expertiseby recognizing that both her personal and professional experiencescompelledher to ask questions that helped develop and modify her practices,knowledge, andbeliefs. Posing such questions in relation to the selfand reflecting upon them for a deeper
understandingof one's own identity may therefore offer a more facilitating approach toteachers' development of autonomy in EFL teaching contexts such as Japan.
Why is self-reflection needed in japan?
Obstacles to a teacher's development of both personal and professional autonomy are clearly
not limited to the classroom. It was thus refreshing to find familiar causes of stress described ina report by EFL teachers who have had experiencewith Japan (Edwards Okazaki & Rinvolucri,2005).While all teachers are prone to experience stress, for EFL teachers working abroad there

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are particular factors that can result in depression with potentially little help available. Edwards
Okazaki (2005) points out stressors such as culture shock, language barriers, and adjusting
to the written and unwritten rules of a new school. In such circumstances, teachers' ability toreflect on their reactions and find ways to maintain their equilibrium can determine whether
they learn from their environment or are damaged by it.
In addition, Edwards Okazaki and Rinvolucri (2005) emphasize that the topic of depression in
EFL is somewhat "hidden" and needs to be discussed more openly in educational settings. They
point out that "EFLliterature is perhaps unrealisticallysuffused with sunshine and laughter"(p.4) and suggest counterbalancing this tendency by encouraging teachers to publicly share theirproblems and failures as well as their successes. Rinvolucri himself describes how his attempt tostoically'soldier on' with his classeswhile undergoing a major bout of depression had a damaging
effect on two of his students, and how, by reflecting on this experience and discussing it with hiscolleagues,he was able to avoid its recurrence.

Clearly,in stressful environments, individuals devise coping strategies that may or may
not be genuinely beneficial to themselves or those around them. Simon-Maeda (2005) shows
through in-depth, open-ended life history interviews of native, foreign, and Japanese female
EFL instructors that educators face a myriad of oppressive ideologies and calls for TESOL
professionals to look at how marginalization and discrimination work in Japan. She suggeststhat the phenomena is not exclusively gender-based, but rather uncovers how teachers interact
within the constraints they face in their contexts by constructing unique identities, and attempt
to change the ideological status quo by introducing their students to alternative perspectives on
global and local socialconcerns. More information on teachers'autonomous self-reflection andaction of this kind could encourage more attention being paid and support being provided to
improve the mental health condition of Englishteachers working in Japan.

Asking teachers about their self-reflective practices in Japan

In pursuit of teachers' insights on self-reflective practices, we did an extensive search ofliterature in EFL and TESOL, education, psychology, and holistic-alternative sources during theonset of our project. Subsequently, we conducted an open-ended survey by posting a call on a

TESOL graduate information web, to whichteachers in the program, alumni, and professors
have access (Appendix A). In addition, we postedour survey to individualcolleagues we know
in Japan. We deliberately posed vague questions, not defining what"self-reflective practices"
are in hopes of not influencing the responses. We simply asked what self-reflection strategies
our respondents use to support their development in their personaland professional lives.
We received responses from teachers of five differentcountries who teach in Japan, six ofwhom are American; four Japanese; three Canadians; and one British and New Zealander
respectively. According to gender, there are ninewomen from all five nationalities and sixmen
from America, Japan, and Canada. Although three respondents are in their 30's, as well as three
in their 50's,the average age of respondents is in their 40's. Among the 11 foreign nationals
living in Japan, their average length of stayin Japan is just over 15years. Asfar as years ofEnglish teaching, the participants' experience ranged from one yearto 27years, with theaverage being just under 10 years.
HOW THESE TEACHERS PRACTICE SELF-REFLECTION

Since the respondents mentioned a widevariety of reflective practices from formalized andongoing to informaland occasional in both personal and professional settings, we decided to
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focus our discussion of the survey results on the activities they do and why they do them. In
this way, we will show what the respondents believe are the different purposes and benefits ofself-reflection,and suggest how personal and professional reflective opportunities might beviewed from a holistic standpoint.
We have categorized their responses in terms of the means through which their selfreflection was developed and sustained. Within the core category of personal and professional
self-reflection,we broadly categorize five reflections that branch out from this core, according
to whether the activity predominately involved mindfulness training, reading, writing,listening, or speaking respectively, (see the "Respondents' Self-Reflection Mandala Spectrum
Figure 1.1" for a visual image of the activities categorized). The personal and professional
self-reflections in the center circle in the Yin Yang shape represent the balance of the variety of
responses between the personal and professional realms discussed previously. The five broad
activities have linking arrows through each practice because many respondents mentioned avariety of these reflective practices that they do concurrently. From the five activities there are
petals around the circled core that branch out to represent the kinds of reflective practices the
respondents mention.

Figure 1. Respondents' Self-Reflection Mandala Spectrum.
Mindfulness Training

Altogether,half of the survey respondents reported that their use of a reflection practice
involving yoga, the creative arts, and/or meditation was a valuable tool that crossed overfrom their personal to professional development. We have grouped these practices under the

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Graves&Vyecategory of mindfulness, as they were deemed important for purposes that included facilitatingawareness, clarifying the thinking process, re-energizing, and engendering a greater sense ofboth inner control and connectedness with outer reality.This result seemed significant, as we
had found few specific references in the TESOL literature to alternative reflective approaches
other than Gebhard (Gebhard & Oprandy, 2001),who described how reflecting on his yoga andteaching practices helped him clarify his identity as both a person and teacher:.. .I have been making connections between who I was and am as a practitioner ofyoga and who I am as a teacher. To explore this connection, I selected a set of learning
experiences from my past, reflected on these experiences by writing down andorganizing these thoughts and feelings about them, attempted to make links between
them and my present teaching beliefs and practices, and considered the complexity ofreflection itself. I am happy that I did this because I have made connections between
who I am and who I am as a teacher - perhaps the most important awareness of all in
our professional, as well as personal, exploration. ( pp.2ll-2!9)Kinesthetic and creative arts practices

Like Gebhard (2001), three respondents listed yoga as one of their personal self-reflection
activities. However, while using this practice to explore their identity might be called a common
factor, they did not reflect on their roles as learners of yoga but rather cited the direct beneficial
effects that yoga had on their ability to think and self-develop,as this comment illustrates:

I do Yoga, which makes me think deeply and grow as a human. [R5]
An initial aspect to note here is that, for many respondents, the kinesthetic element
forwarded a mind-body connection that they believed was an essential part of the reflection
process. Through movement and interaction with the natural world, respondents gained accessto a deeper experience of reality that in turn sharpened their intellectual faculties and helped
them maintain a balanced view of life. The following respondent, for example, pursues multiple
physically active self-reflection practices for such awareness-expanding purposes:

Taking a walk, yoga exercises, and taking photos always give me a feeling of
connectedness to the nature and to the higher dimension of life, and also helping meprioritize and see life in a bigger picture. [Rl5]
Another respondent also described the profound effect that being in touch with nature insolitude had had on the development of his observational and self-reflective abilities, recalling
the type of all-encompassing reflection that the Wikipedia definition specified:.. .I spent a lot of time in the Canadian backcountry on my own. Nature - the air, earth,water and biomass - and the relations between them, these things are my favourite
teachers - when I have the time to watch and listen. For some time, I've observed

how this kind of self-reflective activity is rare and the more ritualized expressions

increasingly so. But lending an ear to nature has taught me that there's nothing like
physical presence,and socialand biological imperatives to wakeyou up to reality (andhere I mean the widest possible reality a person can embrace and act along with - a
global reality of nature and human societies). [R 8]

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P r o f e s s i o n a l i s m is p e r s o n a lPractices involving kinesthetic elements were often but not necessarily solitary. For thefollowing respondent, walking provided a context that facilitated reflective professional
discussion:

In my current position, a colleague and I share a love of walking so we spend 30
minutes per day at lunchtime taking a brisk walk around the campus together. [R7]
Another respondent cited her participation in creative arts such as drama and dance as
collaborative reflection activities:

I've done theatre workshops, drama productions and have collaborated with fellow
teachers. Right now I take dance classes and meditate regularly. These are my training
courses. [R14]

As in this case, two other respondents brought out a link among kinesthetic, artistic andmindfulness practices:
Playing the flute and singing bring me back a simple but profound 'joy of being andexpressing.' Writing journals and draw[ing] pictures are output of my flash of image
and good way of keeping and organizing ideas. [R15]
Sometimes I'll do reflective art exercises (mandala drawings) to help center myself or
for relaxation/meditation. [R3]

In addition to the element of movement, these comments suggest that people with auditory
or visual learning styles might prefer reflection practices associated with the creative arts.
They also confirm that the creative aspect, which enhances self-expression as well as calms themind, can be an important part of reflection, allowing access to the unconscious in ways thatenergize, refresh, and improve cognitive functioning. The state may be similar to the kind of
optimal flow experience that Csikszentmihalyi (1990) investigated, in which "people become so
involved in what they are doing that the activity itself becomes spontaneous, almost automatic;
they stop being aware of themselves as separate from the actions that they are performing"(p.53). Aswith the mandala reflection practice cited, the activity may also lead to a meditative
state that provides solace as well as psychological insight.
Meditation

Formal meditation was reported by severalother respondents to be a reflection practice thatraised their awareness in ways that impacted on their professional work. This respondent
recognized the positive effects that a consistent practice of mindfulness meditation had on her
thinking, as well as on enhancingher degree of inner control while she was teaching:
The quality of thinking is better after some time just being, e.g. meditative...
Practicing meditation focused on "mindfulness of breathing" over the past four years
has helped me to be present in the classroom mentally and to sense and transform
emotional states more quickly. [R2]This same respondent was further inspired to utilize another mindfulness-centered approachto actively re-train her mind to help maintain a positive attitude towards her work as a teacher:More Autonomy You

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I've also written affirmations for several years and recently thought, why not dosomething about my teaching. Specifically, "Teaching mindfully I find new resources ofenergy, humour, and confidence." I think it's working to a certain extent. [R2]
Another respondent also found that the analytic stage of her meditation practice enhanced
her awareness of self in a way that transferred beyond the meditation session:
When I do insight meditation, part [of] the practice is reviewing what was experienced
during the 55-minute sit (in terms of body sensations, thoughts and feelings etc.) This
self-reflective practice naturally extends into daily life. [R14]

In a similar vein, one respondent [R6] linked "quiet time [and] peaceful practices" with her
ability to maintain congruence between her life purpose and her daily work. This idea, that selfreflection encompasses practices that calm the mind as well as those that involve intellectual
thought, seems an important insight to fully define the self-reflection process.
Hart (2204), who advocates using mindfulness-focused activities in the classroom toincrease attentiveness, describes how awareness is raised when distracting thoughts are stilled:

The contemplative mind is opened and activated through a wide range ofapproaches—from pondering to poetry to meditation—that are designed to quiet andshift the habitual chatter of the mind to cultivate a capacity for deepened awareness,concentration, and insight. Although various practices may evoke different kindsof awareness, such as creative breakthrough or compassion, they share in common
a distinct nonlinear consciousness that invites an inner opening of awareness. This
opening within us in turn enables a corresponding opening toward the world before us.
Through a fresh lens, our worldview, senseof self, and relationships may be powerfullytransformed (p.l).

King (2006), a psychological counselor, concurs with the beliefthat meditation gives greater
access to intuitive thinking and explains how meditation providesa spacebetween an event andour reaction to it, so that we can make choices about our behavior with increased autonomous
control:

The regular practice of meditation gives us greater presence of mind [with which] comesthe possibility of choice: we cancontinue to react to theevents of our lives from ourunprocessed emotional history or make a moreappropriate response. A reaction issimply
a reactivation of a neural pathway system throughoutthe brain and body. Untilweare
present, aware, we don'tsee thechoice, we simply react. It isliberating when we react less toevents in our lives and have a greaterability to respond to them instead, (p.19)
In an article for the Mindfulness in Education Network that outlines the different types of

meditation practices and strongly recommends introducingthem to primary and secondary
school students, Levete (2004) describes how meditation serves as a form of mental trainingthat improves both cognitive activity and emotional stability:
Meditation is an effective way of learning how to focus the mind so that it becomeseasier to absorb information. As the mind learns the habit of being able to focus, so
it can become more alert and attentive. Much of daily life involves distraction andactivity. A crowded, anxious or overexcited mind cannotbe one pointed, a relaxed,
focused one can. Learningto develop the habit of stillness and attention can sharpen
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the mind's abilityto think clearly. The benefits from regular meditation, be it for a very
short time, can permeate into other areas of activity making it easier to respond withequanimity to the ups and downs of daily life. (p.3)
Increasingthe receptiveness of the mind for learning is thus one benefit of a mindfulness
reflection practice,but there is also tremendous potential for tapping into levels of creative
expression as wellas for inner transformation. Interestingly, Cutler (2001) points out that"...
analytic meditation may also play a role in positive psychology, a new field of psychology that
focuses on developing positive states of mind and is gaining popularity in the 21st century"(p.2). Such possibilities forge a closer connection between awareness-developing reflection
practices and the field of education, as positive psychology is also currently influencing
educational research through the work of Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000), and others.
Reading

Not unexpectedly, five respondents cited reading as a valuable impetus for reflection. The
sources they selected ranged from ones within the EFLfield to those from general education,
psychology, philosophy and literature, as well as learner feedback and the teacher's own
observation notes. It is worth pointing out that, even when engaged in for primarily
professional reasons, reading may be seen to contain a personal element in terms of how andwhy individuals utilize the activity for self-reflection. Beyond seeking to remain informed about
current language teaching issues, teachers in the survey appear to have forged meaningful links
with written material in ways that address their particular developmental needs.
For this respondent, reading in the field was directly linked to an ongoing consideration ofher decisions in the classroom:[Another] strategy, which I use continually, is to read the research literature in the
Applied Linguistics area. This prompts me to reflect on what I am doing in my own
teaching practice. [R7]
The following three respondents mentioned specific authors from outside the EFL field whose
ideas had resonated with them and provided content for continual reflection. In the first case,the author cited had in effect served as a guide for the respondent's professional growth:David Bleich's work in subjective criticism, collaborative learning and teaching, andcontent journals has greatly influenced my development as a teacher, although I
encountered his work through my graduate studies in literature rather than in the fieldof Education. [R13]

In a similar vein, the second respondent described how a favored writer's set of ethicalprinciples provided him with a useful philosophical reference point:

Don MiguelRuiz's "four agreements"havebeen a handy tool in approaching all aspectsof my life, both professionaland personal.... In brief, the four agreements are, 1) speak(within and without) with impeccability, 2) Don't take anythinganyone says personally,
3) Don't assumeanythingand finally 4) Always do your best.Thesefour "suggestions"on howto approach life in general can be appliedto allaspects of one's life (including
one's professional endeavours as in this case, an educator) as a kind of credo. Usingsuch a
defined code of behaviour (or rather,wayof tbinking), one is able to see the results in direct
relation to this practiced approach.. .and hopefully, learn from diis application. [Rl 1]—

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The third respondent had recourseto various psychological self-help texts during a stressful
period in her work as a high school teacher,which motivated her "to explore what I really wantin my life." As a result, she constructed her own reading list of sources on which she continues
to reflect:•

Maslow,Abraham H. Toward a Psychology ofBeing•

Tolle, Eckhart. Power of Now
Bolles, Richard N. What Color is Your Parachute?

•

Albom, Mitch Tuesdays with Morrie

Carl Jung and other publications on psychology, health, food & nutrition medicine, etc.
[R15]

Taken as a whole, the respondents' diverse list of readings suggests that, as adult learners,
they recognize a need to reflect on their experiences and behavior in multiple dimensions of
their lives. The sources that continue to inspire them are used as reflective tools that increase
their self-understanding and offer information and support in practical, philosophical, andtherapeutic ways.
Writing

We think it is significant that five of the respondents have reported that writing reflections
either for trouble shooting and improving certain situations or for refining the process ofwriting itself helps them gain clarity and confidence in the actions they are considering
undertaking. Regardless of the kind of writing involved, it seems important that a teacher
discovers that the process is meaningful for oneself.
Problem Solving Through Reflective Writing

Setting aside time to reflect on difficulties that have occurred during research projects, teaching,and personal events have allowed these two respondents to identify or discover problems and tofind new ways to improve situations. This respondent describes how she uses problem solving
by writing about and reflecting on research projects and events:
After I finish a project or procedure that I will be doing again, I always think backover it to find where there was trouble. I then talk to others (usually people somehow
connected to the event) about the problems and jot down a few notes about how to fix
or at least improve them the next time. [Rl]Although the next respondent does not explicitlystate that writing is the strategy used,solving difficulties through reflection helps her come up with surprising results. We therefore
decided it was beneficial to include her comments in this section, as her approach hassimilarities with the previous respondent's reflections in terms of problem solving:

In my professional life, I find it very useful to solve difficulties that I have in teaching.
Byreflecting on the difficulties, I often find that issueswere very different from what I
had expected. In my personal life, in order to find out what is reallybothering me, I use
it. Again, I often find answers that are really different from what I had expected. [R 4]
The respondents' problem-solving practices remind us of the term 'exploratory teaching'that Alright and Bailey (1991) characterize as being when teachers explore, they not only try

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P r o f e s s i o n a l i s m is p e r s o n a lout ideas, but reflect and learn as much as possible in the process. Exploratory teaching ispracticed in action research as a tool to discover what processes are going on and how they canbe improved upon, particularly through diary studies and journal writing (Alright & Bailey,
1991; Burns, 1999; Gebhard & Oprandy, 2001). As has been seen, strategies that are useful inthe improvement of teaching practice can effectively be transferred to other problematic areasof a teacher's life.

Discovering the Benefits of Written Reflections

Nevertheless, even with familiar teacher self-reflection activities such as journal writing, thetime required may not seem worth the effort if the purpose is unclear. These three respondents,for example, discovered for themselves that increased confidence and clarified thinking, which
had both personal and professional benefits, resulted from their written reflections:

I participated as a subject for some PhD research and had to keep a reflective journal
on my professional writing. It was very useful and the way it grew in depth surprised
me. I gained confidence in myself as a writer through the experience, and that
confidence seeped into other areas of my life. [Rl]Writing lesson evaluations was part of my initial teacher training and has been helpful
subsequently too. I do a lot of thinking about my teaching, (Maybe too much & used
to do it even more.) Writing helps me to keep a handle on the quality of my thinking.
[R2]

Writing journals ...[area] good way of keeping and organizing ideas. [R15]

For these respondents, journal writing is beneficial, nevertheless it is important to emphasizethat the practice is valuable only if it proves to be personally meaningful. This respondent, forexample, found the academic research process rather than introspective teacher diary studies
helpful:[Of value were] general research procedures learned in graduate school (doctoral level),
especially those dealing with statistics and probability and (formal) Conversation
Analysis. As for journal writing and what haveyou (which is what I roughly guessyou
might mean by self-reflection), I have found such practices to be of little use. [R 9]

The following respondent found another wayto discover the benefits of reflective writing
when his teacher suggested he write a Language Learning History for a presentation that
produced critical self-reflections:

Her class was full of opportunities to reflect on our language learning history both asa student and a teacher. She suggested that I should consider how I had been studying
and teaching. While looking into my history I was aware of the fact there was not any
particular impeccable teaching method. Each learner has his own character and eventhe same learner tend to choose learning method in the context of various situations.
This idea should be considered in teaching ... .Again ****** 's self-reflection covered
personallife, too ....1 focused on my own father... "Although English was stigmatized
as a hostile language, my father kept a small English dictionary in his hand and hepicked up some local language in the countries he served as an army soldier. His—More Autonomy You

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Respondent 10's surprising realization helps to illustrate how written reflections can bringout a "whole bag of tricks," of which instructors need to be aware, just as Aoki (2003) suggests
in her narrative study mentioned previously. The complexities that follow the realizations of
the writer involve the person in processing information that teachers/researchers may not be
ready to assist with. It may therefore be shortsighted to recommend conducting action research
to stimulate reflection unless one is prepared to deal with the consequences of the writer's
feelings.
Listening
Listening To Learners

Just as teachers can have their awareness raised by writing about themselves as learners,
three participants reported that listening to learners is important for self-reflection.The firstparticipant uses the same process to learn from both her peers and her students:

I talk with and listen to peers as much as possible, to learn as I do with my students.
[R5]

To understand how to be a professional, this respondent learned to listen in order to view
issues'outside' himself, including language input and instructions from a learners' point ofview:... the feedback I used to get for my teaching tasks in the RSA Cert in TEFLreally had
an effecton me in seeing the language input and instructions from the STUDENTS'
point of view.... Now after 16+ years, I'm finding myselfmore and more interested
in individual students' processes, and in sharing my own with students.. ..On a more
pragmatic level, my professionalisation has meant more responsibilities (research),and I seem to have less time to hear my students' stories (which I understand as a selfreflective activityfor me), and to tell my own (ditto). But I still try. [R8]The following respondent advocates that teachers should listen to learners enough to be able
to set and reach goals simultaneously with their students:

Insights I would like to share with others are [that] teachers should not [impose their]own philosophy.... Both teachers and learners...should workto reach goals. As long as
we remain bystanders, the results we obtaintend to be shallow and poor. [RIO]All three participants are working on developing critical awareness of the processes in theirlives by listening to learners and critically realizing their students are goingthrough the sameinterconnected developmentalawareness as the teacher. Barfield (2003) has participated in thisprocess by interweaving the development of learner and teacher autonomyto reveal parallels
in both processes. Throughhis collaboration in listening to dialogues with colleagues and his
own inner voice about the progress of a learnerin one of his classes, he realized that the learnershouldcome up with her own interpretation of her reflective autonomous learning, just as heshould interpret his own awareness of growthin the study without imposinghis interpretations
about his student.

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Listening to Others

Listening to colleagues, speakers at conferences, and one's own inner voice is an importantcomponent of being able to gain awareness in discussing issues that lead to further selfreflection. As this element is interconnected with speaking and interacting with others, we feelthere is a strong link with the "Speaking" section that follows.
Speaking

The practice of speaking,discussing issues, and interacting with other people was important forseveral respondents to gain clarity and/or verify what they had already believed. Some foundthat taking a course on autonomy helpful to provide multiple opportunities for discussions
with classmates and their instructors; others found speaking with colleagues beneficial, while
one respondent found solace in speaking with friends.
Autonomy as a Reflective Process

Two respondents reported that speaking about autonomy as a reflectiveprocess in the samelearner autonomy graduate course at Teachers College (TC) provided opportunities that led
to further desire for personal on-going reflection. Although the insights teachers gained weredifferent because the activities involved them in discovering what autonomy meant to themand how it could be adapted to their teaching contexts, the respondents reported that they
benefited from the process. This respondent began focusing on psychological issues:
In the Autonomy course, I had lots of chances, which made me reflect on various
things. In particular, psychological things attracted my attention and I decided to havea focus on something (related to) psychology since then. [R5]
And this respondent received support that qualified or reinforced existing beliefs:
Not so much "practices" as ideas and beliefs already present, being reinforcedby teacher-training courses... .1 did find support for this approach to teacher
development by meeting like-minded people in the autonomy course. Having therespect, encouragement and support of others who shared a similar approach, had a
big impact on qualifying or reinforcing what I already believed in. [Rl 1]
Ramanathan (2002) emphasizes that TC educators have a responsibility to heighten suchmetacognitive awareness by encouraging participants to connect personal actions and goals forthemselves, and to build on various activities to foster the practice into the curriculum, as thisautonomy course at TC provided. Not surprisingly Hedge (2003), in her explorative study on
38 teachers from 23 countries, discovered that although teacher-trainers encourage their MA
candidates to implement autonomous changes, when they enter their teaching environments
the teachers reported they were confronted with suspicion and various constraints. We agreewith Hedge's recommendation that more guidance and peer discussion is needed on dealing
with these constraints throughout MA programs.
A third respondent in the same TC program that had not taken the autonomy course felt
there were not enough safe or meaningful opportunities for self-reflection in his courses:
I took a course in teacher reflection .. .but I don't recall any of it. I don't think I felt
safe in such courses at TC; too many people and too little time and too much ground

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to cover...I tend to self-reveal in these courses (another self-reflection strategy) and in

this context I tend to leave feeling unacknowledged and silly; there is a void of context(for my experiences) and there is no follow-up (egmirroring back etc). I haven't taken
all the TC courses but I feel that in this regard, TC failed to encourage teachers to listen
to other teachers, especially about the connection between personal and professional
contexts. [R8]

Speaking With Colleagues

Three respondents felt that discussing issues with trusted colleagues encourages self-reflection,
because the process of speaking with others heightens self-awareness in a safe environment.
This respondent schedules regular meetings for the practice:
The simplest and most effective practice for me is simply to talk to colleagues. In my
current position, a colleague and I share a love of walking so we spend 30 minutes
per day at lunchtime taking a brisk walk around the campus together. During thiswalk, we always talk about professional matters, either reflecting on classes recently
taught, "critical incidents" in lessons, or other broader topics, such as research projects
we are currently engaged in. I find this regular scheduled opportunity for reflection
immensely stimulating and encouraging. I also use e-mail to "talk" to colleagues
further afield about important teaching issues. [R7]
Another respondent not only invites discussion with "like-minded" colleagues, but also
those that disagree with her because discussions trigger chances for self-reflection along withother practices:
Discussions with trusted and like-minded colleagues, discussions with those who
disagree with me, collaboration with colleagues on projects, presentations, and articles,
journaling (and I swore that I would never use "journal" as a verb!), brief notes tomyself written during and after class,student feedback in the form of reflection papers
and learning journals, reading and annotating, keeping current in my field - all these
are reflective practices- or at least provide an occasion for reflection.[R13]

A third respondent also believesthat professional opportunities for learning and sharing
serve as catalysts for self-reflection:
I believe that attending conferences and seminars, and similar opportunities forlearning and sharing are very important and are often catalysts for my own selfreflection and goal-setting. [R3]
As these three respondents are teaching in the university context, their remarks bring tomind Deci, Kasser, and Ryan's (1996) self-determination theory study of similar educators,
which suggests that if the environment of the university faculty is supportive and open tomeaningful discussions, it creates autonomous conditions for intrinsic self-determined
motivation emanating from the person. However, when the conditions of the faculty are
non-autonomous or controlled by topdown directives, the situation becomes coerced froman external force, and motivation has less meaning to a teacher's integrated sense of self. The
conditions for self-determination therefore are important to create a supportive environmentthat leads to growth as both professors and individuals.

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Speaking With Friends

It is worthy to note that for educators who may work in strictly controlled environments,
friends and colleagues from other universities with the same interests can create welcoming
environments conducive to critical awareness and self-reflection. This respondent finds solacein the quality of self-reflections that comes from discussing issues with friends:

I think the idea that reflection is helpful, presupposes a certain kind of reflection. If I'm
reflecting alone, I have certain patterns that are less helpful.. .but it's good to laugh at
my negative patterns - and talk to a close friend. [R2]Conclusion

Overall,we feel the survey responses support the idea that 'professionalism is personal' andsuggest that, in accord with the humanistic viewof teaching and learning, taking an integrated
perspective towards reflection could aid our understanding of how we might, individuallyand collectively, utilize self-reflective practices to develop both the personal and professional
dimensions of our lives. Several respondents in fact noted their awareness of how the personal
spilled over to the professional sphere and vice versa, with the last explicitly stating that he did
not place any boundaries between them:

The reflective practices that I practiced in my personal life found application in myteaching. [R13].. .I'm very insecure as a teacher. I always over prepare for lessons and take little for
granted. The same applies to my personal life...I am thus constantly reviewing mythoughts, words and deeds. [R12]... [One thing] I really learned in the TC program: I have an issue with authority
figures, so depending on my instructor, I really had to reflect on my'natural' feelings
about him/her i.e. what was a fair criticism, what was there to praise etc. .. .This
learning extends to my personal life. But this of course was not a self-reflection activity
that was taught to me in teacher training; it was a strategy I developed from selfreflection.... [R8]

I don't draw any distinction between me as an educator and me as a person. It isthrough the person, that I do my work as an educator. There is no division. Ultimately,
what is enhanced or worked on by the person on the person will have an impact on thedevelopment of the "teacher." [Rl 1]

By acknowledging that "...in everyteachingact the teacher defines herself as a person"(Williams & Burden 1997,p.63), we may be better able to close the gap between our personal

and professional identities and thus gain a greater sense of authenticity and autonomy. Doingso also perhaps more overtly follows the process described in the Wikipedia definition, in
which reflection on the self naturally leads to reflection on the wider human condition andconsequently deepens our own philosophical vision of the meaning of our existence. In thisapproach, emphasis is placedon cultivating a heightened degree of awareness that can guideour thoughts and actions in ways that benefit us, and others, both within and outside the—M o r e A u t o n o m y Y o u Aski —

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this way, as a continual metacognitive activity that primarily involved taking an attentive
attitude to daily life:
Perhaps.. .reflection is an orientation and a state of mind rather than a collection oftechniques or strategies or practices.. .Life provides the occasion for reflection. One justneeds to pay attention. "For God's sake, keep your eyes open. Notice what's going onaround you."—William Burroughs [R13]
I am having trouble with the word "self-reflective". It seems to me, that it is basic nature
as a human being to be self-reflective. It's an everyday thing. Learning by experience,reflecting on the results of one's input/output and so on.. .To me, the ultimate objectiveof education should be to help give opportunity to raise people's awareness.... It is
the relinquishment of control, the letting go of what we think we know, in exchange
for silent (no input of previous knowledge) observation and discovery. As soon as
boundaries are drawn, the gates of discovery close shut or at least start to become
harder to open! I suppose one could argue that there are certain things that can belearned specificallyfor the development of oneself as a teacher, and this is of course
true. But it all comes back to how we truly learn, which is through this state ofincreased awareness. [Rl 1]

Another respondent, while concurring with the importance of ongoing reflection, also notedthat nonetheless reflective practice was difficult to sustain in the midst of other time-demands:
I think I've sort of structured my life so that self-reflection is built-in (assuming I
reflect on my daily experiences in an intercultural/interracial relationship, in a culture
different from my own); [but] reflection had become a rarified and increasingly
dissonant practice in my busy life. Not sure, but as it is presented here it sounds likesomething I SHOULD do but haven't reallybeen supported in doing (i.e. like writing
well in high-school). [R8]This brings up the additionally important point that, although self-reflection is a 'natural'
human activity, we also need to acknowledge that for most of us it is a complex skill that
requires training, continued practice, and support. Thus, while we have emphasized theimportance of self-reliance and self-responsibility in the management of our own development,
it is nonetheless equally important for teacher educators to share the burden in this regard, as
the above respondent goes on to explain:

As for encouraging self-reflection in teacher development, I think facilitators have ahuge responsibility in defining what it is and supporting what comes up. Perhaps selfreflection might be defined functionally, according to what it leads to? [R8]As with learning in general, factors that are likely to increase the value of self-reflection
activities include exposing teachers to a broad range of practices, clearly specifying how thesepractices might fulfill different developmental needs, and guiding them through the practicewith regular feedback. Furthermore, we believe it is important to provide teachers with theopportunity to assess these strategies to determine if they suit their preferred learning styles,
since, as we have seen, a key element in maintaining a practice is whether the individual finds
it effectiveas a 'mirror' for growth or not. The 'test' of self-reflection practices may in fact lie

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P r o f e s s i o n a l i s m is p e r s o n a lin the realm of self-efficacy, whichErhman (1996) defined as"the beliefthat one can cope andsucceed" (p.143), naming it as a factor that increases motivation, risk-takingand independence
as well as builds self-esteem.Given that teaching is a kind of work in which many aspects
lie outside the teacher's control, increasing the capacityto gain this sense of greater innerautonomy appears to be an especially important goal of self-reflection. It is thus possiblethat any self-reflection practicethat facilitates a teacher's sense of autonomy may contribute
simultaneously to their personal and professionaldevelopment.
Finally, just as teachers need to involve themselves in self-reflective practices in order totruly understand how their students can gain value from their use, so teacher educators need
to be practionners of self-reflection themselves. Although there is an assumption especiallywith adult learners that the 'person' will develop along with the 'teacher,' we have seen how
both personal and professional developmental needs are a life-long undertaking that must be
addressed in an ongoing and balanced way.

One exampleof an EFL teacher educator noticing this interconnectedness is McClure's (2001)
realization that, when she carried out a study on developing reflective practices in postgraduatesto acquire greaterself-direction and autonomy, she was undergoingthe same reflective
process, whichled to her discovery of the underlying assumptions in her own curriculum andautonomous practices. Skjei (2004) also realized, whilefacilitating a workshop on exploring
leadershipskills in women, that it was only when she applied the self-reflective model being used
to herself that she could see what was lacking in her instruction; "It suddenly became crystal clear
to me that I needed to involve the participants more in relating the model to their own lives,allowing them to discover their own inspiration about what is possible" (p.3).
The teachers who responded to our study were able to discover as McClure (2001) and Skjei(2004) recommend that reflective activities that connect with their lives in some way helped
keep them inspired. For this reason, rather than suggesting specific reflective practices in thispaper, we prefer to leave it up to readers what type of practice is meaningful for themselves. In

this way, we hope that realizing the close connection between learning and teaching needs may
therefore inspire teachers to use self-reflection to pursue both personal and professional growththroughout their teaching lives.

Critical Reader Response i

Kevin Bodwell

Professional obligations ranging from research, to counseling, to curriculum development, andeven to financial necessity, drive us to distraction from not only reflective classroom practices,
but from our personal selves as well. Between crowded trains and tight schedules we feel guilty
for not considering our classes more. And time devoted to personal reflection or development
can seem like time wasted. So my first reaction is appreciation for Graves and Vye in reminding
us that this is a trap and in fact personal development is not only related to professional
development. It is vital to it. My vague feelings of guilt for taking a little time for myself areunnecessary.

The article also highlights the variety of reflective activities that teachers use. It occurs tome that I have a tendency over time to become set in my ways. What was once innovative andhelpful can become stale.Trying different reflective methods might help me understand myself
and my teaching differently, and help me continue challenging myself. Perhaps we teachers—More Autonomy You

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Graves & Vyeshould consciously seek variety in the means of self-reflection and share, as this article does,
techniques with others.
A related aspect of the professional/personal connection that might bear examination is
personally fulfilling activities outside work that are not necessarily reflective. I believe I am
often just as productive overall when I take a break and exercise or spend time with my family
as I am when I spend all that time in my officeworking. My brain seems to continue to workon whatever issues are at hand whether I consciously think about them or not. When I return
to work, solutions come to me more easily. Conversations with other teachers tell me I am
not alone in that belief. In sports, for example, I lose myself in activities where the rules are
straightforward, and goals are literally goals-unlike the less definite rules and goals of teaching
and life in general. Somehow, I emerge refreshed and better able to engage in the more complex
real world. I feel better and think more clearly. Surely other teachers have similar experiencesfrom other activities.

Graves and Vye remind us that personal development is conducive to better teaching and weshould pursue it as a basis for professional development. Thanks to their article, I'll be a little
less inclined to neglect myself.

Critical Reader Response 2Mark Surma and Miyuki Usuki

Graves and Vye's paper clearlyshows us how important self-reflections are for teacher
development in general. Also the paper makes clear connections between autonomy and selfreflections.

We hope the authors are aware that due to work commitments, there might still be manyteachers who find it difficult to devote sufficient time to reflect on their own developmental

needs (p.155). Therefore, for teachers this paper is a valuable document as it reminds them of
the various reasons to continue to improve their self-reflection through teacher autonomy. As aresultof doing so, in addition to the improvement of our teaching skills, students' learning may
also improve a lot.
However, regarding the research on teachers'ways of self-reflection, we would like to see theeffects of self-reflections on teachers, rather than showing us some examples of how teachers

are reflecting on themselves. We thinkthat the paper should give us convincing evidence of aclear link between the importance of self-reflection and its value (effect) on language teaching,especially in Japan. Furthermore, we would like to see some data showing why self-reflections
are so important and how they relate to the improvement of teacher autonomy. We must
admit, however, that it has never crossed our minds that practising yoga or creative arts could
help one to become a more reflective language teacher.

Regarding the authors' datacollection and the responses received from teachers from fivedifferent countries, wenoticed that the average respondent's age was 40.We wonder therefore,
if the teachers' age played anyrole in theway they responded. Surely one would think that intheir late20's or late 60's people would probably reply differently to the survey. Similarly we
could not help but notice the huge gap in teachers' experience (1 year to 27years of teaching).
Would that also be a factor behind their responses?

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