Teacher Reflection for Religious Educators

Teacher reflection has long been a subject of study and practice in most educational fields. This new qualitative study explores the practices, processes, and impact of reflection as a function of sustained professional development among professional secondary level religious educators in the Department of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion of the Church Educational System for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The reflective practices and processes of these religious educators is described and analyzed using a theoretical framework derived from previous work on reflection by Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, David Hatton and Neville Smith, and Fred Korthagen. From this in-depth analysis, the author develops a model of teacher reflection that can help religious educators understand how they can engage in professional reflection in a way that will maximize its impact on their professional development.

Autorentext

Ryan S. Gardner received his B.A. from University of Wyoming (1998), M.A. from Brigham Young University (2002), and Ph.D. from Utah State University (2011). He is a curriculum writer in the Department of Seminaries and Institutes in the LDS Church Educational system. He and his wife, Kathryn, live in Heber City, Utah, USA, with their six children.