Page 100 - Pedagoška vizija / A Pedagogical Vision

Anja Pirih and Silva Bratož

dent online lesson format designed for asynchronous online learning and
reflective discussions carried out during the lesson design process.

Literature Review
The value of reflection in teacher education has been acknowledged by a
wealth of literature in the field, commonly leaning on several seminal works,
especially Dewey’s (1933) and Schön’s (1983; 1987), which promote reflective
thinking as a tool for solving problems and making informed decisions. Ac-
cording to Dewey (1933), reflection emerges when we directly experience a
problem and are driven by the desire to solve it. Schön (1983) further devel-
oped the idea of reflection by distinguishing between two types: reflection-
in-action and reflection-on-action. The former is usually more intuitive and
refers to the ability to reflect on one’s actions while they are happening,
while the latter is more deliberate and analytical and involves the skill of
reflecting on one’s actions after they have happened. Parsons et al. (2018)
add that reflection-on-action always includes not only a reflection on learn-
ers’ needs but also planning for these needs. Therefore, reflection-on-action
occurs both in the pre-active phase of planning as well as the post-active
phase of reflecting, while reflection-in-action takes place during the interac-
tive phase of instructing.
The role of reflective practice has had special relevance and resonance
in teacher education programmes (Valli 1997; Pedro 2005; Ottesen 2007; Ze-
ichner and Liston 2013; Beauchamp 2015). Beauchamp (2015) identifies two
predominant themes that have emerged in recent discussions of reflective
practice in education, namely context and identity. The dimension of con-
text encompasses several aspects such as the venue of reflection, the role of
supervisors or more knowledgeable others, and whether the reflection is in-
dividual or collective (Beauchamp 2015). Similarly, identity has been seen as a
significant, albeit complex and multi-layered, aspect of reflection in teacher
education (Walkington 2005; Farrell 2011; Beauchamp 2015; Sahling and De
Carvalho 2021). For the purpose of this study, we understand the forming of
teacher identity as a process in which ‘teachers construct and reconstruct
(usually tacitly) a conceptual sense of who they are (their self-image) and this
is manifested through what they do (their professional role identity)’ (Farrell
2011, 54). In other words, identity refers to how teachers perceive themselves
and how they act in their role as teachers in different learning environments.
It is clear from the ongoing research in the field that the question of teacher
identity is fundamental in any discussion on reflective practice in teacher
training (Beauchamp 2015) and that prospective and novice teachers need

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