Professional Portfolio (Summary Report and Critical Reflection)

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I. Introduction

A. Introductory statement: The field of education is filled with so many theories, teaching philosophies, and concepts, in this course, there were various theories that were discussed.

B. Thesis statement: The main focus of the assignment is three main theories; reflexivity inquiry -based learning and experiential learning, and the application of leadership in the education practice.

II. Main Body

A. Reflexivity theory

· Topic sentence: The reflexivity theory is a theory where the learners explore their own experiences to become more self-conscious open-minded and more self-critical.

· Supporting evidence: The reflexivity theory is applicable in education because it helps to make the learners accept feedback and criticism from their teachers and peers and also helps students link the concepts taught in the classroom with the real world. The reflexivity theory also encourages the teachers to sit back and look at what they have taught in a lesson after it ends and this helps the teachers to think of ways in which they can improve their teaching (Watts, 2019). Through reflexivity, the teachers can help cultivate better relationships with their students.

B. Inquiry-based learning

· Topic sentence: Inquiry-based learning is a learning method where the students get the chance to actively participate in the classroom through asking questions and getting feedback from their teachers.

· Supporting evidence: Teachers are moving away from the traditional learning setup where their duty was to present the students with facts and knowledge on a particular subject. The inquiry-based learning theory is applied in the learning environment to describe how the students actively participate in the classroom by asking questions, posing problems, and also giving examples scenarios (Khalaf et al., 2018). The inquiry-based learning helps to deepen the understanding on a particular knowledge subject and this is because through asking questions students are able to activate prior knowledge on a particular subject. Inquiry based learning also helps the students to clear any misunderstandings which they have about a topic.

C. Experiential learning

· Topic sentence: In the experiential learning, the students learn different concepts by doing and this helps them become more innovative & creative, understand the application of the concepts taught in the classroom in the real world, and the application of what is learned in the future.

· Supporting evidence: In experiential learning, the students are able to learn through doing and this is important because it helps them test their own theories and also gives them a chance to make mistakes and come up with creative ways of how they can solve the problems. Since in the hands-on learning the students are allowed to make mistakes, they use the mistakes as a learning opportunity where they come up with new theories to get things done (Morris, 2020). Additionally, through experiential learning the students are able to cooperate with one another and discuss their findings. This helps build social skills and enable them to work well in group settings later in life.

D. Application of leadership

· Topic sentence: Without leadership in the learning environment a lot of things might go wrong and this is because leadership is needed to help create a positive school culture, set the direction, and promote success in challenging environments.

· Supporting evidence- As a leader, I will focus more on application of the leadership skills I have towards the betterment of the learning environment. As a leader in the classroom, I will help create a sense of direction by demonstrating the desired behavior and modelling the way for the learners (Komives & Sowcik, 2020). Leadership will help me inspire other staff members and also inspire the learners to have better attitudes towards learning and have a positive mindset.

III. Conclusion

The theories learned in this course help one understand how the learning environment can be improved to help achieve the best outcome from the learners.

WORDS COUNT: 633

References

Khalaf, B.K., Zin, M. and Bt, Z., 2018. Traditional and Inquiry-Based Learning Pedagogy: A

Systematic Critical Review. International Journal of Instruction, 11(4), pp.545-564.

Komives, S.R. and Sowcik, M., 2020. The status and scope of leadership education in higher

education. New Directions for Student Leadership, 2020(165), pp.23-36.

Morris, T.H., 2020. Experiential learning–a systematic review and revision of Kolb’s

model. Interactive Learning Environments, 28(8), pp.1064-1077.

Watts, L., 2019. Reflective practice, reflexivity, and critical reflection in social work education

in Australia. Australian Social Work, 72(1), pp.8-20.

Student Number: PN1022423