Analyzing critical incidents

Personal narratives give readers the possibility of reflecting upon certain issues because they can learn about other people´s experiences. White and Arndt (1991) argue that to share personal experiences is one of the most important purposes of writing. Teachers can use critical incidents (CIs) as a useful way of analyzing and reflecting upon their practice. Kennedy and Wyrick (1995) also state that a CI can be defined as a method to be used   to foster reflective practice.

The analysis of CIs as part of teachers´ training is considered by Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Perez (2003) “as a pre-service and in-service teacher education strategy” (p 101). C Is are used as part of the training given to secondary schools Natural Science teachers in Zaragoza. Different CIs are described in detail and there are not only a number of possible causes, but also some possible solutions. The prospective teachers have the opportunity of working with these case studies and then they try to reach an agreement on how to deal with each situation.

In conclusion, to grow professionally is a long process, and in fact it should never end throughout the teacher´s career. It would be very convenient to present and discuss CIs during the training that prospective teachers receive while they are still at Teachers´ Training College. Thus, teachers will be more prepared to face unexpected circumstances that they will probably have to encounter in their future classes.

References

Fernández, J.; Elortegui, N. y Medina, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Interuniversitaria de formación de Profesorado, año/vol.17.número 001. Universidad de Zaragoza, España.

Kennedy, R.  & Wyrick,A. (1995). Teaching as reflective practice. Tennessee: The University of Tennessee.

White, R. & Arndt, V. (1991).  Process writing. Essex, UK: Longman