Basic principles and conditions of training reflective teachers at university

Abstract

This article aims at revealing the basic principles and conditions for the preparation of a reflective teacher in classical university. On the basis of theoretical research, analysis of psychological and educational literature and great educational experience, the fundamental principles of preparation of students as future professional reflective teachers are revealed. The article deals with the theoretical and methodological basis of the current reseatch, presents the main arguments for the training of a future reflective teacher in a classical university. The paper discusses the feasibility of conditions based on the integration of the principles presented in various forms of active learning (i.e. business games, design, problem solving, microcharacterization, workshops, discuyive lectures, lectures-dialogues and practice throughout the learning process, etc.). Also forms of activity and simulation of various types of social interaction were studied. The ability to develop a criterial restructuring of activity is provided and the way to self-cognition and self-development is opened.

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CORRESPONDENCE Gulnara F. Biktagirova BikGF@mail.ru
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Introduction
Urgency of the problem
In a changing world modern education requires a learner-centered approach not
only to a student, but, above all, to the personality of a teacher. Pedagogical
education needs a teacher having his or her own style of activity, creativity,
mobility and reflexivity and establishing an individual, unique and creative
position.
Nowadays pedagogical culture places high demands on the qualities of a
modern teacher who is capable of professional creativity; the main condition for
Basic Principles and Conditions of
Training Reflective Teachers at University
Gulnara F. Biktagirovaa
aKazan (Volga region) Federal University, RUSSIA
ABSTRACT
This article aims at revealing the basic principles and conditions for the preparation of a
reflective teacher in classical university. On the basis of theoretical research, analysis of
psychological and educational literature and great educational experience, the
fundamental principles of preparation of students as future professional reflective
teachers are revealed. The article deals with the theoretical and methodological basis of
the current reseatch, presents the main arguments for the training of a future reflective
teacher in a classical university. The paper discusses the feasibility of conditions based
on the integration of the principles presented in various forms of active learning ( i.e.
business games, design, problem solving, microcharacterization, workshops, discuyive
lectures, lectures-dialogues and practice throughout the learning process, etc.). Also
forms of activity and simulation of various types of social interaction were studied. The
ability to develop a criterial restructuring of activity is provided and the way to self-
cognition and self-development is opened.
KEYWORDS
ARTICLE HISTORY
Pedagogical reflectivity; reflexive teacher;
reflexive learning, university; basic principles;
training conditions
Received 29 March 2016
Revised 30 June 2016
Accepted 2 August 2016
IEJME — MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016, VOL. 11, NO. 6, 1927-1933
OPEN ACCESS

1928 G. F. BIKTAGIROVA
the creativity development is reflection - a core characteristic of a teacher.
Among its main features is ability of a teacher to choose the valuable bases of
their own behavior, to look for the meaning of current developments, to analyze
their activity, to come to non-standard solutions.
Theoretical and methodological basis
Today, the problem of training future teachers is a priority in the educational
policy of Russia, Great Britain, the United States of America, Germany, Holland
and other countries.
The methodological basis of our research is a personal activity approach and
an axiological approach to education, as well as the dialectical method of
obtaining knowledge and theories and concepts of personal development, which
to a greater degree sum up nature and characteristics of reflective cognition of
the world and a person in this world.
In terms of the personal activity approach, education is not seen as
reproduction of a specific set of information on various subjects, but as a well-
formed ability to learn, and perceive yourself and others. In accordance with the
personal activity approach, the process of mastering the content of historical
experience of people is carried out not by just giving this information to a
person, but through his own reflective activity aimed at self-perception through
the perception of objects and world phenomena - the outcomes of the human
culture development. From this perspective, pedagogical reflection of a teacher
can be seen as a concentrated self-expression, as well as a factor, a method, a
mean of pedagogical activity, and a level of self-expression in that activity, it’s
result and evaluation criteria.
As an object of cognition the axiological approach provides elucidation of
sense, inner spiritual value content of a particular existence in its entirety,
where a person is both the source object and the subject, where human
uniqueness, his ontologically autonomous personality, the problem of his self-
existence and self-realization are important. This allows us to consider teacher’s
reflection as a system of regulative values of his educational activity.
A special methodological role in our research is presented by the dialectical
method of cognition; on the basis of this method there was implemented a
system analysis of the process of teacher’s reflection in the context of its
practice-oriented forms of expression, in particular analytical focus and
reflective skills in key areas of teacher’s activity.
This allows to define the research problem: what are the basic principles
and conditions for the training future reflexive teachers in a classical university?
Purpose of research is to reveal basic principles and conditions for the
training a reflective teacher at university.
Literature Review
Various aspects of training of reflective teachers were studied in the Russian
and foreign psychological and educational literature. The researchers of the
problem are: V. I. Andreev (2000), A. V. Bruschlinsky & V. A. Polikarpov (1988),
L. S. Vygotsky (1982), Ju. N. Kulyutkin (1981), D. A. Leontiev (1996), A. K.
Markova (1996), S. Y. Stepanov (2000), McLaughlin & H. Terence (1999), B. G.
Richardson & M. J. Shupe (2006), D. Schon (1983, 1987), K. Zeichner & D.
Liston (1987), V. A. Yadov (2009) and others.

IEJME - MATHEMATICS EDUCATION 1929
The mechanism of reflection of a teacher as a special kind of activity is
defined and developed in the framework of psychology and pedagogy. Previously
reflection was considered in psychology to be only as an explanatory principle of
mental evolution and was used as a category for the explanation of theoretical
concepts of mental development in works of L. S. Vygotsky (1982), A. V.
Korzhuev (2002), D. A. Leontiev (1996), S. L. Rubinstein (2007). But in
researches of S. U. Stepanov & I. N. Semenov (1985), and others reflection is
appeared as a subject of active experimental study.
A. K. Markova (1996), E. V. Bondarevskaya & S. V. Kulnevich (1999), G. F.
Biktagirova, V. V. Utemov & V. V. Khitryuk (2016), G. F. Biktagirova & R. A.
Valeeva (2013, 2014) studied teacher’s reflection as a tool of educational activity.
However, different approaches to its analysis do not exhaust the problem of
reflective teachers training as a pedagogical category. It should be noted that
these approaches do not fully reveal its integrative character in a constructive
activity of a future teacher in the conditions of ever-changing educational
situations.
Methodological Framework
Educational and research activity of future teachers in the learning process is
advisable to design and implement on the basis of the principles of systematic,
problematicity, variability, complementarity. Integration of these principles
ensure the development of features of reflexive activity (self-observation, self-
awareness, self-analysis, self-correction, the ability to assign a specific meaning
to different phenomena), reflective thinking activity (problem, consistency,
intuitive understanding, empathy, additionality) and intellectual skills (ability
to analyze, compare, make inductive and deductive inference, hypothesize,
systematize, draw analogies, model, design their activities for the future, etc).
In accordance with the scientific principle, all educational information in its
content and form of presentation must comply with the achievements of modern
science, and the requirements of modernization and renovation of educational
content.
As practice shows, production is effective while mastering knowledge of
reflection based education, as it allows to extend a definition of some objects,
concepts, phenomena to the other ones, which are similar by characteristic
features.
According to the principle of the systemacity of teacher’s reflection
development, all educational information on a subject should be communicated
to students and learnt by them in a specific, pedagogically valid system.
Meaningful systemacity, in other words the alignment of educational
material in accordance with the systematically presented aim, is complemented
in reflexive learning by systematically organized reflexive educational actions
consistently revealing the mechanism of functioning of reflective personality
growth.
Training is considered to be feasible for those who are trained in accordance
with their professional level, experience and professional interests. In this
regard, presented material should be variative in form, content and level of
complexity and take into account the initial level of teacher’s pedagogical
reflection.

1930 G. F. BIKTAGIROVA
In close connection with the availability principle is the principle of
consciousness, which is understood in didactics as reasonable and independent
thinking of students. Taking this into consideration, the basis for motivating
dynamic cognitive activity of students should lay in continuous development of
the method of reflexive awareness of their needs in learning and future
professional engagement. Of particular concern in this context is appealing to
the leading form of cognitive activity - independent, active and meaningful study
of educational material on the basis of self-reflection and the use of techniques
and methods of self-management and self-control.
In reference to the educational goal, implementation of the principle of
individual approach requires choosing an individual and at the same time
criteria-based style of activity, but not developing an abstract system of
knowledge and methods. The initial element of this training would be to analyze
the specific difficulties in the implementation of reflection in teaching.
Identifying these difficulties, the study of the nature and reasons for the
selection of adequate enable each student's needs content and forms of training.
Results
Besides mentioned general pedagogical principles, logic of the process of
teacher’s pedagogical reflection development requires consideration of a number
of private educational principles proposed by V.I. Andreev (2000), which best
characterize the pedagogical reflection development. Among them, we highlight
the following principles: a combination of activity and personal approaches;
optimal combination of individual and collective forms of learning activities; self-
organization and self-development.
The principle of the activity and personal approaches. The activity aspect of
educational process begins to prevail over the informative. This implies that:
 training materials content is based on core activities;
 real practical situations are reflected in educational process;
 value of reflection is increasing over own experience and learning
activity results;
 consideration of purposes, content, levels of problemacity, methods and
forms of organization, and their relation to the level, type of personality
and characteristics of teacher’s pedagogical reflection.
The principle of optimal combination of individual and collective forms of
learning activities. A mandatory element of reflective learning is direct
communication between students themselves. Only "live" collective dialogue can
provide development of creative, communicative abilities as the basis and
conditions for the development of reflective skills and knowledge.
The principle of self-organization and self-development. The
implementation of this principle allows each student to experience a real
personal sense of perception and reflect his self-movement in a learning process.
Criterial methods, revealing mechanisms of any change and development,
constitute a content of such training activities.
An important requirement for reflective teaching is communication as a
process of identifying the student’s position and situation with the position and
situation of another person. Availability of communicative environment
contributes to the activation of pedagogical reflection mechanism.

IEJME - MATHEMATICS EDUCATION 1931
It is necessary to provide reflexive training process of future teachers on the
basis of the principles mentioned earlier using various forms of active l earning
as well as using a productive subject-subject dialogue. As for the forms of active
learning the following ones must be mentioned: professional simulation,
instructional design, problem solving, microanalyses, workshops, lectures-
discussions, lectures-dialogues and practice throughout the whole process of
training, etc. Participation in such forms of activities that simulate different
types of social group interaction provides the ability to develop criterion changes
in students’ behavior and activities and lead to self-knowledge and self-
development.
It is important when students are motivated in studying and this process is
of high value to them. Only in this case learning activity has emotional impact
and stimulates students to self-directed learning and development of student-
relevant and professional competences. Thus a future teacher acquires higher
levels of reflexivity, graduating from spontaneous empirical to reproductive and
then to system and activity and creative levels. The dynamics of level changes is
provided with the intentional development of personal and professional, value-
oriented strategies of self-development of future teachers.
The conditions that are also of great importance are the constant
diagnostics and self-diagnosis state both the process of development and its
results, the level of development of a pedagogical reflexivity of students and if
necessary correction of reflective teaching process and problem-oriented type of
training.
An important pedagogical condition for a reflexive teacher development lays
in using interconnected and reflexively oriented stages of teaching: diagnostic,
teaching, criteria and modeling, strategic. This process can be successfully
implemented only on the assumption of deliberate systematic development and
implementation of psycho-pedagogical and process-technological conditions,
including reflective algorithmic procedures and various forms of future teachers
training, methods of enhancing of teacher’s reflection development during
educational process.
Alignment of an educational process is carried out in various forms of
activity (play activity, creative activity, research activity). This is achieved by
students during lectures, seminars, while participating in business and role-
playing games, exercising their behavior in educational micro studies, when
studying existing self-reflexive experience and reflexive activity in the process of
active learning and professional activity designing.
Discussions
Teaching science and innovative practices show that this process can be
successful at a qualitatively different level of theoretical understanding and
practical implementation of training of a reflective teacher, who, in this case, not
only carries a function of teacher's personality, but presents a way of thinking
activity and a specific form of personality oriented teaching practice.
The learning process should provide necessary and sufficient conditions for
the staged development of the characteristics of reflective activity, mental
activity, and intellectual skills.

1932 G. F. BIKTAGIROVA
Individual levels of mastery of pedagogical reflection by a teacher are:
spontaneously empirical, reproductive, systematically active, creative. Dynamics
of level movement is provided with intentional development of personal,
professional, and value-oriented strategies for teacher’s self-development.
Educational activity in the process of a reflective teacher training should be
built basing on the principles integration and productive subject-subject
dialogue.
Conclusion
The established principles and conditions for training future teachers that
aimed at reflexive university education provide pedagogical formation of future
professionals.
The conducted theoretical study provides a foundation for further searches,
aimed at optimizing technological aspects of a reflective teacher training
process, and modernization of means for development in the process of
education.
Acknowledgments
The work is performed according to the Russian Government Program of
Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Gulnara F. Biktagirova is PhD, Associate Professor of Kazan (Volga region)
Federal University, Kazan, Russia.
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