Critical Reflection Of Education318

Education318 has been a meaningful and influential course thus far, with some particularly valuable aspects for me personally. My existing values/beliefs (supporting inclusive education), knowledge and skills/practice relating to education and disability have been informed and consequently strengthened. In this article I initially discuss how valuable it has been to learn about the relationship between one’s values/beliefs, knowledge, and skills/practice. I subsequently explain how learning about the power of language and the importance of hearing the voices of students has enriched my knowledge, strengthened my values/beliefs and changed my skills/practice.

The ‘heart/head/hand’ relationship

Education318 has taught me that teachers’ values/beliefs,

Kasa-Hendrickson (2005) similarly acknowledges the role and importance of a teacher’s heart (values/beliefs), head (knowledge) and hand (skills/practice), for example; “By presuming the competence [heart] of people who do not always demonstrate it in traditional ways, the teacher is then freed to approach the learner with thoughts [head] and practices [hand] that would lead her/him to engage the student in meaningful academic opportunities” (p. 67). Shulman’s (2004) diagram demonstrates this

(2009) and Kramer and Hammel (2011) express the importance of engaging with the students and hearing their voices. I have learnt and believe that it is very important, when considering the education of all students, that the students’ perspectives are heard and valued in order to enhance and promote their learning. Knowing this has consequently influenced my skills/practice as I now always find myself considering the perspectives of those concerned. For example, my family friend is a teacher aide and recently complained that she “just cannot get him to understand”, and my instant reaction was to question whether she had asked the student about how he best learns. She actually reported to me a week later, saying that she discussed with the student how he would like to address the coursework and that there have been significant improvements