Early Childhood Education Reflective Practice

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Reflective Practice in Professional Development of Early Childhood Educators
Based on my personal own observations, Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers usually go through many professional developmental stages. Accordingly, the level of ECE competency for each of these professional developmental stages depends on mastery of teaching techniques, choice of appropriate learning tools, and implementation of effective educational methods or frameworks. Therefore, ECE teachers can progressively move through a cycle of professional developmental stages through a series of self-assessments, which are guided by the principles of proven effective teaching practices endorsed by community of educators or required by educational institutions.
In my
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99). It is based on a critical understanding of teaching practices, and centered on a continuous process of improving skills, knowledge, and approaches to achieve the best outcomes for children (California Department of Education, 2011, p. 137). ECE teachers who are practitioners of reflective practice can then more effectively use their knowledge of child development theories, enhance their teaching experiences, and improve their abilities to engage children and to plan classroom activities with optimal results (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2010, p. 7).
In essence, reflective practice is a progressive professional development approach based on the principle of on-going self-improvement process through self-assessment or personal evaluation of teaching practices (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2010).
Importance to ECE Professional
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Reflective practice enables teachers to respond to present situations and think about past experiences that will help guide teaching and objective decision-making. A reflective practice also involves objective thinking which then can avoid bias tendencies. Teacher reflections help assess present classroom situations and improve future ones.
In such practice, it is equally important for teachers to examine their own philosophies, values, and beliefs in teaching (Rice, 2013). A reflective teacher is open to changing his or her methods of teaching and taking a closer look at how we define ourselves as educators in supporting children’s learning experiences (Rice,

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