Definición de objetivos

The first feature leading to changes in beliefs and practices is raising awareness. It appears that the realisation of their current beliefs and practice seems to be an important factor initiating change. Paying explicit attention to beliefs and practice is crucial because if teachers are not aware of their current beliefs and practice, they cannot choose to act differently. In this study, DRs provide opportunities for teachers to examine and assess if their beliefs correspond with practices. T1 and T5 responded about the awareness and changes of their beliefs and practice after DRs (section 4.2.3, POI 9 for T1 and section 4.2.2, POI 6 for T5). It might be possible to explain that after they participated in DRs, reflecting on their own practice and listening to their peers’ reflection trigger them to examine their belief. Then comparing their beliefs with others’ accelerates the change in their beliefs and practice in a short time (section 4.2.3, POI 9 for T1 and section 4.2.2, POI 6 for T5). Furthermore, the teachers in this present study became aware of their beliefs and practice as a consequence of being asked through reflective questions in DRs (Appendix U for examples of reflective questions). Therefore, it is essential to make teachers notice the beliefs they hold and the practice they have which will enable them to examine and restructure their beliefs.

The findings of this study are in line with those which encourage teachers to examine other teachers’ practices to gain better understanding of beliefs, values and experiences guided through the reflection process (Nolan et al., 2005; Nolan, 2008; Leijen et al., 2012; Leijen et al., 2014) which eventually develops their teaching skills (Rieger et al., 2013). The results of Nolan’s study (2008) using focus groups with pre-service undergraduate students reveal that with support from a skilled facilitator proving guided questions, focus groups are meaningful and productive as they help pre-service teachers consider their practices, teaching theories, thoughts and reflection while hearing and considering their peers’ reflections. Hearing their own and others’ reflections help teachers to transform from their intermental to intramental functional levels. After internalisation of their own beliefs and practices, teachers reconstruct their new beliefs and practices. Accordingly, opportunities for teachers to examine the beliefs they hold is potential for beliefs and practice change.

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5.5.2. Scaffloding

The second main feature facilitating belief and practice changes is scaffolding. The findings of this study support the positive role of social interactions occurring through reflective conversations that foster sharing knowledge (Allen, 2011; Nauman, 2011). The possible explanation might be that this social interaction mediated through DR as a social activity allows teachers to practice reflection (Hardford and MacRuaire, 2008; Chick, 2015; Mann and Walsh, 2017; ab Rashid, 2018) and gain practical knowledge, such as a wider vocabulary teaching repertoire and techniques to tackle pedagogical problems (Little, 2002; Hepple, 2010; Nehring et al., 2011; Keay et al., 2014; Owen, 2014; Haneda et al., 2016; Murugaiah et al., 2016). The results of the current study corroborate with Vygotsky (1978) who state that knowledge occurs through sharing in conversations among more and less experienced teachers and Mann and Walsh (2017) who emphasise that learning emerges through dialogic reflection shared with other peers (interpersonally) and then intrapersonally after they internalise what they have learned from the reflective conversations.

It is clearly evident that practical knowledge emerged as shown in their following some teaching techniques (excerpt 4.32 for T1) and creating their own techniques (excerpt 4.33 for T3, excerpt 4.40 for T5, excerpt 4.37 for T4). It might be possible to explain that practical knowledge is shared through a mediational tool of DR. After internalisation, teachers have appropriated the teaching techniques by using them in their own ways and this influenced the techniques of others. Teachers in the present study have opportunities to closely examine how they practice and learn from others’ reflection. Through sharing in DR, they can reconsider some instructional aspects they might overlook in self-reflection. Peer members can provide scaffolding for them to tackle some instructional problems as they take turns to share their practice and teaching experience relating to others’ practice. Changes in their practice result from a mediated meaningful activity of DR enables less knowing teachers to bridge their zone of proximal development. Thus, opportunities to share is essential for affordance resulting in teacher learning (Mann and Walsh, 2017).

The results of the present study support the role of interaction which allows teachers to learn from each other (Vygotsky, 1978). Asking teachers to reflect on their practice and hearing other teachers’ reflection on their practice act as scaffolding that guides them to ponder their beliefs and practice. DR as a new socially and culturally interactional learning activity among more and less experienced teachers triggers them to examine or reflect on their own practice and to

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hear other teachers’ reflection. Therefore, the findings suggest DR as a learning process fosters higher mental thinking leading to professional development or changes in beliefs and practice. Furthermore, it appears that DRs take place in a form of supportive and collaborative conversations (Mann and Walsh, 2017). The findings corroborate with ab Rashid (2018) whose study revealed that supportive conversation on FB fosters English language teachers’ understanding of their practice which led to reconceptualisation of professional development. The results are in agreement with Murugaiah et al. (2016) who investigated the use of Web technologies promoting the online communities of practice (CoPs). The findings of their study show that this online affordance helps teacher members reflect on their practice, develop new teaching skill in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere. It is possible to state that support among the professional group facilitates change (Lipka and Ilutsik, 2014). In this study, the DRs promote support or collaboration as this sharing in reflective dialogues leads to the collaborative construction of opportunities for learning which creates intersubjectivity or joint meaning making (Mann and Walsh, 2017).

The possible explanation might be that in this current study, participating in the DRs provides opportunities or learning space for teachers to share and discuss how to solve instructional problems which eventually improve their practice (Mann and Walsh, 2017). The findings of the present study are supported by Tam (2015) whose study shows that the opportunities for teachers’ collaboration are essential as it allows teachers to examine their beliefs and practice, to learn and feel supported which eventually fosters teacher learning. Additionally, the findings support Bain et al. (2002) and Fakazil and Gönen (2017) who found that engaging teachers in a discussion, analysis, and interpretation of classroom events, and having interactions with others allows sharing different voices. The results were in line with those of DuFour and DuFour (2009); Hord (2009); Mann and Walsh (2013, 2017); Fakazli and Gönen (2017) whose findings show that sharing among peer teachers facilitates new knowledge which optimises learning.

In essence, the results of the present study support the role of dialogic reflection in which learning is mediated through a symbolic tool of language (Vygotsky, 1978) in DRs which allows new understanding or novel knowledge to be co-constructed, internalised and appropriated through a dialogic reflective process (Mann and Walsh, 2017). Participating in DRs offers opportunities to foster the interplay between spontaneous and scientific concepts as DR involves dialogues among more and less experienced teachers about a ‘lived’ classroom experience. In the study, dialogic mediation in which teachers and important interlocutor

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sharing and acknowledging the importance of contributions could lead to teacher learning or changes in beliefs and practices. Through sharing the instructional problems and challenges with each other, teachers have opportunities to reach intersubjectivity (Wertsch, 1985). Apart from the sharing of knowledge through social interaction in DR, scaffolding in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) through reflective questions and constructive comments facilitated in DRs may have led to teacher change. It can be explained that after teachers shared their reflection, some questions were distributed to raise teachers’ awareness of their practices (see sample questions in Table 3.4). The facilitated question and comments made by me and other teachers (Appendix T for samples of transcripts of DR1) might have led to their knowledge construction (section 4.3) because the teachers did not only follow but also adjusted or initiated their vocabulary teaching techniques and improved their instructional behavior. The findings of the present study are in line with Mercer and Littleton (2007) and Mercer (2008) whose studies support the important role of questions promoting thinking. The results of the current study are agreement with Leijen et al. (2012) whose findings show that questions relating to reflection is a way of scaffolding in professional dialogues and with Bolam et al. (2005) and Vescio et al. (2008) who emphasize reflective professional inquiry as one of the characteristics of effective professional learning. Moreover, the results of the present study corroborate with what Poom-Valickis and Mathews (2013) found that scaffolding through questions can lead to teacher change.

Another possible explanation might be that regular feedback facilitated during shared dialogic reflection leads to teacher development. The findings of the current study support previous research into this teaching/learning which links practice and feedback. The results of the current study seem to further support the idea of Kang and Cheng (2013) who suggest that feedback on new practice from various sources, including teachers’ own perception of the teaching and learning and others, should be regularly conducted to solidify a new practice to become the new norm in the classroom. The results of this study are in accord with recent studies (Richards, 2008; Burns, 2009) indicating that the formation of teachers’ personal pedagogical knowledge requires hands-on experience of new practice and feedback from various sources, as a means for teachers to elaborate and understand or make sense of such knowledge.

Therefore, DR provides scaffolding through sharing knowledge, reflective questions and comments and regular feedback to teachers to move from peer-assistance level to self- assistance level.

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