Theory and practice integration through the use of critical incidents


If the critical incident technique is to be understood as “a set of procedures for collecting direct observations of human behavior in such a way to facilitate their potential usefulness in solving practical problems” (Flanagan, 1954, p. 1), it is reasonable to value its application within the field of education. As Fernandez, Elórtegui and Medina (2003) point out “[t]he idea is to integrate theory and practice” (p. 101). Hence, reflecting on everyday classroom practices becomes an essential ability not only to achieve learning and teaching objectives successfully, but also to grow professionally.
As “pre-service teacher education strategies” (Fernandez, Elórtegui and Medina, 2003, p. 101), critical incidents prove to be effective sources of analysis for inexperienced, undergraduate teachers. While attending college, analyzing real classroom situations in the form of critical incidents turned to be a personal enriching experience. Beyond theoretical background, it was the reflection on other teachers’ observations that provided me with reliable, handy, pedagogical tools to face everyday classes. Hence, it seems to be particularly important to foster the implementation of critical incidents within the teaching field.
To conclude, considering critical incidents as in-service strategies (Fernandez, Elórtegui and Medina, 2003), they contribute to enhance teachers reflections upon their own practices. Personally, I delved into registering everyday classroom occurrences without knowing I was in fact writing critical incidents. They have become reliable, self-evaluation resources since, after reflecting on them, I can identify my weak and strong points. I must admit it turns to be a really hard work to see personal classroom performances from an objective perspective; however, such analysis proves to be really profitable. Struggling feelings of rejoicing and frustration; relief and anxiety; as well as encouragement and dismay arise every time I become an outsider observer of my own teaching practice.



References

Fernandez González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N., & Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17 (1), 101-112. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved September 14th 2009, from
http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=2730

Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51 (4). Retrieved September 14th 2009, from
http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=2730