Reflective Practice

  Implementing Multiple Perspectives Pedagogy for Democratic Citizenship Reflective Analysis of Claire McKenzie's Geography Lesson Through the Lens of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Differentiated Instruction, and Democratic Education Introduction: From Theory to Classroom Reality After seven years of teaching across three major Metro Atlanta [Georgia] school districts—including six years in special education co-taught environments—I have learned that the most powerful pedagogical theories are those that serve both academic rigor and social justice simultaneously. For this blog post, I chose to analyze Claire McKenzie's Year 7 geography lesson on Hedgerow Removal through the theoretical framework of Multiple Perspectives Pedagogy for Democratic Citizenship , which integrates Ladson-Billings' (2014) Culturally Relevant Pedagogy 2.0 with Pham's (2012) systemic approach to differentiated instruction and Wood's (2025) democratic education framework. This lesson c...

A British Economics Lesson How a 57-minute video expanded my analytical lens for observing teaching When I selected a 2006 video of Caroline Whitehead teaching Year 9 business concepts at Haydon School, I was looking for a lesson to analyze using reflective practice frameworks. What I found was an excellent example of constructivist teaching that allowed me to apply Johns' Model for Structured Reflection in ways that sharpened my observational skills and deepened my understanding of effective pedagogy. Building on Previous Learning: A Constructivist Journey This analysis represents a culmination of my graduate coursework exploring educational theory and practice. Throughout my studies, I've examined cognitive apprenticeship principles in biology education (McLeod, 2025a), delved into constructivist foundations for effective teaching (McLeod, 2025b), and designed comprehensive lesson plans integrating multiple learning approaches (McLeod, 2025c). Watching Caroline's lesson a...

Reflective Practice in the Reality of Teaching Introduction Completing Barbara Larrivee's Survey of Reflective Practice this week has been both validating and sobering. With seven years of teaching experience across three major Georgia school districts—Fulton County, Gwinnett County, and Atlanta Public Schools—I've worked as both a special education teacher (six years) and a general education teacher (one year). My experience spans general education, co-taught, and self-contained classroom settings in mathematics (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Advanced Math Decision Making) and sciences (Biology, Environmental Science). What struck me most about this survey wasn't just what it revealed about my current reflective capacity, but how it illuminated the gap between individual professional growth and institutional reality. The survey assumes collaborative reflection opportunities that, in my experience, rarely exist in functional forms. This disconnect has shaped both my development ...