Reflection and the College Teacher

A volume in Innovative Perspectives of Higher Education: Research Theory and PracticeSeries Editor Kathleen P. King University of South FloridaHigher education is facing many challenges not least of which is retaining excellent faculty andcultivating their continued professional growth. This book explicitly ties the literature to thepractical concerns and recommendations related to applying the reflective process in a collegesetting. In this way the theories and empirical findings of the most recent literatures are linked topractical recommendations. The reflective tools described in this book provide an importantresource for facultys' reflective practice. Unlike other books on the topic the model developed andpresented in this book allows for the reflective process to validate faculty's previous actions oraccomplishments and maintain these practices. In other words the endpoint of reflective processsupports self-satisfaction. Instead of a deficit model the focus is development.In this comprehensive volume readers discover the seminal and the recent research in reflective practice drawn from a wide range ofsources including the authors' recent research findings on college teachers' reflection.Altogether Wlodarsky and Walters systematically address these critical questions:a. What is reflection?b. Of what practical use or benefit does reflection serve?c. How do college teachers model reflection in the workplace?d. What are the steps in the reflective process?e. How can the reflective process be harnessed for program improvementin the college setting and in individual faculty practices?Wlodarsky and Walters understand and address the real needs of college teachers today. Theycreated not only a thorough academic book but also a compelling relevant read. Specificallythey designed the chapters to include scenarios-developed from interview transcripts withcollege teachers. These stories powerfully contextualize the types of problems and tensionswhich surround the professional work environment of a college campus and the roles of thecollege teacher.