Discovering a new technique for reflection and professional development

The Critical Incident Technique (CIT), as a tool of reflection and professional development.

            The Critical Incident Technique (CIT)  has been used in the educational field as a tool for reflection. However, this methodology is not only restricted to the educational field. It can be implemented in any situation, in which the main purpose is to analyze human behaviour (Flanagan, 1954). “The critical incident technique is essentially a procedure for gathering certain important facts concerning behaviour in defined situations” (Flanagan, 1954, p.8) . In other words, this method implies the observation of human behaviour in a particular situation.

            Many authors have used this technique for different purposes ( Fernandez Gonzalez, Elortegui Escartin, Medina Perez, 2003; Angelides, 2006). Fernandez et.al (2003) presents this technique as a teacher education strategy, a formative strategy, to promote the teaching learning process. The main purpose of using this strategy is to help students and teachers to develop critical thinking and analysis in a teaching- learning situation. In other words, the critical incident technique is presented as a professional and pedagogical tool to analyze specific learning situations.

            Additionally, Angelides (2003) proposes to use the critical incident technique as a tool for collecting data for research in the classroom. The author explains “this technique could be useful to researchers and those within schools who are interested in identifying the details of practice ( …)” ( Angelides, 2003, p.1). Teachers as researcher might need to think, reflect and conceptualize about their daily practice and it can be said that this method might provide them with the necessary tools to perform that actions.

            It is worth mentioning that the critical incident technique is not a rigid procedure, rather it is a flexible procedure which can be adapted in the light of the situation under analysis (Flanagan, 1954).It is possible to say that the critical incident technique has proved to be a useful tool for self reflection and analysis. To sum up, the classroom is an environment in which unexpected incidents may appear, for that reason teachers need to be prepared to confront and analyze them. The critical incident technique may not only provide them with a powerful tool for analysis and reflection, but also it may imply a life- long learning process.

References

Angelides, P. (2006). Supporting the continued professional development of teachers through the use of vignettes. Teacher Education Quarterly. Fall, 2006. Retrieved August, 2011 from www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200610/ai_n17197617/print

Fernandez Gonzalez, J., ELortegui Escartin, N. & Medina Perez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista universitaria de Formacion de Profesorado, 17-001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved August 2011, from www.redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=27417107

Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51-4. Retrieved August 2011, from www.apa.org/psycinfo/special/cit-article.pdf