ABSTRACT
Preparing teachers to teach thoughtfully, to consider carefully the consequences of their work, involves creating opportunities for beginning teachers to learn the skills and attitudes required for reflective practice. While there are many teacher education programs that are constructed to promote reflective thinking, little or no attention has been given to the impact of specific program structures on the processes or content of beginning teachers’ reflections. One conclusion that might be drawn from this lack of attention is that the structures of such programs are seen as unimportant or insignificant in determining the outcomes in the reflective practice of beginning teachers. The research reported here addresses the question of the relationship between structures designed to promote reflection in beginning teachers and the subsequent reflections of those teachers. This moves the spotlight of research on reflection in teacher education from a consideration of levels of reflectivity to the structural conditions employed to facilitate the process.
