Similarities and Differences Betweeen Evidence Based...

Within the field of education there is a range of methods and practices which have been implemented by professionals, in order to improve the provision for learners. Some of the methods adopted may be due to government legislation. An example of this is the National Curriculum. It was introduced to establish a consistent approach to the teaching of all children, in maintained schools. It gives guidance on what should be taught for particular age groups and a set of level descriptors are also included to assess children by. Other practices are developed, within a school context, to address particular areas in need of improvement. Evidence Based Practice (EBP) and Reflective Practice are two methods, used by teachers, to enhance the teaching†¦show more content†¦Another familiar feature of both reflective and evidence based practice is that both practices share a common aim. They both strive for change and improvement (Atkin 1993 cited in Leitch Day 2000). Evidence is often g athered to support or justify particular practice. We look at trends in results to identify a particular weakness or strength. The optional statutory assessment grids are a great source of evidence for teachers, at the end of a year. They provide a breakdown of the types of questions that the children answered and show the percentage they got correct. In my school we analyse this data to show where there are gaps in the children’s understanding. We then use this evidence to inform our teaching practice the following year, by targeting these particular areas in need of development. By looking at this example you can see how both evidence based and reflective practice are used. As practitioners we need to reflect upon this evidence to help it inform out teaching. Without doing this, these gaps may go unidentified and there would be no improvement in that particular area of the child’s understanding. This example shows the reflection-on-action process. Although it is possible to say that both practices share a common aim it could be argued that the difference between the two is the way in which they are used (McMahon 1999). Often when practitioners reflect on their practice, it is then that they recognise a problem or dilemma. They do this by