Mindset Session 4 – Presentation 1

MONICA WATERHOUSE

Building a Reflective Professional Identity in ESL Teacher Education

In her presentation, Monica explores how ESL teacher education programs can cultivate a reflective professional identity, emphasizing the interconnectedness of reflective practice and a sustained professional development mindset. Drawing from her work as a program director, practicum supervisor, and portfolio co-coordinator, she presents two initiatives at Université Laval that aim to foster meaningful reflection among future ESL teachers. 

The first, the Reflective Professional Portfolio Project, scaffolds students’ development of the 13 mandated professional competencies. It engages them in self-reflective writing, linking their insights to practical artefacts (e.g., lesson plans, PD workshop notes), and tracks progress toward self-defined goals. Crucially, Monica highlights that reflection is not limited to formal coursework or practicums, but extends to self-initiated professional development, encouraging goal-setting and autonomy. The second initiative is an inter-university research project on Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), co-led by Monica and colleagues. Early data shows that collective reflection and community engagement help students internalize professional development not as a task, but as integral to their evolving teacher identity.  

KEY QUESTION
What approaches might be useful to promote future teachers’ reflective reflex and professional development mindset during their initial teacher training? 

SUGGESTED READINGS:     
Ministère de l’Éducation (2021). Reference Framework for Professional Competencies for Teachers.
See especially competency 11 (pp.74-76). 

Inter-univeristy research project :  CAPs et développement professionnel pour les futurs enseignants d’ALS