Discussion about teacher education has been focused on global issues, such as economical or structural aspects, leaving on the background the complex process of learning to teach as part of the teacher professional development (Darling Hammond, 2006). As a matter of fact, one relevant issue should be considered: the reflective practice that might be foster by teacher education

This approach requires providing opportunities for teachers to reflect about their beliefs and share with others their own interpretations (Leavy, Mcsorley & Bote, 2007). As a result, teachers’ ideas may become more complex and sophisticated (Zhang,  Lundeberg & Eberhardt, 2011).

Teachers are frequently alone in their classrooms and have few spaces to interact with peers and discuss about pedagogical issues. Teacher professional development should promote those practices in order to improve learning (Borko, 2004; Fullan & Hargreaves, 1991; Coke, 2005; Javornik & Ivanus, 2008).

Traditional in-service teacher education usually includes a conventional setting to introduce an instructional technique or curriculum, delivered by an expert (Cohen & Hill, 2000). But, to change the core elements of teaching requires “extended opportunities for teachers to learn, generous support from peers and mentors, and opportunities to practice, reflect, critique, and practice again” (p.307)

In that context, given the importance of reflection and the social nature of teacher learning, it is important to evaluate alternative forms of teacher professional development. As a way to contribute to this discussion, this study proposes to address reflective practices in teacher professional development from a playful approach. This proposal is supported by the idea of “protected space” (Bourgeois & Nizet, 1997).This mean that it is more likely that learner cognitively engage with situations where "you can afford to experiment different worldviews or new ways of thinking or acting, without (too) risks to their identity and trajectory" (Bourgeois & Nizet, 1997, p. 24). For those reasons games could be a relevant strategy for teacher learning.

This study examined the experience of teachers’ professional development in an instructional device based on the use of games that were adapted to foster reflection and critical analysis among teachers from the work of popular education developed for the Center of educational research and development (CIDE in spanish) during the 80’s.

The current study contributes to the analysis of alternative forms of teacher professional education that include the emotional and social aspects of learning and that address the resistance to change that some teachers present (Tillema, 1998). Besides, address teachers perception of the experience and including the pro and cons that they highlight, as a way to recognize their voices in the analysis of the teacher development process.

The research questions of this study are: How teachers evaluate the experience of professional development based on reflective practice and game approach? And what features of the teaching-learning device they mention as relevant for teacher learning? 

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