5 Reflective Teaching Practice

Reflective Teaching Practice

Within this chapter, you will find some helpful documents that speak directly to Course Objective #3 (Reflect upon your personal teaching practice).

What is reflective teaching?

The American philosopher and educational reformer, John Dewey, considered reflection crucial to learning. As Carol Rodgers, a scholar of Dewey, points out, Dewey framed reflection as “a systematic, rigorous, disciplined way of thinking” that led to intellectual growth. In other words, reflective practice helps to create confident teachers.

Because our students are so diverse and there’s so much variety in instructional contexts, good teaching requires instructors to observe, reflect upon, and adapt their teaching practice. In addition to identifying areas for improvement in your teaching, reflection is also core to an inclusive teaching practice.

Deep, thoughtful reflection is at the heart of a teacher’s practice. However, for many, finding the time for quiet reflection is a struggle. Some simple pointers might offer some help in this area:

• Capture as much data as possible during the school day. This can provide a basis for deeper reflection once the school year ends. Summer months can be useful when digging into what worked, and didn’t, during the previous year. Here are four areas of key data to include:
  • Learning: What do the data say about what your students learned?
  • Student Experience: What did students think and feel about their experience and what they learned? What do they think could be changed?
  • Improvement: What curriculum and supporting approaches need to be improved?
  • Timing: How did the timing of a lesson, project, or unit compare with your plan?

To make this type of reflection work, data capture must become a simple and seamless routine in each day. Setting too high a standard can lead to frustration and ultimately to failure. To be successful, develop habits that can be followed:

• Journaling: Capture quick notes from each class, such as:
  • What parts of the daily plan were met or delayed?
  • Where should the class pick up next time?
  • Which students need extra support?
  • What activities went well or poorly?
  • How did you feel about the experience of your students?
• Voice Memos: Clarity about what happened in the day, what went well, what needs improvement, and individual observations of students contain valuable information; however, time is not a teacher’s friend. To preserve fidelity of the information, leverage the power of your phone’s memo recorder. Get into the habit of creating quick summaries at the end of each class or school day. These recordings can then serve as an accurate time capsule for details.
• Student Surveys: Use a Google form at the end of each unit to provide voice to the students. Ask direct questions, such as:
  • How did this unit go for you?
  • What did you learn?
  • What was taught that you feel you didn’t learn?
  • How could I improve this unit in the future?
  • What advice would you have for future students?

There are lots of ways to be thoughtful about your teaching. Therefore, to help in this endeavor, the following resources will be used throughout the semester as touch points for discussion and your own reflective opportunities.

1. Purdue University’s College of Education Online and Blended Teaching Hub: Reflecting on Teaching Practice: https://onlineteachinghub.education.purdue.edu/reflecting-on-teaching-practice/  (Note: While on this website, check out the printables and the web resources that have been shared. They are really good.) 
2. Edutopia: 6 Tips for Making Reflection a Consistent Habit: https://www.edutopia.org/article/consistent-teacher-reflection-tips/
3. Keep ‘Em Thinking: Self-Reflection: Are You a Reflective Teacher? https://keepemthinking.com/2019/05/self-reflection-are-you-a-reflective-teacher/
4. Helpful Reflection Strategies for Teachers: https://youtu.be/5L6QOSFkqC0?si=zsanr96oCXPEOMn1

Throughout these, and other opportunities to reflect on your teaching practice, we find ways to move through challenging situations. Consider this TED Talk, presented by Olympia Della Flora, an elementary principal in Columbus, Ohio. Principal Flora had a challenging student who would often create havoc in the school. Listen as she talks about what she, and her faculty and staff, learned through moments of reflection and interaction with others: https://www.ted.com/talks/olympia_della_flora_creative_ways_to_get_kids_to_thrive_in_school?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare