What is reflective teaching?

The concept of reflective teaching stems from Dewey (1933) who distinguished ‘routine action’- which is guided by factors such as tradition, habit and authority, institutional definitions and expectations, and ‘reflective action- which implies engagement in constant self-appraisal and development.

This means routine action is not adaptable to changing circumstances, whereas reflection action is flexible, thereby involving social awareness and analysis.

Reflective teaching is a dynamic process. It is applied in a cyclical or spiraling process in which teachers observe, make decisions, plan, self-evaluate and revise, adapt, create, and innovate.

Teachers’ observations of classroom behaviours, attitudes, and interactions play a critical role in the process. In addition, to make effective use of such data and gain insight into students’ learning needs and styles within the course, there is a need for continuous analyses and reflection upon them as well as decision-making and planning.

Teaching practices also need teachers’ evaluation and revision, then adapting their teaching contents and materials according to their students’ learning needs and preferences. Indeed, reflective teachers are flexible, adapting their approach, modifying their lessons, and bringing change to help students access learning.

Highly reflective teachers know that they have a powerful and immediate effect on student learning, and if students are struggling, then they can swiftly get them back on track by intervening in calculated and meaningful ways (Hattie, 2009).

The purpose of reflective teaching is to improve classroom practice and make professional learning a part of the everyday work of teachers. Therefore, reflective teaching should involve creating and bringing more innovation to teaching.

Hence, reflection is not just a matter of thinking over actions and engaging in those stages. However, it requires an interest in the profession, awareness of the learning outcomes, and educational policies to reflect systematically and make relevant decisions and plans to achieve them.

A teacher with awareness is knowledgeable about each and every student in his or her class, including his or her individual academic levels, interests, learning profiles, and instructional needs (Tomlinson, 2014)

So, besides teachers’ awareness of the learning needs and educational objectives within a given context; they need as well to be familiar with the current educational trends and the teacher’s changing role within to frame their reflection accordingly

This means reflective teachers are active teachers who hold responsibility for the planned decisions, observe continuously, and seek evidence from the teaching context and their reading of other research. They need to evaluate themselves, collaborate, and learn from other experiences.

Thus, reflective teaching requires being open-minded, accepting others’ constructive feedback, and being willing to adapt teaching according to our students’ needs and preferences.

Reflective teaching process requires cognitive skills that allow teachers to evaluate, revise, plan, and manage ambiguities and constraints within the teaching and learning context.

But, the affective aspect is also part of this process since teachers’ interest, motivation, willingness, and tolerance of ambiguity are necessary for reflection to take place.

Further, a moral dimension to reflective teaching has been highlighted by researchers. Reflective teachers were described as “the moral craftsperson” (Zeichner & Liston, 1996, p.27). That moral purpose keeps teachers aware of their learning needs.

So, we need to recognize that our professional growth rests in our own hands. To help others learn, we need to be lifelong learners. To this end, we must take an active role in learning new information; applying new approaches; and engaging in professional development opportunities.

Reflective teaching importance

Reflecting on one’s teaching is essential to gain personal, and professional development. Indeed, this process is likely to help us learn more about the profession, read about other research, and seek to find out the latest innovations in the field of teaching.

Our ability to reflect continuously on our professional responsibilities matters more than doing the right things, as John Dewey stated, “It’s not the doing that matters; it’s the thinking about the doing” (quoted in Archambault, 1974, p. 321).

Reflection can trigger a deep understanding of teaching since it involves examining our practices and making decisions to improve. When it is ongoing and part of instructional routines it helps us reveal the nature of our teaching and any existing gaps. We can try different options, and assess their effects on teaching.

So, reflective teaching can help you master whatever skills, and strategies such as planning, classroom management, instructional delivery, collaboration, ongoing professional growth, response to administrative feedback, work with instructional coaches, and parent relationships.

Reflective teaching is also a source of motivation and inspiration for teachers. It enables us to feel more confident, curious, and eager to find out how our students learn at their best in class.

This process of self-inquiry can motivate you to not only pursue your goals but also thrive in teaching and be the best version of yourself. As your passion is fueled by your goals, you will get more innovative and creative in teaching, and more self-fulfilled.

Further, reflective teaching requires time, energy, commitment, and collaboration with peers, administrators, mentors, and coaches. So, it can be an incentive for the whole school staff to dive into teamwork, sharing, and learning from others to untangle some of the complexities that occur in the profession.

Reflective teaching examples

There are plenty of procedures that can support you to develop a deep understanding of teaching. Depending on your purpose and context, you can decide which procedures are useful.

Teaching journals

These are written or recorded accounts of teaching experiences. These can include your reactions to what happened in the classroom/school, your observations or questions about problems that occur in teaching, classroom instruction and ideas that work or need further improvement, or reminders of things to take action on.

Lesson reports

Lesson reports are written accounts of lessons that describe the main features of the lessons. The aim is to give teachers a quick and simple procedure for regularly monitoring what happened during a lesson, the time they spent on different parts of a lesson, and how effective the lesson was.

So, a lesson plan is what you intend to do in class, whereas a lesson report is what happened in class.

You can describe in your report the procedures you followed to achieve the lesson objectives, the difficulties/issues you encountered, the way you dealt with them, students’ attitudes, the most and least effective parts of the lesson, and what you think you should do to improve further your instruction.

Surveys, questionnaires, reflective worksheets

Gaining feedback on how students are learning is essential. You can obtain such information by administering a questionnaire, or a survey to students or using reflective worksheets at the end of the lesson.

You can learn about students’ learning preferences, difficulties, motivation, attitudes, and views. For instance, to improve group work activities you can ask students about what they have learned from collaborating with their peers, what roles they found most effective for their skill development, what topics/issues they prefer to work on, and what activities they need to do.

Audio and video recordings of lessons

You can record your lesson, either using an audio recorder or placing a video camera in a strategic place in a classroom. So, when you go home, you can replay the recording and examine the details of the lesson.

This is not a day-to-day reflective tool since recording devices may not capture all what goes inside the classroom and setting and reviewing them is time-consuming.

Observation and feedback

Observation includes teacher observation and peer observation.

Your observations are an integral part of your instructional practices to unveil students’ attitudes, difficulties, and the way they go through learning. For effective classroom observation, check out: 4 Tips to Make your Observations more Effective

For peer observation, you can invite a colleague to class to gather information about your teaching, rather than evaluate it. So, feedback describes how you deliver instruction, deal with classroom issues, manage time, etc.

Action research

Action research is a process of inquiry and critical self-reflection where teachers experiment to solve an issue, gain knowledge, and bring a positive effect. So, it involves action, evaluation, and reflection.

Teachers can employ action research daily in their classrooms. For instance, they can try out a given teaching technique (ex. Socratic Seminar) and gain feedback from students, work with students to improve their writing skills, collaborate with other teachers to develop and implement a new curriculum, etc.

For more information about action research check out this post: What is Action Research for Classroom Teachers?

Self-assessment questions/statements

These can be statements or questions you answer regularly to reflect how you approach things in teaching. These can include reflection in action (before you do the lesson) and reflection on action (after completing the lesson).

Reflection in action statement can include, for instance:

When planning for today’s lesson, I…

1. Begin with activating students’ prior knowledge activities.
2. I spend most of the time deciding how to differentiate the tasks to meet different student’s needs
3. I use the textbook to follow the directions.
4. Prepare questions to check for their understanding.

You can also prepare statements about how to deal with distracted or unfocused students, struggling students, disruptive students, etc. After recording your responses, analyse them.

Reflection on action can be done after the lesson and also at the end of the year. You can find in this post propelling questions that will help you self-assess and reflect effectively on your teaching process: End of Year Questions to Help you Get Ready for Next Year

The classroom is a site that provides opportunities for experimentation, exploration, and change for both teachers and students (Allwright, 2005). So, reflective teaching is necessary for teacher growth, building capacity for success, and making a difference in the lives of students. It is worth our time and effort.

References

Allwright, D. (2005). From Teaching Points to Learning Opportunities and Beyond. TESOL. Quarterly 39(1), 9-31.

Archambault, R. D. (Ed.). (1974). John Dewey on education: Selected writings. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking  to   the Educative Process. Lexington, MA: Heath.

Zeichner, K. & Liston, D. (1996). Reflective teaching: an introduction. Mahwah, New Jersey:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to student achievement. New York: Routledge.

Tomlinson, C. (2014). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD