What makes a reflective teacher

Part of reflection is taking an honest look at how things are going. To do that, it's crucial to hear from others. As valuable stakeholders in the classroom, students and parents might see something that the teacher would not. The first time I handed students a survey, I was terrified.

I didn't really want to hear how badly things were going. I remember receiving mostly positive feedback, but a couple of comments really stung me. They were honest, and it hurt. I remember thinking that the students just didn't get what I was doing and tried to ignore what they said. It took me a few years to brave another attempt -- and I was glad that I did.

I needed to mature as a teacher to understand the value of student feedback. By listening to them, I was able to really think about my classroom practices from a different perspective. Teachers often think they can remember it all, but that's rarely the case. We jump from lesson to lesson thinking we can keep the mental notepad up to date as we go.

Too often, teachers cannot reflect on a lesson because they've forgotten exactly what happened in class -- and the details are important when trying to reflect and grow. If you use a planner for your lessons, use sticky notes for initial thoughts after a lesson, and stick them in the planner. If you use a digital planner, quickly write out some thoughts in a different color so they'll stand out later.

These notes are key for teachers who want to remember certain aspects of lessons that might need to be addressed later. I've used sticky notes and digital notes, and they've been great. As I bounce from class to class, it's tough for me to remember what I need to change or tweak.

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Please feel free to share with the EDvice community by clicking here! Skip to main content. You are here. The Reflective Teacher. Building a Reflective Practice Below are useful questions that can guide your reflective process.

The questions are organized around the four main components of teaching, as outlined by Dee Fink : Creating Significant Learning Experiences Fink 22 Design of instruction: Have you clearly defined the learning goals you have for your course?

These are key skills in developing them to become independent learners. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team. When we reflect we must be honest. At least honest with ourselves about our choices, our success, our mistakes, and our growth. Meaning that self-reflection acts as a constant reminder to teachers to stay humble and continue working hard to achieve results.

The first and most important step of reflective practice is to gather information about what happens in the classroom, so it can be unpicked and analysed. Here are some different ways of doing this:.

After each lesson teachers can write in a notebook about what happened, noting their own reactions and feelings as well as those of the students. This may be with a simple observation task or through note-taking and could relate back to the area the teacher has identified they want to reflect upon.

The problem here is that the teacher and observer may not agree on what they saw or experienced, causing confusion and conflict. A video also acts as an additional set of eyes to catch disruptive behavior that they may not have spotted at the time.

Try IRIS Connect Film Club , a ready-made free CPD programme that provides you with great video examples of real teaching practice and encourages meaningful developmental conversations using a proven reflective model. How can we get more eyes into the class? John Hattie. Once a teacher has gathered information on their lesson the next step in reflecting on their teaching is to analyse it. But what should they be looking for?

Here are some suggested reflection activities. Video brings a new level of depth and awareness to teacher reflection; a firsthand sense of self rather than the hearsay of others, making it a highly effective tool for teacher CPD. Having led the adoption of lesson capture software in a number of settings, I know that these platforms are not for anyone to judge lessons.

I have found filming my lessons a valuable opportunity that provides me with the space I need to more objectively look back at my lessons, away from the hustle and bustle of the lesson itself. It is an opportunity to identify strengths and areas of improvement.