REFLECTIVE TEACHING

REFLECTIVE TEACHING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

Reflective teaching is an important concept. What might seem like busy work in
educator programs actually can really change the way you function in the classroom
as a teacher. The goal of analyzing your teaching with reflection specifically allows you
to find what works best or worse in the classroom and adjust your approach. This can
make you a much more effective teacher and can help your students know that you
have their best interest in mind when designing your classroom teaching strategy.
Knowing how reflective teaching can create a better learning environment for your
students is the best way to understand why you should be using these techniques.
When you are in front of the classroom teaching, the first things that come to
mind are generally about how to get through the lesson at hand or what is coming up
next. However, without the student in the classroom, the teacher would not have a
reason to be there. Student-centered learning is one of the foundations of modern
educational theory and practice. One of the best methods for developing your reflective
understanding is to ask for student feedback and use that information to create better
lesson plans in the future. This feedback can come from a wide variety of sources, such
as the students' families or other teachers.
When you first learned to ride a bike, you had to remember multiple steps to
accomplish it. Speeding up, balancing, stopping: each skill required a bit of reflection
as you were learning, and putting it all together took a bit as well. What might seem
like one simple task to those who know how to do it is really many small complex
tasks that all come together perfectly. Teaching is more complex, but it is also a
combination of many small and repetitive tasks that all come together to form a
bigger picture. Reflective teaching helps you understand how to better perform each
little part to create a better future.

In a world of teaching standards based on student outcomes, being able to reflect

upon your classroom activities may seem like a luxury that most teachers do not have
time for. In reality, what seems like a luxury can help you provide higher quality
educational opportunities to the young people you serve. Not only will it make you a
better teacher, it will also help you develop your students into better learners.
“Teachers are the busiest professionals on

Earth”. “Teachers never stop working”. How

many times have you heard statements like

those above? I bet many times.

And how many times have you stopped to reflect upon your teaching practice?
Have you ever done it? How? What was the last time you’ve been observed? What was
the last time you observed a friend?
You may think: Why so many questions? What does it all have to do with reflective
teaching?

A lot has been discussed about critical thinking regarding our students learning
process. What about reflecting on our teaching process?
Have we reflected on it?

Reflective teaching is a personal tool that teachers can use to observe and
evaluate the way they behave in their classroom. It can be both a private process as
well as one that you discuss with colleagues. When you collect information regarding
what went on in your classroom and take the time to analyze it from a distance, you can
identify more than just what worked and what didn’t. You will be able to look at the
underlying principles and beliefs that define the way that you work. This kind of self-
awareness is a powerful ally for a teacher, especially when so much of what and how
they teach can change in the moment.
Reflective teaching is about more than just summarizing what happened in the
classroom. If you spend all your time discussing the events of the lesson, it’s possible
to jump to abrupt conclusions about why things happened as they did.
Reflective teaching is a quieter and more systemic approach to looking at what
happened. It requires patience, and careful observation of the entire lesson’s
experience.
According to Jack Richards, reflection or “critical reflection, refers to an activity or
process in which an experience is recalled, considered, and evaluated, usually in
relation to a broader purpose. It is a response to past experience and involves conscious
recall and examination of the experience as a basis for evaluation and decision-making
and as a source for planning and action. (Richard 1990)
Bartlett (1990) points out that becoming a reflective teacher involves moving
beyond a primary concern with instructional techniques and “how to” questions and
asking “what” and “why” questions that regard instructions and managerial
techniques not as ends in themselves, but as part of broader educational purposes.
Asking “what and why” questions give us a certain power over our teaching. We could
claim that the degree of autonomy and responsibility we have in our work as teachers
is determined by the level of control we can exercise over our actions. In reflecting on
the above kind of questions, we begin to exercise control and open up the possibility of
transforming our everyday classroom life. (Bartlett, 1990. 267)
The process of reflective teaching supports the development and maintenance of
professional expertise. We can conceptualize successive levels of expertise in
teaching – those that student-teachers may attain at the beginning, middle and end of
their courses; those of the new teacher after their induction to full-time school life;
and those of the experienced, expert teacher. Given the nature of teaching,
professional development and learning should never stop.
How does reflection take place?

Many different approaches can be employed if one wishes to become a critically

reflective teacher, including observation of oneself and others, team teaching, and
exploring one’s view of teaching through writing.

DIFFERENT CRITICAL REFLECTION TECHNIQUES

• Reflective Journal

A reflective journal is a place to write down your daily reflection entries. It can be
something good or bad that has happened to you that you can self-reflect on and learn
from past experiences.
 A reflective journal can help you to identify important learning events that had
happened in your life. The events include your relationships, careers and personal
life. By writing a reflective diary, you can find the source of your inspiration that defines
you today. A reflective journal also provides a better understanding of your thought
process.

Reasons to Write a Reflective Journal

1. To understand the things that have happened.

2. To reflect on why it happened this way.
3. To align future actions with your values and lessons learned from your past
experiences.
4. To share and get your thoughts and ideas out of your head.

How to Reflect Effectively

According to Schön, there are two types of reflection, one during and one after an activity

or event. Reflection In-Action

When you are thinking about or reflecting while you are in an activity, you are

using reflection in-action. Some reflection include:

Experiencing

Thinking on your feet

Thinking about what to do

next Acting straight away

Reflection On-Action

You can do reflect-on-action once the activity has finished based on what you
can remember about it. Step back into the experience, explore your memory and
retrieve what you can recall. Reflect and understand what has happened and draw
lessons from the experience.
• Thinking about something that has happened
• Thinking what you would do differently next time
• Taking your time

Examples to Reflect

Effectively

Before the Experience

 • Think about the things that could have happened.
• What are the things that you feel might be a challenge?
• The things that you can do to prepare for these experiences.

During the Experience

• Observe what is happening at the moment, as you make a particular decision.

• Is it working out as expected? Are you dealing with the challenges well?
• Is there anything you should do, say or think to make the experience successful?

After the Experience

• Describe your thoughts immediately after, and/or later when you have more
emotional distance from the event.
• Is there anything you would do differently before or during a similar event?
• What are the takeaways from this experience/lesson?

Use the three "W"s to write reflectively. The three "W"s are What, So What and What next.

What (Description)

Recall an event and write it down descriptively.

• What happened?
• Who was involved?

So what? (Interpretation)

Take a few minutes to reflect and interpret the event.

• What is most important / interesting / relevant / useful aspect of the event, idea or
situation?
• How can it be explained?
• How is it similar to/different from others?

What's next? (Outcome)

Conclude what you can learn from the event and how you can apply it next time.

• What have I learned?

• How can it be applied in the future?

Reflective Journal Prompts

Here are the 10 writing prompts to guide you in self-reflection and self-discovery.

1. What makes you unique?

2. Name someone that means a lot to you and why?
3. Write a letter to your younger self.
4. What is something you can do to focus more on your health and well-being?
5. What makes you feel at peace?
6. List 10 things that make you smile.
7. What does it mean to live authentically?
8. What is your favourite animal, and why?
9. How do you maintain your physical/mental health? What can you do to improve
the methods of recovery?
10. List the things that you want to achieve this week.

• Learning Log

Learning Logs are like diaries students keep that record their reflections about
what they are learning and how they are going about learning it. Learning Logs are
useful because they promote metacognition. They are also useful tools for teachers
because they can reveal students' perceptions (and misperceptions) of the
information, as well as reveal how they are reacting to the way the material is being
taught. You will probably find that students respond best to Learning Log activities
when provided some structure. For example, you can provide a set of “guiding
questions” that students can select from and respond to. If you decide to allow
students to select from a list of questions, be sure to limit the number of options from
which students may choose. Often, providing students with too many questions to
choose is counterproductive. Some students feel overwhelmed by a list that is too long
and spend much of their time deciding which of the questions to answer. Likewise,
human nature being what it is, some students will select only those questions that
require minimal effort. Ultimately, what you want is for students to think deeply and
grapple a little, so it is important to include some questions that require such an effort.
Often the best format of Learning Log questions is to:
Provide a limited number of questions from which students may choose to
respond. -AND- Provide a few questions that students are required to respond. Below
are examples of two different Learning Logs.
 The first is designed to facilitate students’ reflection about their understanding and
learning of the content subject. The second addresses students' perceptions of a
learning strategy they have been learning.
Listed below are a variety of Learning Log

questions you may wish to pose: Sample Learning Log

questions about
Learning the Content

• What are you thirsting to learn? Why?

• What connections did you make between today’s lesson and your own personal
experiences?
• What was an idea/ experience that came up today that you think should be
“trashed”? Why?
• What was the most important thing you learned today? Why was it important?
• How was it the same as or different from what you already knew?
• What was the CORE IDEA of the whole lesson? What makes it “core”?
• How did it relate to what you already know?
• How does the core idea of the lesson relate to our class theme of ?
• What were some general things you learned today? specific things?
• How were they the same as or different from what you already know?
• What were some reactions you had to the information we addressed today (e.g.,
surprises, conflicts, regrets? joys? etc.)?

Sample Learning Log questions about...

Habits of the Mind adapted from Marizano

• What did you notice about your thinking when working on?
• When did you notice others thinking about their thinking?
• How did you go about planning?
 • When did you realize that you could use other resources to help solve?
• When did you realize that you needed other resources?
• How did you go about evaluating ? What did you focus on when evaluating?
What evidence can you offer that shows your commitment
to being accurate? seeking accuracy?
• What evidence can you offer that shows your commitment to being clear? seeking
clarity?
• What evidence can you offer that shows stick-to-it-ness (persistence) even when
the task was hard or unclear?
• When did you want to give up? What did you do to prevent it?
• How did others’ ideas differ from yours? How were differences
discussed/addressed?
• What did you say to yourself today about yourself that was positive? negative?

Sample Learning Log questions about

Collaborating

• What did you notice about how well your group collaborated?
• When one of the members of your group seemed to dominate or take over, what
happened? What could have happened instead?
• Did you offer assistance (or receive an offer of assistance) to another student?
How did this make you feel?
• What would have been a good time to offer assistance to someone? Did you
offer encouragement to or compliment (or receive encouragement or
compliment) another student?
• Which of the members of your group need more encouragement? How well are the
member of your group listening with interrupting?
• When someone interrupts, what would be the best way to handle it?
• When everyone is not doing his or her share in your group, what happens to the
process? What could you do to help everyone do his or her share?
• For each member of your group, identify at least one talent this person has that
would be valuable to the group. How is each valuable?
• What evidence can you offer that shows you respect differing opinions?
• What evidence can you offer that shows you recognize and celebrate others'
successes? Why is this important to do?
• What evidence can you offer that your group built a consensus when making a key
decision?
• Was there a time when someone in your group provided someone else in the
group negative feedback? How well was it provided?
• How could the person providing the feedback do it better?
• How might the person receiving the feedback receive it better? What evidence
can you offer that shows that you are committed to peacefully resolving
conflicts?

Teaching Tips

Step 1: Teach the core ideas and supporting points of the lesson.

Step 2: Provide students with a set of Learning Log questions. It is often best to provide a
limited selection of questions from which students are to select for responses and also
provide some questions that all students are required to respond to.
Step 3: Provide sufficient time for students to reflect and note responses. In lieu of
traditional homework focused at learning additional content, you may wish to assign
writing in Learning Logs as homework.
Common Questions about Learning Logs

• How do less capable writers use Learning Logs? Students who are poor or
extremely reluctant to write are often mistakenly characterized as poor thinkers.
You may find that some reluctant writers, they are willing to note ideas in a
Learning Log because they are sharing personal perceptions. Regardless of how
motivated some students may be to write in Learning Logs, some simply lack the
writing skills. These students can attain many of the same advantages by having
them communicate their reflections concerning each of the Learning Log
questions into a tape recorder.
• Should students’ Learning Logs be shared with other students? Occasionally,
students will note powerful insights that you may want to share with other
students to help make a point. ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION of the author before
sharing the student’s response. If conducting a group activity after students have
written in their logs, you can ask open-ended questions and allow students to
volunteer to share their responses. Calling on specific students in not a good
idea.
• Should the teacher read students’ Learning Logs? Ultimately, this is an individual
decision that each teacher must make. A key advantage of reading students Logs
is that they provide valuable insight into what students are thinking about their
learning. If you decide to read students’ Logs, INFORM THEM PRIOR to their
writing in the journals that you plan to read their responses.

Learning Journal

A learning journal is a collection of notes, observations, thoughts and other relevant

materials built-up over a period of time and usually accompanies a period of study, a
placement experience or fieldwork. Its purpose is to enhance your learning through the
very process of writing and thinking about your learning experiences. Your learning
journal is personal to you and will reflect your personality and experiences.
A learning journal may be called several different things: a learning log, a fieldwork
diary or personal development planner, for example. Different subject areas may ask
you to focus on different aspects of your experiences and may also have a different
format. A journal could be a notebook, an electronic document or sometimes can be
recorded verbally on a tape. You will need to check which format is required with your
module tutor.

Why use a learning journal:

 To provide a ‘live picture’ of your growing understanding of a subject or experience
 To demonstrate how your learning is developing
 To keep a record of your thoughts and ideas throughout your experiences of
learning
 To help you identify your strengths, weaknesses and preferences in learning

Essentially, a learning journal helps you to be reflective about your learning, this
means that your learning journal should not be a purely descriptive account of what
you did etc. but an opportunity to communicate your thinking process: how and why
you did what you did, and what you now think about what you did.

Content of your learning journal

A learning journal should focus on your own personal responses, reactions and
reflections to new ideas or new ways of thinking about a subject that have been
introduced to you through:
 Lectures, seminars and workshops
 Research and reading including any visual research: e.g. television, film etc.
 Conversations and discussions with other students or tutors
 Significant experiences that have happened in the work place, on placements or
field trips

What should you write about?

The most important thing is to make time for your writing – regularly set aside some
time to think, and then write down your thoughts. Try to focus on using the journal to
help you to communicate:
 What you think about issues raised on your course/ placement etc
 Any flashes of inspiration you have had
 What you understand so far
 What you find puzzling, difficult or contradictory
 How you can reach a better understanding of the above
 What do you need to know more about, and how can you go about finding out
more?
 What resources have helped you to understand and/or been interesting to use?
 How do you feel about the way you have approached the issue/topic so far?
 What new knowledge, skills or understanding have you gained during the process of
writing your learning journal?

Finally, writing a learning journal gives you the opportunity to consider the following
issues regarding your long-term development:
 Have you changed your opinions or values during the process/experience?
 How can you improve your learning, thinking and working in the future?
 Have you identified the next step(s) for your further development?

Types of Learning Journals That

Help Students Think How has their knowledge changed
after a lesson or project– how it is now
1. Question Journal: This type of more complete or useful, for example.
journal is focused on inquiry– the asking Change in their own behavior as the
and refinement of questions. They can result of their learning is another possible
be answered or merely ‘wondered approach. That is, how is or should their
about.’ The big idea here is students own inclinations or skills or general
asking and improving their own potential different
questions. The QFT Strategy could be post-discussion/lesson/project/unit.
useful here. Writers can also reflect on how other
knowledge (about other topics, for
2.Metacognitive Journal: A journal example) as changed after encountering
focused on thinking about thinking. In a new data or ‘finishing’ a learning
Metacognitive Journal, students are experience of some kind.
writing about their thinking–their
tendencies, changes in their thinking 4. Connecting Journal: A learning
over time, cognitive blind spots, etc. journal that frames writing through the
connections between things. For
3. Change Journal: All learning should example, in science this could be writing
result in personal and social change. about how new knowledge about the
Similar to the ‘change in thinking’ topic scientific process connects to old
in the Metacognitive Journal listened perceptions. Or, less abstractly, learners
above, a ‘Change Journal’ frames the could simply write about how the
writing for learning in terms of, well, scientific process connects to data,
change. business, technology, or science itself at
large. In a Visualization Journal, a student
would create a visual metaphor or
A Connecting Journal, more than analogy about how the revision stage
anything else, requires writers to make, functions–what it ‘does.’ One response
focus on, or otherwise frame their might be students drawing construction
thinking through connections. In this workers renovating a building–
way, it pairs well with a ‘Sketch Note’ changing drywall or painting the
Journal, which would allow students to outside of a home a new color. This would
make those connections through prose distinguish it from the editing stage of
as well as drawings or concept maps. the writing process, which includes more
minor changes often based on language
5. Transfer Journal: A journal that conventions. A suitable visualization for
focuses on learners transferring their editing might be someone redecorating a
learning–to new and unfamiliar room.
circumstances in the strictest sense. If a
student learns about migration in social 9. Doodle Journal: A type of learning
studies, a Transfer Journal would allow journal that is similar to ‘I wonder…’ in
them to consider how that knowledge its disarming form. Here, students
might be used, or how it might transfer merely doodle about their
to current events, for example. learning/learning experience, with no
requirement other than being able to
It could also focus on transfer from explain why they drew what they drew.
within the classroom to outside the This can be useful for hesitant writers
classroom, making explicit the learner’s who also believe they ‘can’t draw.’
application of academic and content
knowledge in their own lives. Anyone can doodle.

6.‘I wonder…’ Journal: A learning 10. Concept/Example Journal: A type of

journal similar to the Question Journal, learning journal that promotes thinking
the ‘I wonder…’ journal would likely through concepts (abstract) or thinking
feature less detailed and more through examples (concrete). Learning
imaginative entries based on student about gravity in science class? Learners
wondering and musing. can write about gravity as a kind of
concept, especially in relation to other
‘I wonder…if Pythagoras based his concepts–momentum or centrifugal
theory on something he had recently force, for example. (This is similar to the
learned himself?’ Connection Journal.)

‘I wonder…if literary symbolism is But they can also simply write about
what makes hip-hop so powerful, or if examples of gravity, which is more
it’s more word play and ‘sounds?’ visible, immediate, and ‘easier’ for
learners with emerging knowledge.
‘I wonder…how often Tesla
shocked himself?’ 11. 5Ws Journal: A journal framed
through the iconic 5 Ws:
7. ‘I notice/I think…’ Journal: Who/What/Where/Why/When

8. VisualizationJournal: A type of Civil Rights? Who was for and against

learning journal that promoted acute Civil Rights? What was the most
and specific visualization of learning, impactful event in this history of the Civil
knowledge, etc. This could be students Rights era in the United States? Where
creating visual metaphors for the in the world today is Civil Rights a critical
function of something they’ve just issue? And so on.
learned–the revision stage of the writing
process, for example. Students can combine this approach
with the Question Journal and focus on
asking the questions, or consider the ‘I that-help-students-think/
wonder…’ approach and ‘wonder’
about possible responses to ‘5 W
questions’ the teacher creates–and do
so without the worry of being ‘wrong,’
which makes learning journals fantastic
assessment tools.
12. Private Journal: A type of learning
journal private only to the student, and
only requiring that the student writing
something about learning. It can be
about their own experience learning, or
their confidence or other emotion
before/during/after the lesson.

13: Digital Journal: Any of the above,

but stored digitally. This doesn’t have
to be ‘published,’ either. There is a
strong push for all student work to
‘leave the building,’ but that couldn’t be
further from the truth. Much of
learning–especially reflections and
journaling–is necessarily private.
Whether you and the students decide
that the learning should be published or
not, you can still take advantage of
digital tools to store, organize, share
privately, and curate learning to write
activities from any type of learning
journal.

ACTIVITY
Develop a Lesson Plan employing
any of the critical reflection techniques.
REFENCES:
https://degree.astate.edu/articles/k-12-
education/reflective-teaching- help-
students.aspx#:~:text=Reflective
%20teaching%20helps%20you
%20understand,do%20not%20have
%20time%20for.
https://www.richmondshare.com.br/
what-is-reflective-teaching-and- why-
is-it-important/
https://www.troup.org/userfiles/929/My
%20Files/Instructional
%20Strategies/
learning_log_sample1.pdf?id=14724
https://www2.worc.ac.uk/studyskills/
documents/Learning_Journals_2 016.pdf
https://www.teachthought.com/
literacy/20-types-of-learning-journals-