Topic: Reflective Teaching

What is Reflective Teaching?

Critical reflection is an activity where a teacher recalls, analyzes and evaluates an experience. In language teaching, this experience can be a lesson taught, an interaction between teacher and student, specific classroom tasks, as well as, applications of theories in the classroom. Teachers can reflect on the experience and determine what is working well and what can be changed to make it better. Measuring how well an activity or task worked, should be done in alignment with the objectives of the activity or task.

Reflective teaching helps teachers improve their teaching practice. Reflective practice encourages teachers to answer the following questions:

1. Which teaching model am I using?
2. How does it apply in specific teaching situations?
3. What objectives am I targeting?
4. How well is it working?
5. What can I change to improve my teaching?
6. How are my students reacting to my teaching?

A reflective teacher shifts from focusing on "how to" questions to asking "what and why" questions (Bartlett, 1990).

Reflective practice helps teachers implement a cycle of theory understanding, practice (application) and reflection. This cycle can be used throughout a teacher's career as he/she tests new theories and adapts them in his/her specific setting.

What are the steps to reflective practice?

Step 1: The activity or event itself. The first step is the occurance of the instructional activity. At this point, teachers usually decide to reflect on their own teaching practice, but may involve peers to observe and provide comments.

Step 2: The recollection of the activity. In this step, the activity is recalled without evaluation. There is documentation of what occured during the activity. Several types of documentation tools can be utilized. Reflection forms, journals, videos, peer observation anecdotal notes, and others.

Step 3: Evaluation and response to the activity. The teacher aligns intended objectives with achieved objectives to determine the quality of learning. In this step, teachers ask the essential questions involved in reflective practice (see above).

Summary by Waheeda Said
Director
AELTA Professional Development Training Center
Saudi Arabia

NOW YOU TRY IT!

Participant Interactive Activity

1. Select a classroom event/instructional activity to practice the three steps of reflective teaching

2. Write notes to document what occured (without evaluation)

3. Now reflect by answering the six questions listed above.

4. Submit a post with your comments about this activity and how it helped you improve your teaching practice


References:

Bailey, K.M. 190. The use of diary studies in teacher education programmes. In J.C. Richards and D. Nunan (Eds), Second Language Teacher Education (pp. 215-226). New York: Cambridge University Press

Bartlett, Leo. 1990. Teacher development through reflective teaching. In J. C. Richards and D. Nuna (Eds), Second Language Teacher Education (pp. 202-214). New York: Cambridge University Press