Reflective Practice
About This Element
Why is this essential?
All teachers and educators are life-long learners. Reflection precedes adjustment to practice, allowing teachers to learn from themselves and improve the quality of their work. Teachers can reflect by asking questions: How did I feel after delivering that lesson? How was the pacing of my delivery? When were the students receptive, and when did they lose focus? Which explanations were clear, and which could have been improved? In what ways does my assigned work exhibit the goals and objectives of this unit? Did my assessment indicate the intended student outcomes? Do the results reveal any gaps in or shortcomings of my teaching? By considering the answers to questions like these, a teacher can assess the effectiveness of their instruction and make informed adjustments. This is essential because it directly affects student success in the classroom.
My Experience
Reflection has always been central to me. I tend to be a perfectionist over the work that I produce, including my lessons, because it matters to me how my work is received by others. Although it is unreasonable to expect that people will always see me at my best, I always keep high standards for myself. In order to meet those standards, I have learned to be critical of my work and reflect on how to improve. In the classroom, I would write self-reflections after certain lessons. The two reflections below were written after I was observed by my program supervisor. My thoughts in these reflections alternate between advice for improving my teaching strategies, ideas for improving the quality of my lessons, and noticing deficiencies in student engagement or learning outcomes. Collecting my thoughts allowed me to implement changes when I taught the lessons for a second or third time in other classes.
I also looked to my mentor teacher for routine feedback. Once students left the classroom after a lesson, the two of us would talk about how to improve various parts of that lesson. I would ask questions when I had doubts about my teaching, and we would brainstorm solutions together. He would reflect on his years of teaching experience to offer insight and ideas. Reflecting with a professional teacher was reassuring and helped me discover my potential.
"Ben has grown to demonstrate exemplary use of reflective practice. He has consistently demonstrated that he is extremely reflective of his teaching, eagerly seeks feedback for every lesson, and immediately adjusts his practice to meet the needs of his students."
Summative assessment evidence of proficiency
Student Feedback Survey Responses.pdfStudent Feedback Survey Responses
This survey was sent to students during the eleventh and twelfth weeks of the practicum. There were twenty Agree/Disagree questions and an optional comment box. The survey was intended to take ten minutes for students to complete.
I chose not to read the survey questions in advance so as not to influence my teaching in the considered aspects. Once the survey closed, I reflected on the questions and responses. I was most interested in question sixteen: "In this class, students are asked to teach (or model) to other classmates a part or whole lesson." While I would occasionally ask a student if they wanted to share their work with the class, I never designated it as a part of the lesson. This led me to reflect on the Project Based Learning model at WPI and my eagerness to apply some of the aspects in my classroom.
The written feedback was most useful. The students' comments were genuine, and I used their feedback to make adjustments to my approach in the classroom. For example, an anonymous student in the college prep algebra class mentioned that it would be helpful if the homework review in class went more in-depth because the class would benefit from seeing clear examples of the problem-solving methods. A geometry student wrote that having more opportunities for group work would make the class more active and engaging. I decided that these would be simple and effective fixes to implement in those classes. By conducting the survey and reflecting on student feedback, I learned how to improve my teaching and make directed positive changes in the classroom.
Week Four: Announced Observation Self-Reflection
"I wasn't nervous to be observed— it is for feedback and advice, nothing scary. Usually my head is clear while I teach the lessons. For some reason, I started to get a bit flustered today. I guess I was thinking about how everything was being observed, and that thought was distracting me. It made it harder to think in the moment and think ahead to the next slide. I should've pulled up the side menu where I can preview the upcoming slides. Some of the transitions weren't very smooth because I thought a different slide or example was next.
The content plan we decided on yesterday didn't quite work. I wasn't sure how to adapt it in the moment, so we just did it all. It was probably too much. The class was behind by a few slides yesterday, so we had to do those first. The review of quadrilateral properties was supposed to be an activity that we could start with as students trickle in. But today, most of the students were on-time, so we didn't need a filler activity. It took lots of time and should've been skipped once I noticed that all of the students arrived.
I wasn't fully prepared to talk about trapezoids. I could've been more organized with the properties in advance so that the picture drawing would have been more carefully motivated, less spurious. I can't believe that I forgot to talk about the trapezoid's diagonals! I think that the discovery was rushed, probably because of the long intro. We should've spent less time on parallelograms because we have a review day tomorrow!
The textbook examples were not good! I should've made up my own problems that were more related to the properties that we talked about.
We do calling out in this class, which is good, and the morning class is usually very quiet. Longer silences are okay, and I shouldn't be so quick to fill them. The students need time to think.
Note to self: we talked about the large triangles in the picture, but we still have to talk about the small triangles in the picture. Opposite bowties are congruent, opposite w/ bases are isosceles and similar."
Week Seven: Unannounced Observation Self-Reflection
"The lesson went smoothly! Other than copying one of the numbers wrong… but we adapted, no problem. The students really engaged today which made it more fun to teach. I felt comfortable answering their questions.
The group work activities went well, and I got to see students helping each other clarify and have 'aha' moments. Some tables only had one person, so those students had to turn and work in a three-person group with the table behind them. Without a direct partner, they may have felt left out or less motivated, though, so maybe there's a better way to approach this situation.
After working in groups, it was sometimes difficult to bring back the attention, so maybe I should use some device or other cue to signal the attention again. I don't like to raise my voice, and if the students aren't listening for my voice, they won't know that I'm cuing them. I could also tell them in advance how much time to spend in groups so that they have an expectation for when to stop talking and reconvene as a class.
It was good to differentiate instruction and switch the style every few questions. I'll continue to think of ways to practice that mix it up. The end of class was less strong— these students are in the habit of packing up many minutes before class ends. Tomorrow I'll remind them that the bell does not dismiss them, it's a cue to me to wrap up and dismiss the class. With that expectation set, it shouldn't be an issue anymore."