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Reflective Teaching

Good teachers are always learning…learning from students, learning from their own trial and error, learning from peers and colleagues, learning from mentors and supervisors, and learning from academic information in their field. Good teachers continue to learn throughout their careers. This is called “life‐long learning” or “ongoing professional development.”

One tool that can help teachers develop professionally is known as “reflective teaching practice.” Reflective teaching is the focus of this final module.



Introduction

Reflective teaching means thinking about what happens in the classroom, both in terms of the teaching itself, and in terms of the learner response. And then, trying to improve it. We can ask ourselves…
  1. Were the goals of the session met? Why or why not?
  2. What worked well? What didn't?
  3. Did learners act as expected? Why or why not?
  4. How can class sessions be improved to provide opportunities for better learning?
Listen and Reflect

Think of a class you have recently taught. Then, listen to what you have to say as you reflect on your current teaching practices. Look for answers to the questions…
  • What beliefs and practices do you seem to have in common?
  • What differences?
Think of a class you have recently taught. It can be the same class or a different class. Then, listen to what you have to say as you reflect on what you would like to be able to do in the future, and some of their ideas for helping make those ideas a reality. Look for answers to the questions…
  • What hopes, dreams, and plans do they seem to have in common?
  • What differences?
Summary

The focus in this topic has been on reflective teaching. Teachers should share their reflections and by doing so, they will model for the other teachers many of characteristics of reflective practices. In short, teachers should meet the following characteristics;
  1. Caring. They care about students as individual persons, about their needs, and about their learning. They recognize both the similarities and differences of their students.
  2. They are enthusiastic about helping students to learn better.
  3. They are curious and interested in ideas that may improve classroom learning.
  4. They feel comfortable doing self‐analysis, and they are willing to put in the effort to do it well.
  5. They take responsibility both for solving the problems of their own classrooms, and for their own professional and skills development.
  6. They are open‐minded. They are open to and not threatened by ideas that may conflict with personal beliefs about the different aspects of their teaching situation.
  7. They have the energy to implement changes indicated by the reflection process.
  8. They enjoy working with colleagues on program development and professional development goals.
When you look in the mirror, how many of these characteristics do you see in yourself? With practice over time, no doubt you will see even more positive changes reflected back at you.

This information is taken from “Shaping the Way We Teach English”, module 13.

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