Reflecting on Your Practice? It's Important to Slow Down
‘Observing Other Teachers’
The most important thing a teacher can do to improve their craft is make time for truthful reflection on their teacher practice and choices. Use this reflection time to answer: Why are you teaching this content? Why are you teaching it in this way? What do you want your students to learn and what will it look like when they have learned it? Below are six specific ways to incorporate reflection into your daily practice.
One disclaimer before we begin. Please make sure to be open and honest with yourself. Truly effective reflection involves absolute candor and objectivity. It can also be a very humbling experience. Make sure you are in the right head space to hear what needs to be changed. And make sure you are committed to making changes if needed.
Ask a trusted colleague - One of the most important benefits of having trusted colleagues is having a network of professionals you can reach out to to help you reflect and problem-solve challenges. Their objectivity can be invaluable. A strong level of trust is necessary to make sure you can be open and vulnerable. I know the benefits of this support from firsthand experience. I had a wonderful colleague who would question me to think out decisions. Her support included asking a series of questions that forced me to reflect. Her questions would dig down to the core essence of what I wanted to do in the classroom.
Observe - Make time to observe what other teachers are doing in their classrooms to see what is working for them and how you can incorporate that in your own classroom. As a co-teacher, I have a great opportunity to see how other teachers run their classes. I agree with my principal when she says, “The answers are in the building.” My colleagues provide an endless source of excellent ways to change my instruction. Their choices challenge me to question why I chose to do something in my class one way and what the benefits would be to changing.
Tape yourself - Taping yourself by video or audio is a great way to see and experience your instruction from the perspective of students. Once I get over my embarrassment on seeing myself on video or hearing my voice, I can pick up things I do that I want to change to improve my practice. For example, I realized on one audio tape that I used the term “ladies and gentlemen” often. I recognized that this language relies on a gender binary which would not be open and welcoming to some students. This is a viewpoint or detail I would not have picked up without listening to the concrete audio.
Surveys - Throughout the school year, I like to give written surveys to my students to provide feedback on my classes. I find out what they like and what they want to change. I also make sure they are formatted so students will respond. I limit the number of short-answer responses so I don’t get one-word answers like “good” or “OK” which are not helpful. Instead, I tend to offer multiple-choice questions or ask them to rank a list of activities or materials. I also give them the option to complete the surveys anonymously.
Journaling and writing - Sometimes free writing—either on the computer or with paper and pencil—helps me figure out and structure my reflection. It gives me a road map of my thought process. I can go back on this writing and reflect on what those ideas say or reveal. It is a way to get ideas out that have been pushed down in my subconscious during a busy, fast-paced year. It lets things bubble up to my consciousness.
Organizing - Summer is a great time for teachers to start this reflection process. I use time in the summer to go through class materials and files, reorganizing and cleaning out materials for next year. This is a perfect opportunity for me to reflect on what I did this year, what worked, and what didn’t. It helps me organize my thoughts and decide what I want to keep and change for the year ahead.