A reflective practitioner is upheld as a paradigm of good practice in teaching. As teachers, and particularly as trainee teachers, we must be able to learn constantly from our experiences in the classroom and take action to improve our craft. However, according to Bahar Gün, “although teachers are constantly encouraged to ‘reflect’ on their teaching, they are unable to do so effectively unless they are specifically trained on how to reflect” (2011; 126). This quote resonated with me as I used to feel ill-equipped to constructively reflect on certain classroom moments. Therefore, this post breaks down each step of how to reflect as a trainee teacher.
Give this a read if you are…
- A PGCE student or SCITT trainee.
- A teacher looking to improve their practice.
Reflecting-in-action OR Reflecting-on-action
There are two types of reflection, as outlined by Donald Schön, reflecting-in-action and reflecting-on-action (ctd. in Senese; 105). Reflecting-in-action, also termed reflexivity, happens during the act of teaching and reflecting-on-action occurs afterwards. This blog post will focus on the latter.
Are You Reacting or Reflecting?
For me, there is also a stage between these two; after the teaching episode has finished but before the comfortable distance of recalling the event. This half-way-house, which I am not sure everyone experiences, is what I term the ‘react’ stage. The ‘react’ stage is sometimes very unhelpful and it usually encourages me to question ‘How can I critically self-reflect, while still being kind to myself?’ There are some clear differences between react and reflect, which I have attempted to note down…
| React | Reflect |
| Emotional | Analytical |
| Instantaneous | Patient |
| Extreme | Measured |
| Automatic | Deliberate |
These are just some of the qualities I have observed from the two behaviours. My initial response after comparing the two was that ‘reaction’ wasn’t as beneficial as ‘reflection’, and that it was actually a hindrance to my professional development.
While I believe that prioritising reflection is key, there is perhaps something to be discovered in the ‘react’ stage, whether that be linked to instinctual knowing, or otherwise. The ability to identify certain thought patterns can also lead to deeper insights into yourself as both a teacher and a person. Andy Hargreaves asserts that teaching is an ‘emotional practice’ (1998) and ‘emotions have significance for reflection […] because they can colour our learning, understanding and decisions’ (Cimer et. al 2013; 137).
This is the reason why I always include a ‘react’ section in my reflection notes. I find it extremely useful to record these completely unfiltered and fresh from the teaching episode.
So What are the Steps to Reflect Constructively?
Step 1: Settle in
Firstly, find a quiet (and undisturbed) place to collect your thoughts. This could be your classroom, office, study or somewhere at home. If appropriate, grab a beverage of your choice. I would suggest a nice cup of tea. We want to make a connection between the reflection process and a reward of sorts. Our brain needs to know that reflecting is a positive act which serves to better us as teachers.
Step 2: The Medium
Secondly, choose your method of recording your reflections. Personally, I opt for typing on a Word doc, but you may prefer good old-fashioned pen and paper, your phone’s notes app or even a voice note.
Step 3: The Set Up
Begin by dating and labelling your lesson in focus. As a secondary teacher, I often teach multiple year 7, year 8 and year 9 classes. So, I like to label each class with a signifying codeword or description.
Step 4: The React Stage
Once you’re all set up, you can offload your initial reactions. I like to do this unfiltered and just type the first things which come to mind. This may be an emotion, a certain phrase, a stream-of-consciousness style account. I think it’s really important to get all of it out, in order to reflect with better clarity later.
Step 5: The Learning Objective/Intention
After that, I state the learning objective (or whatever your school may call the desired learning goal). Next, I estimate the percentage of learners who achieved the learning objective. This could be anywhere from 10% to 100% depending on the success of the lesson. I always add a reason to justify my estimate.
Step 6: Behaviour
If you are an experienced teacher, perhaps this step isn’t necessary. However, I include a few words on how overall behaviour was handled and if this affected the lesson outcome.
Step 7: Reflections- What have I learnt?
It isn’t just our students who are constantly learning; this is the part of the process where you can bullet point the main takeaways from the lesson. It is important to think about multiple elements of your delivery, therefore I have listed a selection of questions which may help to jog your memory:
- Teacher-led vs Student-led: Did your lesson have the correct balance?
- Participation ratio: How many learners were engaged and involved in each part of your lesson? Could this be increased?
- Behaviour management: Was this fair and consistent?
- AfL: How did I check for understanding and give meaningful and actionable feedback to students?
Step 8: Action the Steps
Finally, you need to transfer your reflections into actions which you can implement in the future. However, the keyword here is actionable. This means that statements such as ‘I will get better at behaviour management’ will not do. Instead, you need to explain how you will improve, highlighting the steps, techniques, and skills you will utilise to achieve your goal.
Here, you can set small SMART targets. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. To find out more about SMART goals in education, I recommend this Twinkl article.
Optional Step 9: Connect to Teaching Standards
This additional section is most applicable to trainee teachers, and as a result, I would recommend connecting each reflection to an overarching teaching standard or your training provider’s curriculum areas. This step helps to signpost you to reflections which may be useful for future evidence.
Conclusion
Reflecting is like a muscle, the more we exercise it, the stronger it gets. This is important to remember, as sometimes, putting aside the time and effort to exercise it effectively can be overlooked. As teachers, we want our students to adopt a growth mindset and, I argue that reflecting allows us to practice what we preach, expanding our outlook, curiosity, and metacognition.
References
Çimer, A., Çimer, S.O. and Vekli, G.S. (2013) ‘How does reflection help teachers to become effective teachers.’ International Journal of Educational Research, 1(4), pp.133-149.
Gün, B. (2011) ‘Quality self-reflection through reflection training.’ ELT journal, 65(2), pp.126-135.
Hargreaves, A. (1998) ‘The emotional practice of teaching.’ Teaching and teacher education, 14(8), pp.835-854.
Senese, J.C. (2017) ‘How do I know what I think I know? Teaching reflection to improve practice.’ Reflective theory and practice in teacher education, pp.103-117.
