Self-Reflection:

A New Focus For Teacher

Professional Development

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 It’s Time to Make Self-Reflection Part of Your Everyday

Ever stop and ask yourself, “what can I do today to improve my teaching practice?” As educators, so many of
us go through the school year focused on student data, lesson plans, standardized assessments, or that one
kid who never came back from the bathroom—which are all worthwhile concerns. But few take little time to
stop and think about our own practice without being prompted by an administrator, consultant, or coach.

The truth is, we can’t expect to improve if we don’t take the time to reflect on what we’re doing effectively
and what could be readdressed?

Self-reflection is a practice that allows you to examine your feelings, motives, actions, and responses to a
particular situation. In a profession as challenging as teaching, self-reflection provides the much needed
insight into what’s working in the classroom and what isn’t. By taking a deeper look into ourselves, we are
ultimately better equipped to serve our students.

Why Is Self-Reflection So Important?

Though the concept is centuries old, self-reflection as a professional development practice for teachers dates
back to the early 1900s, when John Dewey suggested that reflection begins with a dilemma. When faced
with a dilemma, effective teachers do not make hasty decisions. Instead, they gather information, study the
problem, gain new knowledge, and finally come to a sound decision. This type of deliberate and regular
contemplation yields continual learning and understanding.

Additionally, Lortie (1975) described how failing to reflect on instructional practices leads to teaching by
imitation rather than intentionality. It’s easy to get caught up in what you’ve seen, heard, or even what you
remember from when you were on the other side of the desk.

An effective teacher knows that no matter how good a lesson is, there is always room—and reason— to
improve our teaching strategies. We often attempt to improve our practice by seeking our colleagues’
opinions or asking for feedback from students. While this method can be effective—we’ll even discuss it
later—we run the risk of others making judgments about our instruction without actually having access to
the entire picture.

Self-reflection is vital because the process requires you to collect, record, and analyze every aspect of the

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 lesson so you can implement changes to improve your instructional strategy where necessary.

Sure, it’s difficult to really dig in and scrutinize your own performance, but the process of self-reflection is
essential for growth. Asking deliberate questions, reflecting on the answers, then implementing changes to
your instructional practice is what differentiates decent teachers from exceptional teachers.

When To Self-Reflect

Ideally, you should reflect on your teaching throughout the day. This can be a challenge for inexperienced
teachers whose main focus is on delivering content, managing behavior, or formatively assessing students
during class. The more comfortable and familiar you are with these elements of the job, the easier it will be
to implement self-reflective techniques while you’re teaching.

To ease into your new practice, consider taking a moment between each class period to jot down notes
about what went well and what could be improved in a reflection journal—we’ll talk about that in more
detail in a moment.

How To Self-Reflect

Collect and Record Information

Decide what you want to reflect upon. Is it a particular feature of your lesson delivery or is the reflection in
response to a specific issue in the classroom? Whatever it is, the first steps involve collecting and recording
information. Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Keep a self-reflection journal—A journal is a quick and simple way to develop a habit of self-
reflection. Take a moment after each lesson to take notes describing your feelings, reactions, and
any significant observations you made. It may help to divide your journal into sections, such as
lesson objectives, assessments, classroom management, etc. Then, plan ahead for the questions
you’ll ask yourself.

• Record yourself teaching—With video, you get an unbiased and unaltered perspective of how
effective your lesson may be from the point of view of both teacher and students. Be sure to
inform your students that you’re recording in order to improve your teaching, and consider getting
their permission in advance—though, depending on the camera angle, you could probably avoid
getting any students in your video.

The added bonus to watching yourself teach on camera is the valuable insights you get about your

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 body language, speaking habits, nonverbal cues, and how you respond to students.

• Be observed by peers or students—Invite another teacher to observe your class and offer feedback
on aspects of the lesson. It helps to give your colleagues specific areas to watch for, such as how
you respond to behavioral issues or your questioning techniques.

You can also solicit feedback from your students. Allow students the opportunity to participate in
activities in which they can constructively criticize your teaching in a respectable and productive
manner. And remember—for students—anonymity promotes honesty.

Analyze and Implement Effective Strategies

Now that you’ve collected and recorded the information, it’s time to break it all down then build it
back up again, or—you know—analyze it. You’re initially on the lookout for any recurring patterns. If
you recorded yourself teaching on video, do you notice anything that happened over and over?

Scrutinize your students’ feedback. Do different students keep telling you the same thing?

Do you notice any recurring themes in your reflection journal?

After determining what you can adjust to teach more effectively, the simple part is finding the
solution. Here are a few methods to explore:

• Discuss your findings with colleagues, coaches, or administration and ask them for
advice—They may have had similar experiences before that can serve as a roadmap as
you discover how to do things more effectively. After all, reflection is a skill that is best
fostered with colleagues.

Consider creating a reflection group (as an extension of your personal reflection) to host
discussions, role play, and to identify how to use your time and mental energies wisely.

• Educate yourself—Go online—or pick up some print materials— and read up on

instructional techniques that can improve your situation. Undoubtedly, there are resources
already in circulation for the problems you’re experiencing.

• Leverage your Professional Learning Network (PLN)—Interact with other teachers on social
media or through blogs. Posting questions to your PLN may uncover new techniques and
perspectives that you may not have considered before. You might even get ideas on other
aspects of your teaching, classroom management, and professional growth to reflect upon.

The ultimate goal of self-reflection is to improve the way you teach. Reflecting on your teaching
practices should not just be about finding mistakes or negative aspects. It’s important to also look
for positive things and celebrate them. Developing a habit of self-reflection will lead to a natural
process of evaluation, which is a key to improving your practice. We all have room for improvement,
but if you fail to recognize your weaknesses, you hinder your opportunity to remedy them.

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About the Author

Lauren Davis
Edtech Copywriter + Editor
Lauren is a former English teacher and Instructional Coach turned Edtech Copywriter and Editor. Visit her at laurenjdavis.com.

References

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. New York: D.C. Heath.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: MacMillan.

Lortie, D. C. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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