T eachers’

reasure
The Professional Research Journal for Education
May 2019

BRAIN Reflective
Hermisphere Teaching
Implication for Education

...Day to day
professional self improvement

GOOl
LEARNINGTREE
BRAIN
AWARENESS
 Hello educators, I thank everyone who participated in the
studies on whatsapp for the month of May. This
publication represents the handout for that study;
Professional Reflection or Reflective teaching. You can
now document and review the study at your convenience.

What is Reflective Teaching?

In simple terms reflection is a form of conscious response
to a situation or event, and the experiences within that
situation or event. In our case this involves, but is not
limited to, a learning and teaching situation/activity, and
can include all manner of formal and informal occasions in the school such as teaching,
learning, educational leadership, relationship with other teachers and staff, relationship
with parents and students so on. For the teacher and student these responses will
include what they think, feel, do and conclude both at the time of the situation or after.
In this respect reflection is an active and deliberate process that can occur anytime and
anywhere. It functions to help us, or our students, to re-capture, re-live, make sense of,
think about, contextualise, and evaluate an experience in order to make decisions and
choices about what we have experienced, how we have experienced, and what we will
do differently or will not do given a repeat situation.

Reflective practice is more than thinking about the nuts and bolts of teaching, it
involves evaluating the processes of teaching and learning, and questioning why and
how we do something. Importantly it involves learning from this process and initiating
change when and where required. This is an iteractive process with infinitely connected
lines and loops. There are fundamental points to take note of as educators when it
comes professional reflection, and that is what this study focuses on, that is, how to
reflect on the teaching and learning processes and the parameters for such reflections.
I do hope that after this study, most of us can begin to analyse our professional practices
and activities within the classroom and school at large, with a view to improving our
professional work.
Onome Ahante F.
Editor/Executive Director
GOA Learningtree

How to Be a Reflective Teacher,
The Complete Guide
W henever the word ´reflection´ is mentioned a
connection with a mirror may come to
people's minds. Throughout our lives we
reflect or should reflect on all the experience to learn
from them. Therefore not only ordinary events but also
our approach to the world should be reflected so that we
can develop. Due to the importance of the profession of
a teacher in our society reflective teaching is one of the
most significant activity.
Routine action´ in comparison with ´reflective action is
influenced by tradition, habit and authority, i.e. it is
relatively static. Reflective action, on the other hand,
involves a willingness to engage in constant
development. Among other things, it implies flexibility,
analysis and social awareness. Many teachers are stuck
with routine actions and are not readily predisposed to
reflective thinking about their jobs. This is why this
study is imoortant; to help the teacher balance routing
actions that are questionable with reflective action.
Mediocrity is what we must avoid.
Reflective teaching is the teachers thinking about what
happens in classroom lessons, and thinking about
alternative means of achieving goals or aims and again
the major purpose is to create good habits of thought
and to enable teachers to develop their pedagogical
habits and skills necessary for self-directed growth.
In reflection, experience is recalled, considered and
evaluated and this will be a basis for planning an action
therefore for further development.
Reflective teaching means not only looking at what
you do in the classroom, but also thinking about why
you do it, and thinking about if it works. It is a process
of self-observation and self-evaluation. Many teachers
already think about their teaching and talk to colleagues
about it too, nevertheless the systematic process of
collecting, recording and analyzing our thoughts and
observations, as well as those of our students isn't a
conscious and intentional process with many teachers.
What can be the major concern in reflective teaching? In
order to be intentional about reflective teaching or
professional reflection, we need to be aware of the
professional concerns involved in our job as educators
or teachers. This in a sense determine what reflective
activities we will be engaged in. There three major kinds
of concerns which confront us on a daily basis as
teachers and for which we must constantly reflect upon.
The three kinds of reflections that provided three levels
of professional understandings about our job are:
1
Content Reflection, Process Reflection and premise
reflection
.Content reflection focuses on teaching (e.g. planning
lessons, using different teaching methods or evaluation,
acquiring sufficient knowledge about the lesson content
etc). These concerns border on your knowledge about
teaching and the methods of delivery. It involves both
content and delivery.
Whereas process reflection deals with understanding of
learning style, cognitive style, and class group
dynamics. This pedagogical knowledge is also
concerned with ´diagnostic knowledge´, which includes
general knowledge about learners of given age ranges,
their ability levels and learning difficulties, as well as
knowledge about the particular strengths and
weaknesses of the entire class and of individual.
In premise reflection which is also called curricular
knowledge questions the goals of teaching. Teachers
may ask why they teach the way they teach and what the
curricular aim of the teaching is, thereby engaging in
critical reflection on their practice.
From all these descriptions it is clear enough that
reflective teaching includes knowledge of self,
knowledge of content, knowledge of teaching and
learning, knowledge of pupils, and knowledge of
context within schools and society.
THE TEACHING JOURNAL
Journaling is the easiest way to begin a process of
reflection since it is purely personal. After each lesson a
teacher should write down what happened, he/she can
also describe their own reactions and feelings and those
of the students. Obviously diary writing requires a
certain discipline in taking the time to do it on a regular
basis.
Writing a Reflective Journal
Reflective journals for teachers are used to help them
analyze experiences working with students, colleagues
or parents and relate it to other experiences as well as
with professional theories and methods the have learned.
The purpose is to help teachers determine what
professional effort they need to make for best results
especially with difficult work situations. Writing an
entry to a reflective journal for teachers can be done in
many different ways.
 Approach to Writing a
Reflective
Journal
A basic entry used in reflective journaling is shown
here:
Record an experience/event
Ÿ Describe the event Who/what was involved?
Ÿ What part did who/what play in the event?
Reflect: Contemplate on the experience:
Ÿ What are your reactions to what happened?
Ÿ What are your feelings about what happened?
Ÿ What are the positive aspects and the negative
aspects of the situation?
Ÿ What you have learned from what happened?
Analyze your thoughts, feelings and reactions:
Ÿ What was really going on and was everything as
it appeared?
Ÿ What sense can you make of the situation?
Ÿ Can you integrate a learned theory into this
particular experience?
Ÿ Can you demonstrate a better grasp of what
occurred and how this helped in
your overall development as a teacher?
Conclusions:
Ÿ What can you take away with you from this
experience?
Ÿ What can be concluded in general and in a
specific sense from this experience and the
analyses you have made?
Ÿ What will you do differently if this type of
situation happens again?
Ÿ What steps if any will you take based on what
you have learned?
The structure shown here won't apply to every reflective
journal. Teaching students may have to adapt depending
on the particular circumstances dictated by the
experience. However the basic elements shown here
should always be included.
Reflective journaling for teachers shouldn't be overly
restrictive. Instructors may vary on specific
requirements. The following are some general
guidelines to keep in mind when writing reflective
journals:
Don't limit an entry to description only: Be sure to
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reflect and explain what happened and the reasons for it.
It is the analysis that makes reflective journals for
students a valuable learning tool.
Give an honest analysis: for the reflective journal to be
effective you must be honest in your assessment. It isn't
something you write just for a grade. It's a learning tool
to help you improve as a teacher.
Don't try and include everything: Not everything will be
of value. Write about the key points and important ideas
from the experience
Reflective thinking and journaling also comes in handy
when teachers are faced with professional tasks such as
planning a potentially challenging lesson, assessing
learning outcomes in pupils, teaching, planning a school
programme etc.
Keeping a journal and, more important, reading that
journal, create more accountability and preserve
observations and ideas about teaching so they can
benefit future students. It is not just about reflection, but
about reflection that leads to action, and action that
creates improvement. It also provides motivation;
reading about past successes and lessons increases our
energy level, it helps us get back into the context of the
class and renews our enthusiasm for the students and the
course The teaching journal is one of the simplest yet
most productive methods of self-education and
continued instructional improvement.
In all these articles the importance of a teaching journal
is emphasized. Definitely without keeping a record the
problems would be forgotten, no analyses could be done
and no further steps could be taken.
Continue to next page
 10 Principles
W ithout real
reflection a
teacher only
repeats his/her learnt way of
teaching. Later, it may
for
Reflective
become his/ her ´teaching
style and a teacher will not be
Teaching
reflective anymore because his/her
actions may become routine. Then
professional growth will not be possible.
What is the definition of a reflective teacher then? How
can we become a reflective teacher?
A reflective teacher (also called a researcher of
teaching) is a person who transcends the technicalities
of teaching and thinks beyond the need to improve his
instructional techniques. Being reflective draws on the
need for asking what and why questions. In reflecting on
what and why questions, we begin to exercise control
and open up the possibility of transforming our
everyday classroom life. The process of control is called
critical reflective teaching. By being critical, a teacher
will have the ability to see his actions in relation to the
historical, social, and cultural context in which his
teaching is actually embedded. Such a teacher will
develop himself both individually and collectively.
The ten principles that guide the process by which
teachers can become reflective include:
1. Teachers must reflect upon issues in the social context
where teaching occurs.
2. Teachers must be interested in the problem to be
resolved.
3. Issues must be derived from the teacher's own
experience.
4. Reflection on the issues involves problem solving.
5. Ownership of the identified issue and its solution is
vested in the teacher.
6. Systematic procedures are necessary.
7. Teacher's experience of teaching should provide
information about the issue.
8. Teacher's ideas must be tested through the practice of
teaching.
9. Tested ideas about teaching must lead to some course
of action.
10. New understandings and redefined practice in
teaching should result
If there is no willingness to develop, to change, if there
are no doubts about yourself and your ´teaching style´ or
if there is no search for perfection, neither development
in teaching nor in personality can be found. That would
cause dissatisfaction of the students and of the teachers
themselves and of course failure in teaching and
learning process. As it was mentioned above first the
3
knowledge of oneself can lead to
the knowledge of others, which
is so important for creating
warm classroom atmosphere.
Therefore the next chapter is
devoted to teachers´ identity and
their values.
Factors That Determine
Professional Reflection
Values and identity.
How well the teacher understands himself and his
professional values can have significant effect on
professional reflection: Who am I? Do I know myself?
what are my values in teaching? What are values about
life? Without the answers a teacher cannot become
reflective. He/she must realize the ´starting point´ and
try to develop. Without knowing him/herself, he/she
cannot understand others. The question is how sincere is
the teacher to himself about right values and his
personal identity.
Teachers´ perceptions of pupils
It is certain that teachers must have a concrete idea of
what to expect of their pupils. Teachers' experience and
their observation should be of a significant help.
However, the danger of “teachers' preconceptions and
prejudices about what children should be like as pupils”
should be considered. Teachers must be careful of
“labeling or stereotyping which can lead to a
phenomenon known as a ´self-fulfilling prophecy´ and
could result in considerable social injustices” i.e.
children who were believed to be ´bright´ would do well
but, when there were negative expectations, then
children would not achieve good results.
To create a warm classroom atmosphere, teachers
should empathise with their pupils and help weaker
students to feel successful. More will be presented in the
chapter on classroom climate.
Children's perceptions
In following sections, children's perception will be
discussed. Classroom interaction depends not only on
teachers but on the pupils as well. Therefore their view
of themselves, of their teachers and of one another will
be the main issues.
Continue to next page
Children's views of themselves
Everybody will definitely agree “that the way that
children think
of themselves
in school will
directly
influence
their
approach to
learning, their
and learning disposition.
Some children may feel over-confident, some may
undervalue themselves but some may be very well
aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.
It is clear enough that if teachers want their students to
have positive approach to learning, positive self-
concepts should be developed among children. Teachers
should provide opportunities where children's qualities
can be appreciated, where children are encouraged to
identify and to improve these qualities.
Therefore, creating a warm climate by becoming a
reflective warm-hearted teacher who passes over his/her
positive energy to children and who wants to develop
both herself and students, must be the focus of every
teacher. Nevertheless the influence of various factors
may stand out of teachers reach. In the next section
these will be presented.
Influences on children's attitudes
Noody will doubt the importance of a family or an
environment on children's points of view. In these
section the influences acting on children's point of view
will be the focu.
The family. Parents and their ideas and actions are
obviously the first examples for young children. Though
they do not understand parents' behaviour they tend to
copy it so that they could gain parents love and
appreciation. However, the behaviour and values of the
family may also run counter to those supported in
schools.
Peers at school. They have an enormous influence
especially on teenagers who start rejecting everything
their parents and teachers say. They create groups that
reflect the influence of gender, ethnicity, social class,
age and physical abilities.
The school. Hopefully, the school also influences
children's perspectives. The information, values and
attitudes are of great importance. The personality of a
teacher should not be forgotten here.
The media and new technologies. Although books used
to be the most significant carriers of culture, they have
been replaced by television and computers. Children
spend long hours in ´cyberspace´, which may influence
their views. However, the possibility to get the latest
information should be highlighted here too.
4
The community. Each child is a member of wider
communities therefore he/she belongs to a racial group,
social groups or they may follow a specific religion. All
these communities help to shape an individual's values,
behaviour and sense of self.
Inborn qualities such as introversion or extraversion
influence children's perceptions of the world in general.
This can be an important factor for their attitude towards
teachers and one another, which could cause problems
with communication and creating relationships in a
class.
Children’s perceptions of teachers
Whenever positive classroom climate is to be
established, children's attitudes towards teachers are of
great importance as well.
There is a considerable amount of evidence collected.
This evidence suggests that children like teachers who
´make them learn´ and who provide interesting
activities, but also those who are prepared to be flexible,
to respond to the different interests of the individual and
those who provide some scope for pupil choice,
The following lists of a good and bad teacher's qualities
from a survey reflects the basic perceptions children
have about teachers:
Good teacher - is friendly, explains things, gives good
notes, lets the students do it by themselves, gives group
work, lets the students do the lesson together, elicits
things known, talks about his/her life, talks about
problems of the school, talks about other subjects, plays
games, tells jokes, is one of the students, does not push
weak students, asks students´ opinions, is like an actor,
is forceful, but not strict, is educated, knows
psychology, uses movement to make meaning clear,
makes sure everyone understood, is funny, reads in tone
that makes meaning clear, gets close to students, has a
personality of his/her own, is experienced, makes
grammar clear, tries to communicate, gives advice, talks
about personal problems, uses questions a lot, talks
about the lesson, believes in students, makes them
believe in themselves
Bad teacher - is very strict, does not let students speak,
gives marks all the time, is fixed in a chair, is dominant,
shouts, gives a lot of tests, forces the students to do
things, does not prepare them for the tests, makes too
difficult tests, does not smile, starts the lesson
immediately, does not discuss other problems, only
shows grammar rules, believes the students are all the
same, shouts when they make mistakes, speaks flat, is
very nervous, is like a machine, is not prepared, treats
kids like objects, is rigid, is sarcastic and ironic, does
not discuss other things, avoids answering questions,
students cannot laugh or speak.
Continue to next page

Children's views of one another
Among the factors which influence children's attitudes,
peers were the second significant ones on the list. So
this section devotes attention
to children's perception of
one another. People are
social beings therefore
even the children tend to
form pairs or groups.
Their relations in class
are very important
because this can affect
their learning. They
usually look for their
friends subconsciously,
i.e. they look for
somebody who is very
similar to them.
Nevertheless it is also a
common case when
children form groups with
others who are either
´stronger´ or ´weaker´ than they are. In a way they copy
the family patterns.
Children's play is, therefore, an important means by
which they can identify with each other, establish
themselves as members of a group, try out different
roles and begin to develop independence and
responsibility. When peer groups begin to form, each
member may be expected to contribute and conform to
the norms which are shared by the group: for example,
liking similar games, toys and TV programs; supporting
the same football team or pop group; liking the same
fashions. Group members will also be expected to be
loyal to each other, ´stand up for their mates´, play
together and share things.
Reflective teaching includes all the aspects of children's
perceptions: views of themselves, of one another and of
their teachers as well as of the world. These aspects are
interrelated with one another; the relationships with
peers and to teachers affect children's self-image.
As soon as teachers want to create a warm classroom
atmosphere they must consider the relationships among
children.
Classroom Climate
Classroom climate is quite a wide-ranging concept
encompassing the mood or atmosphere that is created in
the teacher's classroom through the rules set out, the
way the teacher interacts with pupils, and the way the
physical environment is set out.
Three basic qualities are required if a warm, ´person-
centered´ relationship is to be established – acceptance,
genuineness and empathy”. These qualities have special
implications within the conditions of school:
5
“Acceptance involves acknowledging and receiving
children ´as they are´; genuineness implies that such
acceptance is real and heart-felt; whilst empathy
suggests that a teacher is able to appreciate what
classroom events
feel like to
children”. Good
relationships are
founded on
understanding and
on ´giving´. The
qualities described
above are not the
only important
ones in creating a
warm atmosphere
because additional
factors are
involved as well:
In the first place
teachers are
constrained by their
responsibility for ensuring that the children learn
adequately and appropriately, second, the fact that
teachers are likely to be responsible for relatively large
numbers of children means that the challenges of the
class management and discipline must always condition
our actions and third, the fact that teachers themselves
have feelings, concerns and interests in the classroom
means that they, too, need to feel the benefit of a degree
of acceptance, genuineness and empathy if they are to
give of their best. Good relationships in classrooms
must then be based on each teacher having earned the
respect of the children by demonstrating empathy and
understanding and by establishing a framework of order
and authority. There are three types of classroom
climate. They differ in the extent to which the classroom
is pupil or more teacher-centered. Most classrooms
contain elements of all of these, but usually one model
dominates:
The Competitive Classroom – is where pupils compete
with one another to give answers. It can motivate pupils,
and teacher provides scaffolding for pupils' learning, but
it may bring damage to self-concept of less able pupils
and the pupils are not taught to work co-operatively.
The Co-operative Classroom – where pupils are
engaged in dialogue, monitored by teacher, i.e. they
bring up and discuss own ideas, but teacher intervenes
to clarify and scaffold their thinking. It develops pupils'
social and co-operative skills. However one or two
dominant pupils can start to dominate, with others
allowing them to do all the work.
Continue to next page
The Individualistic Classroom – where pupils work
independently, at their own level, there are no right or
wrong answers, teacher takes a 'back seat' in pupil
learning. It encourages development of independent
learning skills, but pupils will not develop co-operative
skills and less able pupils will not make sufficient
progress without teacher's scaffolding.
It is clear that all three types have their advantages and
disadvantages. The class where the research was done
will be classified according to all the signs mentioned
above in the practical part. To create a positive
classroom atmosphere is not an easy task. Words such as
acceptance, genuineness, empathy, understanding and
´giving´ as well as a certain kind of order, discipline and
authority are of great importance. Many similar words
to those in the chapter about reflective teachers will be
found in the next chapter where rules of creating a warm
classroom climate will be provided.
Rules of creating a warm classroom climate
The most important aspect of classroom climate - as it
has been mentioned more times already - is the
relationship between teacher and pupils. Therefore a
warm, supportive environment increases teachers'
effectiveness and pupils' achievement.
Outlined here are what a teacher should be like to be
able to achieve a warm classroom climate:
Understanding – with no sarcastic comments, helpful -
not ignoring pupils, friendly - everyone is valued as an
individual.
Genuine - has the same attitude away from the pupils,
enthusiastic and he/she should: lead without being
overbearing, enjoy teaching, motivate,
Have high expectations - all pupils can learn, make sure
pupils respect one another, encourage discussions to
clear up any misconceptions and clarify pupils' thinking,
give consistent, considered and constructive feedback,
Value pupils' work - praises and displays it and create an
inviting and cheerful classroom with bright and colorful
displays of pupils' work or posters on the walls.
Some other rules to reach an effective and warm
classroom climate include: Teachers should not forget
to be polite to students and should expect the same from
them, should not show favoritism towards particular
students, should include all student during lessons and
should not let one or two students monopolise the class
and, they should be consistent in the standards they set.
Though all these rules seem to be well known other
pieces of advice that teachers should have in mind are :
use humor, teach social skills, show students how to
build on strengths and compensate for weaknesses, how
to accept and learn from mistakes, emphasise
improvement rather than perfection and … involve
students in creating and establishing guidelines for
acceptable behaviour….
6
Whenever students speak out of turn, use inappropriate
language or otherwise disturb classroom activities,
without any discipline no creative or positive classroom
climate can be achieved. Therefore some additional
rules are given:
Teachers should speak to the student privately to
reinforce expectations and consequences, use proximity
or eye contact to engage the student, use appropriate
voice tones, use ´timeouts´ as a time for self-reflection,
…draw attention to the positive aspects the student's
behaviour or work first, use a problem solving approach
rather than a blaming approach, avoid overreacting,
provide the student with choices so that they accept
some responsibility for the solution to the problem or
place student in an area of the classroom where there is
a minimum of distractions.
Other interesting ideas which can help to build an
effective learning atmosphere include: being tolerant of
students' viewpoints, move around the room, use body
language, get on the students' level and share learning
and obtain early feedback from your students about your
teaching.
Involving all students can be reached by organising
students in three basic ways: individual work, pair work,
group work and class work. Nowadays, pair work or
group work is very often used. These types of work are
“significant especially in developing social and
language skills; pupils can help one another – they learn
to co-operate, which is mainly important for less
confident or quiet learners who need to feel secure, and
which creates supporting and challenging atmosphere.
However, very often pupils misuse the groups for
talking, the monitoring of group work or the forming of
group itself can cause problems, some pupils do not
contribute to the work (e.g. they either do not have the
confidence or the will) or the groups stop working
whenever the teacher leaves them for another one.
A reflective teacher, who wants to create a warm
classroom atmosphere, must be sincere and needs to
think about him/herself, students, the relations among
them and between them and him/her, about the
appropriate
organisation of
work, about
maintaining
discipline so
that learning
can be
achieved and
many other
things.