How can you use reflection to identify growth areas in your teaching practice?

As a teacher, you are constantly learning and improving your practice. But how do you know what areas you need to focus on? How do you measure your progress and identify your strengths and weaknesses? One powerful tool that can help you answer these questions is reflection. Reflection is the process of thinking critically and honestly about your teaching experiences, actions, and outcomes. In this article, you will learn how to use reflection to identify growth areas in your teaching practice and how to apply them to your professional development.

1 What is reflection?

Reflection is not just a passive or superficial activity. It is an active and deliberate process that involves examining your beliefs, assumptions, values, goals, and strategies as a teacher. It also involves evaluating your impact on your students, their learning, and their well-being. Reflection helps you to understand yourself better as a teacher, to recognize your successes and challenges, and to identify areas for improvement and change.

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Phillip Alcock

Director of Innovation Alayna/Masterymate | Co-Founder PBL Future Labs | Founder AIxPBL | Learning and Curriculum Design | AIxEd Developer | Published Author
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Teaching is like crafting a gourmet pizza, a process that demands constant reflection for mastery. The dough, your foundational teaching philosophy, isn't static; it evolves through self-examination and adaptation. Your oven settings—teaching methods—must be calibrated with precision, a task that requires introspection to avoid manufacturing the learning process. Toppings signify curriculum customization, driven by reflective inquiry into student needs. The presentation of the pizza mirrors your classroom atmosphere, something to refine through aesthetic and emotional assessments. The ultimate taste test—student engagement and achievement—closes the reflective loop, giving you key insights for your next 'culinary' endeavor.

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2 Why is reflection important?

Reflection is an important activity for professional and personal growth, as it enables you to become more self-aware and better able to regulate yourself. It also helps you develop your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, learn from your experiences and mistakes, celebrate your achievements and strengths, set realistic goals, adjust to changing contexts and needs, seek feedback and support from others, and engage in continuous learning and development.

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Phillip Alcock

Director of Innovation Alayna/Masterymate | Co-Founder PBL Future Labs | Founder AIxPBL | Learning and Curriculum Design | AIxEd Developer | Published Author
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Reflection in teaching is like navigating a ship through uncharted waters. Your vessel—the educational philosophy you uphold—requires constant upkeep for durability and relevance. The compass and navigational tools represent your self-regulatory and problem-solving skills, and professional development, calibrated through critical reflection on your course and strategies. The crew, your students, look to you for direction. Adapting to their needs requires keen observation and willingness to change tack. The lighthouses and buoys along the way symbolize external feedback and support, guiding you through difficult straits and keeping you on course. Reflection is much more than maintenance, it is engaging deeply with the process.

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3 How to reflect on your teaching practice?

Reflecting on your teaching practice does not have to be a difficult process. Before teaching, it is important to plan what you want to achieve, how you will do it, and what evidence you will collect. During your teaching session, observe and monitor your actions, interactions, and reactions. Afterward, review the evidence collected and compare it with your expectations and goals. Analyze what happened, what you learned, and how you felt. Based on this review, identify areas of growth, strengths, and areas for further inquiry. Finally, decide which actions you will take to improve your practice and achieve your goals.

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Phillip Alcock

Director of Innovation Alayna/Masterymate | Co-Founder PBL Future Labs | Founder AIxPBL | Learning and Curriculum Design | AIxEd Developer | Published Author
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Reflecting on teaching doesn't have to be an odyssey. Think of it as a three-act play. Act One is the planning stage, where you draft the script—objectives, methods, and evidence to collect. Act Two is the performance; you're live, interacting with your 'audience'—the students. You're not just delivering lines; you're observing their reactions and adjusting your performance in real-time. Act Three is the review. This is where you sift through the 'reviews'—evidence, student feedback, scores, engagement levels and your own observations. You critique your performance against metrics. Did the narrative unfold as planned? Were the audience engaged? What plot twists did you encounter? How did you measure success? What will you do next?

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4 How to identify growth areas?

Reflection is essential for identifying growth areas in teaching practice, which can be related to knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviors. To identify these areas, you can use various sources of information such as self-assessment with tools like rubrics or checklists, student feedback through questionnaires or interviews, peer feedback through observation or coaching, and external feedback with evaluation reports or research findings. All of these will help you benchmark your practice against external criteria and expectations.

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5 How to apply your growth areas to your professional development?

Identifying your growth areas is not enough; you need to apply them to your professional development. Professional development is the process of improving your knowledge, skills, and competencies as a teacher, which involves engaging in meaningful learning activities. To apply growth areas to your professional development, prioritize the most important and urgent ones that match your needs, interests, and goals. Research evidence-based practices, theories, or models that can inform your practice. Experiment with different strategies, techniques, or tools and observe the results. Collaborate with other teachers and join or create professional learning communities. Lastly, reflect on your practice and monitor and evaluate your progress and outcomes. Celebrate your achievements and identify new growth areas.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use reflection to identify growth areas in your teaching practice?

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1 What is reflection?

2 Why is reflection important?

3 How to reflect on your teaching practice?

4 How to identify growth areas?

5 How to apply your growth areas to your professional development?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Teaching

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How can you use reflection to identify growth areas in your teaching practice?

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1 What is reflection?

2 Why is reflection important?

3 How to reflect on your teaching practice?

4 How to identify growth areas?

5 How to apply your growth areas to your professional development?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Teaching

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