DISCLAIMER: The following post was originally completed as part of my coursework for EDUC 520-Student Learning and Motivation, one of my grad classes. If you are not interested in education, this is going to be wicked boring. Please feel free to check out some of my other posts!
Looking back into our pasts, we can all recall two teachers. The first is the teacher who had the same dusty textbooks, posters, lesson plans, and methods from decades of teaching, never changing anything but complaining that today’s students were just harder to teach because they were more rebellious than ever. The second was the teacher that was passionate, constantly deviating from the book, changing the plans, and trying new activities. One of them is the reason that most teachers fell in love with learning and became teachers themselves. Can you guess which?
Highly effective teachers become so because they are reflective teachers. Reflective teachers are called that because they are consistently observing and analyzing their own actions and students’ reactions throughout every lesson (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 14). As opposed to teachers who keep their noses to the grindstone of giving information, reflective teachers take the time to look at themselves and their classrooms from others’ perspectives. They also look ahead into the future and speculate on the possible outcomes of their actions.
Reflective teaching starts before the lessons are even planned (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 14). Reflective teachers look at the essential information and skills from each unit of study and plan the entire unit around those goals. They plan teaching methods and activities that best serve those goals, whether those are tried and true methods or new experimental ones (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 14). It does not matter because the goal is not to be a traditional or avant-garde teacher, it is to do what is best for student learning.
Reflective teaching continues during lessons (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 15). Reflective teachers are constantly aware of their own actions, but are also aware of their students’ states of mind. They are not bound to their lesson plans, no matter how meticulously they were completed, but are willing to be flexible, drop their plans, and try something new at the drop of a hat if it better serves their students (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 15).
Lastly, reflective teaching continues even after lessons are done and the students are gone (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 15). Reflective teachers take time to review what happened and ponder whether the lesson was successful or not, and what changes may be made in the future to further enhance the effectiveness of their teaching (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 15).
Becoming a reflective teacher necessitates a mastery of their subject area, knowledge of a vast array of teaching and learning strategies, familiarity with one’s students, the ability to see the classroom through the eyes of their students, and a willingness to change when necessary (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 15). It includes willingness to be responsible for your classroom and take the time to reflect each day on what went well and what went poorly, and the ability to find new ways to improve each and every day (Biehler, McCown, & Snowman, 2009, 15).
Think back to that second teacher again, the one who inspires others to be teachers as well. They probably inspire others to teach because they were a reflective teacher. How closely do you resemble that teacher today? When was the last time you took a minute to reflect? Have you checked the mirror recently?
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