Reflective teaching

Reflective teaching takes many forms in English language teaching. In a recent online article on reflective teaching, Julie Tice suggests that it is "a systematic process of collecting, recording, and analyzing our thoughts and observations as well as those of our students, and then going into making changes."

Another less formal approach, often called teacher research, involves instructors collecting input on their approach to teaching. Classroom research might also involve instructors collecting information, with the focus being more on the classroom environment. The most formal approach, action research, describes specific steps teachers can take to collect data on their approach to instruction, identify problem areas, and where appropriate, make changes.

The steps of action research sometimes include:

1. Plan an action to address a perceived problem or issue.
2. Teach or act.
3. Observe and collect data.
4. Analyze data or reflect and make new plans.

We'll discuss these ideas in more detail throughout this lesson.

Why reflect?

What are the benefits of reflecting on what we do as teachers? Some of the reasons might include...

1. to identify your personal teaching style, and to recognize what you do well and what you can improve on.
2. to evaluate your approach to teaching and determine how well it matches your teaching philosophy.
3. to increase your knowledge about teaching and to refine your skills.
4. to adjust your approach to instruction in order to better meet your students' needs.
5. to continue to grow and evolve as an educator and a professional.

In order to do the above, is important to have a clear understanding of the various approaches to teaching. One should also be familiar with the different techniques that can be used to teach the different skills. It's also important to understand the role that learning strategies play in instruction.

By participating in this course, you've taken one step toward establishing this foundation and identifying your own personal teaching philosophy. Of course, there is a lot more to learn. Throughout your career, you'll find that professional development and growth will involve consistently evaluating yourself as a teacher and your approach to classroom instruction.

In this lesson, we're going to discuss steps (listed below) that you can take to become a more reflective teacher.

HOW CAN I BECOME A MORE REFLECTIVE TEACHER? Study ELT materials and develop a personal teaching philosophy. Collect data formally and informally. Evaluate how closely your teaching style matches your philosophy. Identify problem areas one at a time and develop an action plan for change or growth. Record the actions you've taken to improve. Set professional development goals to continue the process.

Now you are ready to evaluate how you actually put this into practice in the classroom. How do you go about evaluating your performance as a teacher? There are three basic sources that you can use: yourself, your students, and your colleagues.

Self-generated data: videotaping

I was videotaped a few years back teaching a class for an instructional video. I had never seen myself teaching before. While watching the video, I noticed several things that I needed to change. I was surprised, for example, that I favored certain students over others. Also, I always claimed that I spoke in class in an authentic manner. On the video, though, I noticed that the pace was adequate, but I tended to exaggerate my pronunciation.

In my opinion, the best way to observe yourself is to videotape. Bear in mind, though, that students react differently when they are being recorded. You should also make sure that they don't object to being filmed. When students understand that taping is for your professional growth, they usually are accepting. It's best to set up a schedule to tape yourself once a month or so and to compare one effort with the next. The camera can be set up in the back of the room on a tripod and left unattended.

Teaching journals and logs

Using a teaching journal can also be productive. However, some instructors (including myself) find it hard to sit down and write in a journal after "performing in the classroom" for two to three hours. For us, it is better to keep a log of our class and each time to note what went well and what needed improvement.

Julie Tice suggests that instructors come up with a short list of questions and at the end of each class, respond to these. Questions can be about the lesson objectives (what they were, if they were met), specific activities, student performance, and classroom/time management. Responses to the questions can be brief, but will provide an ongoing record of what and how you are doing in the classroom. For more information, see the bibliography at the end of this lesson.

The lesson plan itself

Another form of self-generated data is the lesson plan itself. Keeping a notebook of your lessons is a great habit to get into. The lessons can be referred to for years. They are a good record of your approach to instruction and can be compared to your overall teaching philosophy.

Student feedback

In an earlier lesson, we looked at how learner feedback (in the form of surveys and questionnaires and student-teacher dialogue journals) can be used to identify student needs and shape instruction. To learn more about what students feel is working in class and what their concerns are, an instructor can use these same kinds of surveys, questionnaires, and student-teacher dialogue journals to elicit student input.

Peer feedback

Peer feedback from colleagues is also very useful in helping you to evaluate your effectiveness as a teacher. Having a colleague observe one your classes can provide you with a different perspective. Peer observations should be structured in such a way that information can be easily interpreted from the experience. One way to approach this is for the observer to answer specific questions about the class he or she visits. The questions should not be judgmental. Instead, they should focus specifically on things happening in class. Some examples might include:

1. What percentage of time did the instructor speak and what percentage of time did students speak or produce?
2. How much time did students speak in their native language?
3. How long did each activity take?
4. Did steps in the lesson plan transition from one to the next fluidly?

Another approach would be for the observer to script or describe the entire lesson precisely with an attempt to stay impartial. This information can then be referred to for later discussions.

Source: http://eltmedia.thomsonlearning.com