essay teacher self reflection examples

12 Reflective Teaching Examples

Reflective teaching is a process where teachers reflect on their own teaching practices and learn from their own experiences.

This type of reflection allows teachers to see what works well in their classrooms and what needs improvement. Reflective teaching also helps teachers to understand the impact that their teaching has on students.

Examples of reflective teaching include observing other teachers, taking notes on your own teaching practice, reading about how to improve yourself, and asking for feedback from your students to achieve self-improvement.

Reflective Teaching Examples

1. reflection-in-practice.

Reflection in practice is a concept by David Schon which involves small moments of reflection throughout your day.

Instead of pausing at the end of your activities and reflecting upon what you did, Schon argues that good practitioners reflect in the moment and make tiny changes from moment-to-moment. This is the difference between reflection on practice and reflection in practice. “Reflection on” occurs once the lesson is over. Reflection in occurs during the lesson.

For example, as you’re doing a question-and-answer session with your class, you might realize that the students are tuning out and getting bored. In order to resolve this problem, you might choose to get the students all to stand up and play heads or tails for questions you ask them. This might get the kinesthetic learners re-engaged in the lesson and salvage it from its impending implosion.

Related Article: 15 Action Research Examples

2. Conducting Classroom Observations

Another way to do reflective teaching is to start a classroom observation routine. Create a template for your observations (e.g. listing each student’s name down the side, with notes beside it) and take notes on students’ work.

You could, for example, choose to observe how well students responded to a new classroom intervention. These written observations can form the basis for changes that you can make to your work as you progress.

Similarly, you could make observations about students’ interactions after changing the classroom layout. This can help you edit and refine your chosen layout in order to maximize student learning and figure out the best location for each student.

3. Pivoting based on Formative Feedback

Reflective teachers also try to obtain formative feedback from students in order to gather data that can form the basis of their reflection.

An example of formative feedback is a pre-test a month before the exams.

This pre-test can help the teacher understand the general areas of weakness for their students, and acts as the basis for a pivot in their teaching practices. The teacher may, for example, identify a specific math challenge that the majority of the students had trouble with. They can then put extra focus on that challenge for the next few weeks so the students can ace that challenge in the end-of-term test.

In this way, formative feedback is a core tool for teachers in their formative feedback toolkit.

4. Keeping a Teaching Diary

A personal teaching diary can help teachers to identify trends in their behaviors (and the behaviors of their students) that can help teachers to improve.

For example, in my teaching diary, I will often take notes about how I reacted to certain events. I’ll note my reaction as well as things I did well, ways I effectively self-regulated , and things I did poorly. If I’m taking notes on an answer to a student’s question, I might note that something I did well was “give a clear answer” but an area for improvement might be “I failed to follow-up later in the day to check my student’s comprehension”.

Incidentally, teaching diaries can be extremely useful for self-performance reviews . Bring your teaching diary into the performance review and go over it with your line manager. They will be super impressed with your reflective practice!

5. Receiving Student Evaluations

Despite how much we may despise student evaluations, they can contain important tidbits of information for us.

I often like to compare my evaluations from one to the next to see if there are changes in the student trend. I’ll also work really hard on one aspect of my teaching and see if I can get students to take notice and leave a comment in the evaluation.

For example, one semester, I decided to implement a tech intervention (I let students use an educational app in class). The students used the app, and it turns out – they didn’t like it!

Without the student evaluation, I wouldn’t have been able to identify this problem and work on solving it. You can read all about that study here, which I published in an academic journal.

6. Debriefing with a Mentor

Having a mentor has been invaluable for me in my career. By sitting down with a mentor, I learn a lot about my strengths and weaknesses.

Mentors tend to bring out reflectiveness in all of us. After all, they’re teachers who want us to improve ourselves.

Your mentor may ask you open-ended questions to get you to reflect, or discuss some new points and concepts that you haven’t thought about before. In this process, you’re being prompted to reflect on your on teaching practice and compare what you do to the new ideas that have been presented. You may ask yourself questions like “do I do that?” or “do I need to improve in that area?”

7. Using Self-Reflection Worksheets

Self-reflection worksheets are a good ‘cheat’ for figuring out how to do self-reflection for people who struggle.

You can find these worksheets online through services like Teachers Pay Teachers. They often involve daily activities like:

• Write down one thing you struggled with today.
• Write down one big win.
• Write down one thing you will actively try to work on tomorrow.

These worksheets are simple prompts (that don’t need to take up too much time!) that help you to bring to the front of your consciousness all those thoughts that have been brewing in your mind, so you can think about ways to act upon them tomorrow.

See Also: Self-Reflection Examples

8. Changing Lesson Plans Based on Previous Experiences

At the end of each unit of work, teachers need to look at their lesson plans and self-assess what changes are required.

Everyone is aware of that teacher who’s had the same lesson plan since 2015. They seem lazy for failing to modernize and innovate in their practice.

By contrast, the reflective practitioner spends a moment at the end of the lesson or unit and thinks about what changes might need to be made for next time the lesson is taught.

They might make changes if the information or knowledge about the topic changes (especially important in classes that engage with current events!). Similarly, you might make changes if you feel that there was a particular point in the lesson where there was a lull and you lost the students’ attention.

9. Professional Development Days

Professional development days are a perfect opportunity for reflective teaching.

In fact, the leader of the professional development day is likely to bake reflectiveness into the event. They may prepare speeches or provide activities specifically designed for teachers to take a step back and reflect.

For example, I remember several moments in my career where we had a guest speaker attend our PD day and gave an inspiring speech about the importance of teachers for student development. These events made me think about what I was doing and the “bigger picture” and made me redouble my efforts to be an excellent teacher.

10. Implementing 2-Minute Feedback

The 2-minute feedback concept is excellent for reflective practice. For this method, you simply spend the last 2 minutes of the class trying to get feedback from your students.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to give students a post-it note at the end of the lesson. Have them write on one side something they liked about the lesson and on the other something they didn’t like. Then, you can read the feedback to reflect on how to improve.

With younger students, you can do ‘hands up’ for students and ask them how confident they are with the topic.

For online lessons, I’ve put a thermometer up on the screen and asked students to draw on the thermometer how confident that are (line at the top means very confident, line at the bottom means not confident at all).

11. Reading Books

Books are excellent for helping us to reflect and contemplate. There is a wide range of books for teachers, from philosophical ones like Pedagogy of the Oppressed to very practical workbooks.

Through reading, we encounter new ideas that challenge our current ideas. As we pick up new ideas and information, we interrogate our current thoughts and find ways to assimilate them into our new thinking. Sometimes, that requires us to change our own current opinions or thoughts, and challenge us to consistently improve.

In this way, reading books about teaching is an inherently reflective practice. It makes us better practitioners and more thoughtful people.

12. Listening to Podcasts

Like books, podcasts enable us to consume information that can help us pause and reflect.

I personally love podcasts because I find them easier to consume than books. The conversations and dialogue in podcasts help me to feel immersed in a conversation with close friends. Good podcasts hosts make you feel like they’re grappling with the exact same concerns and emotions as you are – and it’s a motivating experience.

Good podcasts for teachers include The Cult of Pedagogy and Teachers on Fire. These podcasts help me to reflect on my own teaching practice and continue to learn new things that I can compare to my own approaches and integrate when I feel they offer new insights that are valuable.

There are many ways to incorporate reflective practice into your teaching. By taking the time to reflect on your teaching, you can identify areas where you can improve and make changes to your practice. This will help you to become a more effective teacher and better meet the needs of your students. Through reflective practice, you can also develop a stronger sense of who you are as a teacher and what your personal teaching philosophy is.

Drew, C. & Mann, A. (2018). Unfitting, uncomfortable, unacademic: a sociological critique of interactive mobile phone apps in lectures. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0125-y

Lousberg, L., Rooij, R., Jansen, S. et al. Reflection in design education. Int J Technol Des Educ. 30, 885–897 (2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-019-09532-6

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

2 thoughts on “12 Reflective Teaching Examples”

Dr Chris Drew, this article is useful for teachers like me. I really appreciate your hard work. Thank you for being a helpful professor. Sandy

Dr, Chris Drew. First of all Congratulations. This article is handy for me as I am doing my teacher training course. You did a good job, explaining in a simple manner so, anyone can understand easily. Thank you so much. Alka

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Meaningful Teacher Reflection

by Elizabeth Peterson | General Education Topics , Pillar , SEAL: Social-Emotional Artistic Learning | 0 comments

Chances are, you do it already as you create new goals, prepare for observations or look forward to evaluations.

But what about the types of reflections that really matter?  (Not that those don’t, but let’s face it, sometimes we rush through those administrative types of reflections to get them over with… am I right?)

So, let’s get real for a moment, shall we?  Reflections take time (and we just don’t have a lot of that), but they are important.  And as far as I’m concerned the more personal you make your reflections, the better.

What does that mean?  Take ownership of your reflections.  Don’t wait for the next observation or end-of-the-year eval.

When you do take the time to reflect on your teaching or your role in education, you do 3 things:

• Make Progress – When you reflect on your work, you can’t help but move yourself forward.  You can see your mistakes and improve on them, celebrate your successes and increase them.  Reflection helps you to make progress.
• Inspire – When you reflect, you inspire yourself and probably even others.  Reflection helps to keep yourself on your toes and you can see how far you come each day.  And as you make progress on your own profession, that can certainly be inspiring to others around you!
• Empower – Continued reflection helps to empower you.  It puts you in the driver’s seat of your progress.  You make note of your talents, success, weaknesses and failures.  And then – you move forward!  Why – because YOU want to!

Let’s take a look at some Personal Reflective Strategies  that YOU can do for yourself!

Checklist & questions for meaningful teacher reflection.

If time is of the essence, checklists are a great way to quickly and meaningfully reflect on yourself.  But first, you must spend a little bit of time creating one that is useful to YOU!

To create your own reflective checklist, ask yourself this key question:

“What do I want to see inside my classroom?”  (or office or learning space)

Then, you can make your list into a checklist.

Here is what I have on my checklist.

• Students are smiling.
• Students seem ready to learn.
• Students are participating. (hands up, contributing to discussions)
• Students are getting their work completed.
• Student work is successful.
• My materials are ready.
• I am prepared for the lesson(s).
• I am calm and ready to teach.
• My room is organized.
• The students’ areas are organized.
• My room “looks good”/seems inviting.
• Transitions are smooth.
• The adults in the room are adding positively to the student learning.

If you want, translate your checklist into a quick rating scale.  That way, you aren’t reflecting on do you have it or not, but you are rating it with 1, 2 or 3 points.  A 1 rating can be the best meaning you definitely have it, a 2 can mean you are working towards having it and a 3 can mean that you just aren’t there yet.  (Of course, you can use whatever rating scale works for you!)

Once you have your own checklist, you can follow up with a few questions.  Here are some general, but effective ones you can use:

• What are some things that are going really well?
• What are some things you can improve on?
• What students do you need to check in on and why?
• What students need to know that they are doing a great job?
• What needs to happen for things to be more successful?
• What resources might you need to help the learning be more effective?  (people, materials, etc.)

(A copy of the reflection checklist that goes with this type of reflection can be found in this week’s FREEBIE!)

Meaningful teacher reflections.

• Name * First

Journaling for Meaningful Teacher Reflection

But instead of using a list of questions for this, I like to have some Journal Starters.  These are like sentence starters.  They give you a jumping point from which to write.  As you read through some of these Journal Starters, one may resonate with you for some reason.  That’s the one you should use.

Journal Starters for Reflection:

• Today was ______.  Let me explain.
• We had a break-through!
• ________  finally got it!
• No matter what I try, ______ just can’t understand the concepts.
• I think it may be time for me to revisit __________.
• It’s time to check on ____________.
• I really need to do more ___________.

(These and many other Journal Prompts can be found in this week’s FREEBIE which includes a mini-journal to print and use!)

Blogging for meaningful teacher reflection.

Now, blogging may be something that interests you as well.  It certainly did for me!  I started my blog in 2008.  It was a way for me to express my ideas and give voice to my concerns and aspirations for education, specifically for teachers!

And now… 11 years later, those reflections have helped me define my role as a teacher and consultant.  It continues to do so as I try new things with my students, develop my craft as a teacher and work on new ideas for YOU in arts integration and SEAL.

I love to type.  It’s like playing the piano to me and it feels good under my fingertips.  Handwriting, on the other hand is difficult.  My handwriting is messy and my hands tire easily.  But typing is almost therapeutic.

Maybe you have a reason blogging would be a better fit for you!  You can type your thoughts, add images, format your words and then send your reflections and ideas out into the world!  Consider it.  😉

Reflecting with Future Goals & Vision Boards

Thinking about your goals, hopes and dreams is another way to reflect on your teaching.  (And a fun one at that!)

For this, you can journal, blog or create something that shows the vision you have for yourself professionally.

Creating a vision board is a powerful exercise and beneficial, reflective process.  When you create a vision board, you choose images, words and colors that not only inspire you to be your best, but allow you to focus on what is most important to you.  It’s as much about the  process as it is the product!

And speaking of the product, when your vision board is complete is acts as a constant reminder of your values and vision of yourself in education.  I have mine hanging behind my computer at school.  (And my personal one is hanging in my office at home!)  Here are pictures of both.

Starting up, here are some questions you can ask yourself on envisioning your goals, hopes and dreams for your career. This is only a sampling.

• What would my best day look like?
• How do I want my students to feel when they enter my room?
• What feelings to I want to have when I’m done with a lesson?
• Where do I want to be in 5 or 10 years?

(Instructions on how to create a vision board and other questions to help you unveil your goals are included in this week’s FREEBIE!)

Verbal reflections.

Now, let’s get real.  Written reflections are great, but it doesn’t always make sense for some of us.  It takes time and energy and well, sometimes you just need to reflect in the moment WITH someone.

In fact, when I polled some of the Inspiring Teachers over in our wonderful Facebook group , (BTW – Have you joined yet???), verbal reflections were what many teachers preferred.

So, here are a few important points to keep in mind when we talk about verbal reflection.

Reflect with Those that Get It

Sometimes you just need to kabitz with your own people who just get where you are coming from.  Their experiences are similar and they can show true empathy as well as give you constructive criticism from a professional standpoint.  In other words, they are educators too and walk your walk.

Reflect with Those who Detach from It

Other times you just need to talk with someone who doesn’t quite live your challenges or successes.  It’s fun to share a success story of how you really helped a student out.   (Thus proving what you do is super awesome and amazing.)  It can also be satisfying to tell someone a crazy story from the trenches that will shock the heck out of them.  (Proving that what you do is pretty much something only certain people are cut out for.)

Talking with a spouse, a friend and family member who does not work in education can help give you a new perspective.  If you choose your person carefully, they can also be a safe place get something off your chest.  And that brings us to one more thing…

Venting – Do it in Moderation

So, this topic needs to be mentioned here…  right?  Venting is certainly part of reflection and is, at times, necessary!  We all do it whether in the form of an eye roll, a silent scream or a cathartic release of words.  Let me repeat – we all do it!  But I’d like to offer a couple of bits of advice when venting.

• Be Aware of Your Surroundings   At one school I worked in my colleagues would go out for a Friday afternoon drink after work and, as any group of teachers seems to do after a little bit, we started talking about school.  The problem was, we didn’t leave the town where we worked.  And while most of our conversation was totally fine, there was one afternoon where a teacher told a story about a student and used his name.  Little did we know there are townies at the establishment who listened in and then went to administration.  Oof

You always want to be self aware when you start talking, and most importantly WHO is nearby.

The school I’m at now is a modified open-concept school: a few flimsy walls, but you can hear and see nearly EVERYTHING.  Private conversations are laughable and while we obviously need to have conversations in school about curriculum and students, it’s so important to know where you are and who is nearby.

Venting – Keep it Under Wraps

• Keep it off of Social Media  Just like knowing your surroundings when in public, you need to do the same on social media.  Actually, it’s probably MORE important.  The rule of thumb:  If you don’t want your principal, parents (of your students) or grandmother to see what you are posting, DON’T DO IT!

It’s the same advice I give my own children: Once it’s posted, it doesn’t go away – ever – even if you delete it – it lasts forever!

And if what you posted is mean-spirited, sarcastic or easily misinterpreted, you might as well not even bother.  Better safe than sorry.  ANYone can take what you post and turn it on you.

Venting – Have a Buddy

• Have that 1 Person Gerry Brooks (FB Funny Guy) once gave some great advice to teachers when it comes to venting:  Have 1 person that you vent to.  Make it someone you trust and who is willing to listen without judgement.

I really appreciated that he understood that there is actually a NEED for teachers to vent their frustration. So, I’ll say it again:

Find one, trustworthy person for your venting.

• Keep Kindness in Mind   While venting is easy, it’s important to remember that we are dealing with people I know I can certainly get into a heated conversation, wanting to know the latest gossip or funny stories.  However, our true calling is to help and be role models for maturing students.  It’s ok (and possible) to vent your frustrations with kindness.

Are you interested in going even more in depth with this topic?  Awesome!  Meaningful Teacher Reflection is the topic of this month’s mini-workshop on Facebook Live!  All you have to do is tune in Thursday, October 17 at 7:00 pm EST in our Inspiring Teachers’ FB group .

But you have to be part of the group to join in!!!  So, get over there and JOIN!!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/inspiringteachers/

See you then!

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LETTERS AND LEAVES

The craft, and occasional mess, of teaching passionately, creatively, and sustainably.

FIRST YEAR , MINDSET , PEDAGOGY · March, 6

Teacher Self Reflection: A Guide

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure  here .

In this blog post, I share the different modes of teacher self reflection and provide real-life examples of these teacher self reflection practices in action. 

In another blog post , I’ve talked about tips to help you continue teaching, and all those points are essential to keep you motivated and intentional as a teacher. Here, though, I want to focus on an essential skill you must develop at the very start of your teaching career: teacher self reflection. 

Without reflection, you cannot improve as a teacher, or at anything. Reflection helps push you past the unintentional, hindering repetition that happens because you don’t know what else to do. 

Not sure why your fifth period class lacks focus? Struggling with prolonged transitions? Constantly battling students to stop talking? 

While reflection won’t magically fix these, these can all be observed and strategically attacked through the process of reflection. 

Now, before diving into the tips for successful and effective teacher self reflection, it’s important to note there are different types of reflections. 

There are four modes of reflections, as clearly described in the “Reflective practice” page on the New South Wales Education government site . 

Reflection-in-practice

Reflection-on-practice, reflection-for-practice, reflection-within.

All of these are undoubtedly important. However, I assert that reflection-on-practice is the most approachable during your first year of teaching. 

If you’re anything like me, reflection-in-practice, in the moment, did not happen until I was more confident in the classroom. Until I felt like I learned how to force myself to breath, take a step back, and watch . The same with reflection-for-practice, which involved the first and the second together. 

Perhaps reflection-within is approachable for first year teachers, but again I argue this comes with greater understanding of yourself as a teacher, and thus may come more often after a few months in the classroom. 

As I said, this practice was much harder to do when I first stepped into my own classroom. Even with experience using this mode of teacher self reflection while student teaching, it was still a challenge. As a fully fledged teacher in my own classroom, I struggled to separate from the moment to reflect until a few months into my first year of teaching. 

This mode became necessary on days when plans totally bombed, they just fell apart, the train derailed. Whatever metaphor you want to use. Reflection-in-practice needs to happen when things are going disastrously. 

I distinctly remember a disastrous moment. At first, it seemed all was well. I reviewed the directions, handed out the supplies, and set students to work. Within minutes, student after student pelted me with questions. 

“Ms. Kyra, what do we do?”

“Wait, I’m so confused! What are we doing?”

“Why do we need to do _____? Aren’t we working on _____?”

These questions were not limited to the few who typically ask for a bit more explanation. No, it was nearly everyone. My directions didn’t make sense, what I said out loud was completely different than what was on the paper. They were lost. Heck, I was lost! 

In a moment of complete panic, I stopped everyone and said, “People! Stop. This is clearly not working. I messed up. I want us to analyze this story and consider how _____ affects the main character… How can we do that given the materials we have in front of us?” 

This became one of the best moments that could have happened. Immediately I had students thinking and discussing, and then pitching me ideas. Together, we came up with a plan, we wrote the directions on the white board together, and we got to work. 

Rather than see this as only a failure, I saw this as a moment of genius! My students were planning with me, creating their own assignment, and they were invested . 

This reflection-in-practice changed the atmosphere and energy in the room. I was able to walk around and observe them working and take more moments of reflection. How could I replicate this class brainstorm with my next class without the stress and confusion? 

Sometimes, reflection-in-practice happens out of necessity in between periods. You know, those precious minutes when you really need to run to the restroom, but you also need to jot down quick notes on essential changes to your lesson plan for next period? Those passing periods or recess sessions when you only have time to grab a notebook and jot down quick changes in the 5 minutes before the next group plops into their chairs. 

The power of this mode of reflection is undeniable, and it is a mode I use more frequently than any other at this point in my career. Force yourself to try this. Don’t stick with a mediocre or poor lesson out of fear.

My advice? Give students an activity that gets you out of the way , and then you can observe and reflect on what’s going well and what isn’t. And, don’t be afraid to abandon ship and build a better one in the moment, with students as your crew mates.

A more formal mode of reflection is reflection-on-practice . 

As previously noted, you need a notebook for processing, which is after all the very purpose of reflection. While I admit I didn’t reflect-on-practice every day, I did it several times a week. I made myself take 5 minutes before I left my classroom to write down what went well, what could have gone better, and what I want to change for tomorrow. Just those three things. 

By writing these down, I gave myself greater purpose and hope for the next day. There were celebrations—no matter how small—and clear goals. As simple as it sounds, this made it easier for me to walk out the classroom door feeling less defeated, and it made walking back in the next morning doable. 

I don’t mean to paint a dire picture of teaching. It is an honorable and enjoyable career! But it’s hard. In fact, I’m not sure hard covers it. That first year, I was so drained . Every day. And in this way I am not an outlier. 

Thus, to keep the enormity of the teaching task in perspective, to break it down into manageable bits, reflection helps. 

The next morning before the students arrive, I would look at my reflections and come up with changes to the flow of the lesson, the timings, and even my strategies and words. It’s important to take a step away, a night away, and then come back with a clearer set of eyes. Did things implode yesterday because of the tone I used? Did x not work out because of y? Or is x the problem itself? 

Not all the problems can be solved in 15 or 30 minutes before the day starts, but they can be solved over longer periods of time: weeks and months. If you keep a reflection journal, even if only filled with 5 minute reflections, you will start to see patterns. 

Once you’ve trained yourself to reflect-on-practice effectively, you may need to do it less. Especially If things are going well, maybe it’s more reasonable for you to take a bigger chunk of time and reflect once a week.

This mode of teacher self reflection combines the first two with the specific purpose of making changes. This is the proactive form of reflection—the reflection you do as a teacher when you are planning out future lessons and curriculum. “Often called ‘closing the gap’ reflection, it focuses on closing the gap between what is and what might be” (“Reflective practice”). 

Who do you want to be as a teacher? What do you need to do differently to reach that? 

What kind of environment do you want to foster? What actions and words hinder that environment? What actions and words promote it? 

What relationship do you want to have with your students? Colleagues? With the parents? How can you develop and maintain that type of relationship?

What do you want students to walk away with? What needs to happen next unit, next semester, next year, to achieve those end goals? 

These are the types of questions that lead to you identifying the changes you want to make. From there, you need to actually make the changes. For me, it helps to write out what I want to see. What do I want to say when students misbehave so that I am clear that the behavior is unacceptable but I am also respecting them as a human? I write out what I want to say, and thus it sticks in my brain better. These interactions go better once I’ve planned them out. 

Maybe that sounds scripted, but honestly, that’s what worked for me my first few years of teaching. Now, I have those scripts in my brain, but to begin with, you react, you’re emotional, you have to build up your stamina and reflect on how your actions and words appear to students, parents, and colleagues, and then decide if you’re comfortable with that perception. If you aren’t, then what can you say and do differently? 

Another strategy that I highly recommend : asking for student feedback to help you reflect. You don’t always know the answers to some of these reflection questions. Sure, you can make educated guesses and logical inferences, but words from the mouths, or from the fingertips, of students are even better. 

I use Google Form surveys with students to solicit feedback .

Some of what I’ve shared in the previous section applies here too. This mode involves personal reflection on your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs as a teacher. 

Like many things, you learn from other people. So talk to your trusted colleagues, your mentors, your friends, and seek guidance to help you align your practice with your stance . If you are limited in these areas of support, then go old school and find books and authors to guide you. 

There are several books out there that help teachers decompress and reflect as a method of self care. It seems like the last few years self-care guides have exploded across all professions, and there are great options for teachers if you want a guided practice of reflection! These look like some interesting guided practices:

• Kami Guarino has a few editions of the Resilience Journal: Daily Reflection & Self-Care for Educators . 
• Grace Stevens’ A Positive Mindset Journal for Teachers .  
• Rachel Wyant’s And Why? 72 Reflection Questions for Teachers . 
• Tina H. Boogren’s 180 Days of Self-Care for Busy Educators . In addition to daily advice and tasks to take care of yourself, there are also weekly reflection questions! A double whammy. 

If you’re like me, then you might buy one of these guided books and start to use it, but then… you just don’t keep up the habit. Sure, there are strategies we could use to keep up the habit of writing in these guidebooks, such as the epic advice from James Clear’s Atomic Habits . Or, perhaps something a bit more minimal will suffice. 

In my experience, a plan notebook and a pencil often suffice. For creating lesson plans, for documenting random inspiration and ideas, and for reflecting. Honestly, reflection-within does not need to be formal . You can simply write down, daily or weekly, how you’re feeling. Then, try to dig into those less than stellar feelings—what is the root? How can you change that and allow for better outcomes and positivity? 

Like any profession, excellence in teaching takes time and conscious reflection , of various forms. Reflection-within should not be overlooked just because it’s “feeling” based. As teachers, being unaware of our feelings leads to bitterness, discontent, and those feelings too often spill over into our classrooms with how we treat our students. I’m sure you can think back to a teacher who seemed unhappy in the classroom, and who took that out on students. Don’t be that teacher. 

Reflect, realign your actions with your beliefs, and restart.

You’ve reflected. You’ve written it down. Now what? Well, if in the reflection process you did not brainstorm solutions, you need to find them. Once you’ve identified patterns of problems, you can ask for help from colleagues, research theory and practice, and even investigate potential professional developments. 

Essentially, your reflections become evidence . Of successes, of flops, and of absence. What are you doing well? What is going poorly? What are you, or students, not doing (that you or they should be)? Then, seeking answerings and advice becomes the next action you take. 

Reflection is a continual process, and although it is easy to put off and discount, it is vital to your success and longevity as a teacher. Furthermore, it is essential for your students. Teacher self reflection makes you a better teacher, which is in your students’ best interests.

Kelly, M. (2020, March 19). The Importance of Teacher Reflection . ThoughtCo. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://www.thoughtco.com/importance-of-teacher-reflection-8322

Reflective practice. (2021, January 21). NSW Government Website – Education. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/teacher-quality-and-accreditation/strong-start-great-teachers/developing-focus/reflective-practice

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6 Tips for Making Reflection a Consistent Habit

Reflecting on teaching practices and classroom events is valuable, but it can be tough to regularly make the time for it. These tips can help.

John Dewey once stated, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” Ongoing reflection is essential for our growth as educators. Consistent reflection on our experiences, and setting clear and meaningful goals for our own progress as teachers, should be a part of each day.

Finding the time to engage in regular personal reflection can be a challenge, with demands such as lesson planning, grading, and other responsibilities. However, reflection and goal setting helps us better understand our professional needs and plan the next steps in our learning journey. Through reflection, we focus on the continued development of essential SEL skills such as self-awareness and self-management and also focus on decision-making in our practice.

With daily reflection, we will grow and consistently improve our skills, while better processing complex or challenging experiences. When we take time to focus on some key questions such as “What went well today in our lessons?” “What is something that could have gone better?” it also helps us with our well-being. Reflecting gives us an opportunity to pause and recognize the impact of our work each day, which promotes more satisfaction and can decrease feelings of burnout that educators may experience.

teacher reflection Tips

Each day, take a few minutes to jot down thoughts about a class you taught, a conversation you had, or a tool you explored. This can help you be more intentional about and supported in your reflective practice. 1. Establish a dedicated reflection time: Being consistent with reflection is key. Consider setting aside a specific time each day or times during the week to reflect. Whether you start your day thinking about goals, focus on reflection during your lunch break or a planning period, or reflect on your teaching at the end of the day, find a time that works best for you. Make this time non-negotiable in your day. I’ve been using Focusable this year to take time to focus, think, and reflect without distraction. Focusable is a fitness tracking app for your mind that helps you to pause in the day and reflect. It will help you to gain a better understanding of yourself and what is important to you and how that can impact your work.

2. Journaling and reflection tools: Capturing your thoughts throughout the day is important. At times, we may think about our experiences and consider new ideas but then lack the ability to capture these ideas. Consider getting a reflection journal or writing space to make notes of your thoughts and observations on a daily basis. Journals do not need to be anything fancy: You can use a notebook or even digital options like Google Docs or a tool like Evernote . You can also get creative—grab a stack of note cards or make a digital reflection board using something like Google Jamboard or Padlet to post ideas. Write down at least two things you noticed that day, and then review your thoughts. Is there something you would change? How might you improve from the prior day? 3. Quick class closers: Try to take a few minutes at the end of each class or lesson to reflect on what went well and what you could improve upon. You can talk with students as they leave class and find out what helped and what they need for the next class. These quick interactions can spark reflective practice. You can also use Google or Microsoft Forms occasionally to gather feedback from students about how the class is going. This can be a quick and efficient way to gather some information to guide your reflection and make adjustments in class as needed. 4. Voice memos and podcasts: When I started podcasting, it was simply a way to reflect on the methods and tools I was using in my classroom. Every Monday for the past three years, I’ve sat down during my lunch break and recorded an episode of the podcast. Even if you don’t publish the podcast, listening to your thoughts helps to promote deeper reflection. Tools like Voxer , Anchor , and Flip can help you record your thoughts. Voxer is a walkie-talkie app that can be used to have group conversations or to store your own audio notes. You can even message and share links. Anchor is a podcasting tool that is easy to get started with, whether you record on your phone or your computer, and for your own use or to share with others. Flip can be used to record short clips of your thoughts that you can then go back and review, or you can even set up a group with colleagues to share your reflections and provide feedback to each other. 5. Professional learning communities (PLC): Teachers can reflect with their colleagues in a PLC by sharing their teaching experiences and discussing ways to improve their practice. Observations by administrators or colleagues can help us to include more reflection in our practice. With options like social media networks such as Slack , it is easy to have quick asynchronous conversations that can help you and your colleagues reflect and provide feedback to each other. If time constraints make those observations difficult to schedule, there are virtual options as well. I’ve used Edthena , a virtual coaching platform. I record myself teaching or upload a video presentation and then use it to guide my reflections as my virtual AI coach asks me to think about my instructional methods. It is helpful to have guiding questions and interactions that give teachers access to their own coach to help them continue to reflect and build professional skills and have access to helpful resources.

6. Avoiding isolation: As you’re reflecting, self-care is important. You can try to make time to take a walk during the day. Be intentional about checking in with colleagues and exchanging ideas. Grabbing a cup of coffee with a teacher friend once a week can make a big difference to your well-being. These are opportunities to share ideas, ask questions, and connect with our colleagues. It’s important to avoid isolation in our days so that we can keep learning and growing together. 

Taking time to reflect on your teaching practice can be a powerful way to grow and improve as a teacher. It can also help teachers to stay motivated and engaged in their work, as they can see the progress they are making and the impact they are having on their students.

Online Teaching Hub

Online and Blended Teaching Hub

Reflecting on teaching practice.

Reflection is an integral part of the teaching process. School activities in and outside the classroom create a natural environment for reflective teaching. Professional experience, healthy self-awareness, and genuine care for students and colleagues help teachers to reflect effectively. Reflective practices consist of in-the-moment reflection for immediate action, after-the-moment reflection for future action, and outside reflection for exchange of reflective experience among a teacher’s colleagues and professional learning networks. Reflection promotes evidence-based changes in the classroom to advance teaching practices and is one of the cornerstones of a teacher’s professional development and supports the quality of education in today’s ever-changing world.

Questions to Consider

Why is reflection essential to my growth as a teacher?

How do I receive feedback about my teaching and lesson content?

How does reflection impact my next steps towards continued growth as a blended or online teacher?

At-a-Glance Video

• Topic Summary
• Infographic: Reflective Questioning and Strategies
• Infographic: The Continuous Reflection Cycle
• Infographic: Benefits of Reflective Teaching

Web Resources

Reflection resources.

• Ways to be a More Reflective Teacher
• Benefits of Reflective Teaching and Learning 
• How To Apply Reflective Practice when Teaching Online
• How to Encourage Reflective Teaching in Your School
• Self-Reflection: Are You a Reflective Teacher?
• Questions to Tackle When Reflecting on Teaching
• Fun Ways to Reflect on Your Teaching
• Reflective Teaching: 5 Minute Definitions for Teachers in a Hurry
• Reflect on Teaching Practice

Related Online and Blended Teaching Hub Topics

• Building a Professional Learning Network
• Building Effective Relationships
• Culturally Responsive Teaching
• Work-Life Balance

Online and Blended Teaching Hub Tool Pages

• Assessment: Edulastic , Google Forms , Microsoft Forms
• Polling: Mentimeter , Poll Everywhere , Slido

SELF-REFLECTION: ARE YOU A REFLECTIVE TEACHER?

Self-reflection is one of the most powerful practices to improve teaching. When you practice self-reflection regularly, it will completely transform your classroom and instruction.  Furthermore, self-reflection can take you from being a good teacher to being a great teacher. Are you ready to begin the transformation?

The old me – pre self-reflection days

In my early teaching days, I rushed through each day, trying to get everything done. At the end of the day, I left my classroom behind, went home, and began my other job of being a single mom. I was happy when everything in my class went great, but I sometimes blamed it on the kids if everything didn’t go just as I planned. Purposeful self-reflection was the last thing I had time for or wanted to do for that matter. Boy was I wrong!

What changed things?

In 2002, I decided to go through the National Board Certification Process. During the NBCT certification process, you submit examples of your lessons through videos and student products.  You must also include detailed descriptions and self-reflections of your lessons. And, in those reflections, you cite examples of what worked, what didn’t, and give ways to improve the lesson.

This blog post IS NOT about National Board Certification.  Furthermore, I am not advocating you go through the National Board Certification process.  But, I am proposing you adopt using self-reflection to improve you teaching.  Try to find time at the end of the day, unit, or week to reflect on your teaching. Those self-reflections are powerful, painful, humbling, validating, and a thousand other emotions jumbled together. But most importantly, you will learn a lot about yourself and your students!  

Self-reflection tips to remember

1.  there is no such thing as a perfect teacher or a perfect lesson.

Perfect it one word we need to throw out the door! While reflecting on your teaching, you can easily become overly critical of yourself. I have never taught a perfect lesson – sometimes I didn’t wait long enough after asking a question, or I didn’t ask enough high level thinking questions, etc. To this day, I have never reflected on a lesson that I couldn’t find ways to improve. And that is GOOD!  Remember, If everything is perfect there is no growth. 

2.  Use a list of self-reflection questions

When reflecting, I suggest using a list of questions. I have a list of questions I use to reflect on my lessons which you can download and use.  You can just read them and think about them, write your self-reflections in a journal, turn them into a checklist, etc.  These questions were useful to me and I hope you might find them useful as well. For me, a great time to reflect on my day was while driving home in my car. But, if you live where there is tons of traffic, maybe this isn’t such a good idea. Also, I love to take long baths at the end of the day. It is very relaxing, and a great time for reflection.

Initially, I suggest picking one or two areas to focus on and go from there. If you try to pick too many areas, you will become overwhelmed. Also, you don’t want to spend all night reflecting on your lesson!  

Classroom culture/classroom community questions

• Were the students willing to take risks/ try something new?
• Do you feel the students felt comfortable asking questions?
• Did the students listen to the opinions/thoughts/ideas of others?
• Were the students the center of the classroom discussions?
• Did students follow the classroom rules? 
• Do the students interact well with each other?
• Were the students comfortable letting me know they didn’t understand something?
• Did I give students equal attention during the lesson?
• Was I happy teaching this lesson?
• Did I have a positive demeanor during the lesson?
• How do I think I handled any classroom disruptions or student behavior issues? 
• Did the students work well with each other in their groups?  Are there any changes I need to make with grouping?

Planning and Preparation Questions

• What were my goals for this lesson – what did I want the students to know, understand, and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
• Why did I plan this learning experience as a way to achieve my goals?
• Was I prepared for today’s lesson – did I have all my materials prepared and organized?

Self-reflection Questions About Instruction

• What went well in the lesson?
• To what extent were my students engaged in the lesson?
• Did the students appear interested in and/or excited about the lesson?
• What did I do to engage the students or get them excited at the beginning of the lesson?
• Did I modify my lesson based on the needs of the students?
• If I had to teach this lesson again, what would I do differently?
• Did the students accomplish my goals for the lesson?  If, not, what are my next steps:
• What was the most challenging part of this lesson?
• Who did most of the talking?  The students or me?
• Do I feel there were any missed opportunities in this lesson where I could have gone into more depth or expanded the lesson in some way?
• Did any students struggle with this lesson?  What are some strategies/activities I can use that might help them master the content and/or skills in the lesson?
• Were accommodations provided for both high achievers and struggling students?
• What method(s) of assessment did I use to determine the success/understanding/progress of my students during this lesson?
• Were there  opportunities for whole group, small group, and individual work?

3. Recognizing areas you need to improve is the first big step

Everyone finds different areas they need to focus on improving.  Recognizing those areas is the first big step. Now that you are aware, you know areas you need to improve.  For example, you might decide you need to differentiate more to meet the needs of all your students.  Or, you need to provide more opportunities for formative assessment during your lessons.  Finally, you may think you need to increase wait time when asking questions. 

4.  Video is powerful for SELF-REFLECTION

First and foremost, the information you get from watching yourself on video is the most valuable information you can get. Of course, I think everyone hates watching themselves on video. But, watching a video of your teaching is very revealing.  For example, you are able to view your class as a spectator rather than as the presenter of the lesson. There are so many things a video tells you that you will never notice yourself.  When I watched my video, I realized that I didn’t give enough wait time after I asked a question.  Also, I noticed I needed to ask more high level questions. Through video, I could see that when a student gave an answer, I needed to ask more probing questions such as Why do you think that? , What else can you tell me? , or How does that relate to something else we have studied?  

First of all, I suggest asking a friend or colleague to video you. If that’s impossible, set up your phone or camera in the room and just let it run. The first time you video your lesson, your students may not act normally.  However, once they are used to being recorded regularly, they will act more normal. 

Remember, some school systems require permission to video your class.  For this reason, it is important to let parents know how and why you are videotaping the class. In my experience, parents usually consent if they know the videos will not be shared and are for your own professional development.

Suggestions For Watching Your Video

In the beginning, you might tend to focus more on yourself than the students and instruction when reviewing your video.  I know I did.  I said things like: I didn’t know my voice sounded like that!  My hair looks terrible!  I don’t like that outfit. It makes me look fat.  First and foremost, this video is not about your looks or your voice! Get over it! You want to learn about your teaching, not your voice and appearance. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions for watching your video.

• Turn the sound off the first time you watch the video. Silence enables you to focus on the students and watch their faces and body language.  Ask yourself, are they interested in the lesson or turned off?  Do they interact with their classmates?  Are they on task or goofing off?  Remember, if you watch with the sound on, you might miss some of this valuable information. Of course, you should turn the sound on for subsequent viewings.
• Watch with a purpose in mind. You might want to focus on how you introduced the lesson, student engagement, questioning strategies you used, use of wait time, how you called on students or how students worked in groups, etc. Remember, if you try to focus on every little thing you will become overwhelmed.
• Take notes of things you notice. First, put a checkmark on things you think are important or significant. Next, note if they a positive or negative. Above all, don’t just focus on things you think didn’t go well. Take note of what worked and what made you feel good about the lesson. First and foremost, reflection is not just about recognizing areas to improve.  Reflection also validates what you are doing right!

5.  Make a plan

Last, but not least, you need a plan. It is helpful to reflect and identify areas you do well and those that need improvement. However, awareness is usually not powerful enough to evoke change.  Most importantly, you must have a plan. You may have identified a number of areas you feel need improvement, but you don’t want to try to change everything at once.  Pick one or two areas you feel you wish to improve and create a plan. 

Next, decide what action steps you will take to meet your goal. This might include attending a professional development session, reading books, specific strategies you will use, etc.

Finally, decide how you will measure your improvement. Depending on the goal, you will have different data to demonstrate improvement. Will you record yourself? Will you have a friend observe you?  Will you use anecdotal notes?  Will you keep a journal? Will you use assessment scores?  

Bottom Line

To sum it up, and with no reservations, I can say purposeful self-reflection is the greatest practice to improve your teaching.  Self-reflection can be both painful and rewarding at the same time.  Remember, don’t just focus on the areas you need to improve.  Pay attention to the things you do well.  It is easy to get down on yourself when you are reflecting on your teaching.  But you need to realize and accept  there’s no perfect teacher and no perfect lesson. The greatest athletes, authors, and professionals are constantly reflecting on their practice and working to improve and hone their skills. You’ve got this!

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18 teacher self-reflection questions to drive deeper professional learning

July 6, 2016 By Brian Lamb 1 Min Read

Note: Pair these teacher self-reflection questions with Sessions, our two-step writing process to help educators set and reflect on goals. Try Sessions here (no login required).

A good set of teacher self-reflection questions are one of the simplest, yet most powerful tools for improving practice.

But one of the most common challenges when it comes to teacher self-reflection is getting started or figuring out exactly how to reflect. This big list of teacher self-reflection questions can lead to insights for any educator willing to take time to pause and reflect.

Teacher self-reflection questions for the end of a unit or school year

There’s no better time to reflect upon the school year or the new unit you taught than now—when it’s all over. To uncover the challenges and opportunities that you may have missed while in the moment, use these teacher self-reflection questions to help kickstart your thinking:

• What content, topics, or skills did students improve at most during this time?
• What content topics, or skills did students struggle with during this time?
• When were students most focused, engaged, and energized during this time?
• When were students most unfocused, disengaged, or lethargic during this time?
• When did I as the teacher feel best during this time? Why?
• When did I as a teacher not feel at my best during this time? Why?
• How did seating or other organization of the classroom space have a positive impact on teaching or learning? How can I replicate that?
• How did seating or other organization of the classroom space have a negative impact on teaching or learning? How can I improve that?
• Did certain students or groups of students seem to excel? Why might that be?
• Did certain students or groups of students require more support? Why might that be?
• Which teaching and learning resources were most useful and effective for me?
• What templates, materials or other resources I can save and re-use for next year to save myself time?
• Overall, what went well, and how can I improve the chances of that happening again?
• What didn’t work, and how will I approach it differently next year?
• What were my biggest hurdles, and how did I overcome them?
• What did I learn from my students during this time?
• What’s the biggest lesson I learned this year?
• What changes and new approaches to teaching will I implement in the new year?

Consider starting at the top of the list and writing as much or as little as you’d like about each question. When a specific question grabs your interest, feel free to stick with it and elaborate more. If other questions don’t inspire you to write much, feel free to move on quickly or skip them all together.

For best results, mix teacher self-reflection questions with classroom video

Now that you have a detailed list of teacher self-reflection questions to use, you may be deciding on your method of self-reflection.

Teacher self-reflection is personal, so there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. But here are some recommendations.

First, consider using classroom video to drive your self-reflection.

Video makes it easy to see the challenges and opportunities teachers encounter. On video, a teacher can see that a rowdy class remains standing when the bell rings and struggles to get on track. They can see that a distracted group is led by two students set on socializing. They can see that a student with his head down sits next to a classmate whose back is turned because they have a tense relationship.

Video provides evidence teachers can use to begin addressing challenges, either on their own, by collaborating with colleagues or through the support of a coach or administrator. 

When teachers combine well-crafted teacher self-reflection questions with classroom video, the results are accelerated and expanded. Teachers will have realizations like:

• When it’s necessary to slow down and allow students more time to grasp topics
• When it’s beneficial to transition from sage on the stage to guide on the side
• Where you can allocate more time in your lessons to address more difficult topics and answer student questions
• Where holes in content and jumps in logic exist
• Where you spend more of your time physically in the classroom whilst teaching

And more. Having the objective evidence of classroom video, along with thought-provoking teacher self-reflection questions, is a truly powerful combo for educator growth.

Turn reflection into a routine with Sessions

Even the best have room for improvement. The short time you spend engaging in reflection can open your eyes to teaching habits (good or bad) you never realized you had. You’ll see how students react to those habits, how their level of attention is altered, and how the changes you make to your behavior in the classroom changes their behavior. Throughout the process, you’ll also learn new techniques and ways of approaching instruction that are worth sharing with your peers.

To help make reflection part of your routine, consider Sessions . Sessions is a two-step writing process to help educators set and reflect on goals. As part of Teams by Swivl, users also have the option to add video to their reflections. But you can try reflecting with Sessions for free today with no login required.

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Exploring whether (and how) self-reflection can improve practice as a teacher educator

Konstantinos c. fragkos.

1 Medical School

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended.

The present essay describes a model under which a method of self-improvement of teacher-educator practice can be implemented by analyzing personal practices. I will focus my argument on investigating self-reflection and the subject under investigation will be the educator: how can they self-reflect in order to enhance their learning and hence their practice. The first step of the model is self-reflection. The second step will be self-study. The final step will be self-research techniques (such as autoethnography). This final step will provide the validity for improving personal practice in a possibly reliable way such that practices of narcissism and self-replicating redundancies or errors are avoided. By acknowledging the multiple identities a teacher assumes in their professional practice allows them to analyze them systematically and eventually improve on them.

Introduction

One of the problems in teaching is that teachers tend to act before they even have an understanding of how things work or how things have developed ( Koster and van den Berg 2014 ).

It is not unreasonable to state that teaching is what an educator’s professional purpose is. It is their daily practice, through which they will pursue students’ learning. Their tools are their formal knowledge, obtained through formal education, but also their experience, which emerges from practicing teaching. Hence, their own practice becomes a means to learn as they progress professionally ( Day et al. 2006 ; Lamote and Engels 2010 ). Teaching and learning thus become convoluted concepts for an educator who essentially acts both. Schön (1983 , 1987 ) based his epistemology of practice on the educator’s need to learn through their practice. He believed that the existing epistemology in education was not enough to explain professional artistry, which arose through situations, normally not taught about, but learned though professional practice. Thereupon, his theoretical model of reflection was born, which currently permeates all educational levels and holds an important role in adult learning, alongside other important theoreticians ( Fragkos 2016 ; Mann et al. 2009 ; Norrie et al. 2012 ; Williams 2001 ).

I am confused. As a person, I learn. But I also teach in my professional practice. Can I teach and learn at the same time? Maybe yes. Can I teach others how to learn? Maybe yes. Can I teach? Can I learn? Can I teach how to learn? Can I learn how to teach? Can I teach how to teach? Can I learn how to learn?

Anonymous teacher

Under the prism of convoluted teaching and learning, reflecting on an educator’s identity can get disconcerting since the identities of the learner and teacher start to coalesce ( Dinkelman 2011 ; Izadinia 2014 ). More so, since an educator likely has a view that they have already learnt and know. Joseph C. Senese (2005) provides some thoughts on this:

.. I recognize that who I am, not only as a teacher but also as a person, influences my teaching and ultimately my students’ learning. Conversely, because I identify myself as a learner in my high school English classes, I recognize that interactions and relationships with students influence who I am ( Senese 2005 ).

Hence, defining teacher identity becomes challenging, seeming all the more like a modern ouroboros: which element comes first, teaching or learning? Gee (2000) models identity under four perspectives:

..Four interrelated ways of thinking about what and who we are: nature (identity by nature), institutional (identity by the positions we hold), discursive (identity by what we have done and in dialogue with others) and affinity (identity by allegiance to practices and perspectives of group affiliation) ( Dinkelman 2011 ).

So, the issues of self and reflection are crucial here, influenced by different states of agency, emotion, narrative, and discourse alongside extrinsic factors ( Beauchamp and Thomas 2009 ; Lamote and Engels 2010 ). It has been said that the teacher educator teaches but is also learning. I will advocate in the present essay that teacher learning can be achieved with self-reflection of their own practice. I will focus my argument on investigating self-reflection and the subject under investigation will be the educator: how can they self-reflect in order to enhance their learning and hence their practice. I will provide an exemplary context which pertains to this question.

Contextual example

Doctors in the UK currently have many roles in their professional posts. It will usually be a combination of clinical duties alongside research and educational activities. For the clinical part, this can seemingly involve ward rounds, outpatient clinics, interventional procedures, and multidisciplinary team meetings. Research-wise, duties involve clinical observations, conducting clinical trials, data collection and analysis. Finally, educational activities involve teaching undergraduate medical students in lectures or by-the-bedside, teaching postgraduate students, supervising projects; also clinical supervision of junior doctors.

As part of their practice, reflection is imperative either in training where it is needed with annual review of clinical progress or once fully trained for revalidation and continuing professional development ( Bernard et al. 2012 ; Koole et al. 2011 ; Ng et al. 2015 ; Wald 2015 ). In their acting, however they do so under multiple identities ( Day et al. 2006 ):

• 1. Medical trainee and professional identity. This identity has to do with professional conduct and relates to undergraduate education in medicine, postgraduate education in medicine as well as current medical practice.
• 2. Teacher as educator identity: this relates to how teaching practice is perceived in relation to students, colleagues and all related education practices.
• 3. Teacher as student identity: this relates to how being a teacher is learnt. This is an identity assumed when being educated as to how to improve practice as an educator.

This essay will focus on the identity as teacher and in particular the identity as teacher who will try to learn through their practice (hence educator and student teacher). Although reflection is very much linked with healthcare education already ( Buckley et al. 2009 ; Chaffey et al. 2012 ; Chen and Forbes 2014 ; Crowe and O’Malley 2006 ; Epp 2008 ; Fragkos 2016 ; Jayatilleke and Mackie 2013 ; Kuiper and Pesut 2004 ; Lethbridge et al. 2011 ; Mann et al. 2009 ; McGillivray et al. 2015 ; Miraglia and Asselin 2015 ; Ng et al. 2015 ; Nguyen et al. 2014 ; Norrie et al. 2012 ; Prasko et al. 2012 ; Rushmer et al. 2004 ; Tsingos et al. 2015a ; Tsingos et al. 2015b ; Van Roy et al. 2015 ; Williams 2001 ), I will try to focus on self-reflection which will improve personal practice as a teacher educator.

Overall, a model will be suggested under which an efficacious method of self-improvement of teacher-educator practice can be implemented by analysing personal practices. I will suggest the first step is self-reflection; the necessary theory for reflection is given in the first section of the literature review. The second step will be self-study. The necessary theory will also be presented in the literature review. The final step will be self-research techniques (such as autoethnography). This final step will provide the validity for improving personal practice in a possibly reliable way such that practices of narcissism and self-replicating redundancies or errors are avoided. I will conclude the essay with a summary of suggestions. The method for suggesting this model will be a literature review of techniques that enhance self-reflection. This literature review will not be systematic but it will be as comprehensive as possible and will be relevant.

Self-reflection and reflective practice in healthcare education: how many type of reflections are there?

Reflective practice in healthcare education has been an intriguing topic for quite a few decades now ( Argyris and Schön 1978 ; Boyd and Fales 1983 ; Dewey 1933 ; Glazer 1974 ; Kolb 1984 ; Polanyi 1966 ; Schön 1983 ; Sosa 2011 ; Van Manen 1977 ). Although it ranges and affects the whole domain of education and professional practice, I will focus on its aspects related healthcare education. In healthcare, there is a constant debate of accountability. Accountability towards society, accountability towards patients and accountability towards any possible stakeholder ( Crowe and O’Malley 2006 ). The history of healthcare sciences is filled with examples where re-evaluation of existing ideas or paradigms was forced by ongoing problematic and problematizing areas. Healthcare education is all the more important in this context ( Fragkos 2016 ; Frenk et al. 2010 ).

Theories of healthcare education have largely focused on the inadequacies of current education systems which focuses on producing graduates who satisfy pre-determined criteria but might not necessarily believe them, live with them or act upon them. In other words, there has been an observed disparity between learning and then professional practice. Frenk et al. (2010) have demonstrated that there is a mismatch between professional competencies and patient and population priorities, resulting from fragmentary, outdated, and static curricula that produce ill-equipped graduates from underfinanced institutions ( Fragkos 2016 ).

The question of senior educators internationally has been how to ensure learning that will affect genuinely educators’ future actions. Reflection has emerged as one of the ways to achieve this ( Larrivee 2000 ). Hence, a full range of reflections has stemmed from this notion: reflection during education, reflection during practice, reflection as part of professional progress. For example, appraisals (with reflective interviews with appraisers) have been chosen as the way to ensure ongoing competence for registration as a healthcare professional. This is quite prominent in the UK with bodies such as the General Nursing Council or the General Medical Council requiring annual or every five years appraisals to allow you to register for a license to practice ( Archer and de Bere 2013 ; Bolsin et al. 2015 ; Dawda 2013 ; Murphy et al. 2012 ; Wright et al. 2016 ).

The development of reflective theory has generated explanations regarding the development of knowledge and learning process during our daily practice leading reflection to be considered a cornerstone of all established education practices. When one starts to think about reflection, you can easily grasp that it involves thinking because you think about actions or facts that have taken place. However, you quickly understand that this definition is lacking in that reflection also involves changing actions and practices. And then you can easily discern that emotions play an important part. And finally, is it static or dynamic; does it happen as a once-off procedure or does it need repetition? In other words is it a process? Hence, how best to define reflection?

Focusing on the healthcare sciences, a recent umbrella review concluded that the recent definition by Nguyen et al. (2014) was concise but very generic as well: they propose a conceptual model for reflection that identified five core components of reflective practice categorised with respect to content (thoughts and actions), process (attentive, critical, exploratory and iterative process), or both (underlying conceptual frame and the view on change and the self). Their analysis is summarised in this definition:

Reflection is the process of engaging the self in attentive, critical, exploratory, and iterative interactions with one’s thoughts and actions, and their underlying conceptual frame, with a view to changing them and with a view on the change itself ( Nguyen et al. 2014 ).

This definition also took into account the trigger and context of reflection as extrinsic elements to complete the reflection model. (e.g. experience and timing). This broad but accurate definition encompasses elements from multiple definitions from theorists of reflective practice (e.g. Dewey (1933) ; Kolb (1984) ; Mezirow (1991) ; Schön ( 1983 , 1987 )) intensifying the iterative process and the vertical dimension of reflection. For example they curly relate to the iterative scheme by Schön (1983) : knowing-in-action; surprise; reflection-in-action; experimentation; and reflection-on-action or the one by Boud et al. (1985) : returning to experience; attending to feelings; re-evaluation of experience; and outcome/resolution ( Mann et al. 2009 ).

Williams (2001) separates critical reflection from self-reflection in his now famous definition:

Professional education scholars concur that specialized knowledge is clearly essential for professional practice; however, they also suggest that self-consciousness (reflection) and continual self-critique (critical reflection) are crucial to continued competence. [..] Reflection is an examination of the content or description of an issue or problem and involves checking on the problem solving strategies that are being used-[..] an examination of ‘What?’ and ‘How?’. [..] Critical reflection is stimulated by perceived discrepancies between a learner’s beliefs, values, or assumptions and new information, knowledge, understanding, or insight, [..] a dialogue journal which describes the learner’s self-analysis and the educator’s or fellow learner’s responses is one strategy for stimulating critical reflection.

Based on the ambitious theoretical underpinnings by Donald Schön, John Dewy, Jack Mezirow and others, many practitioner sand researchers have sought out to apply and quantify reflective activities. In doing so, an epistemological paradox has emerged: reflection appears to be influenced more by a reductionist approach aligned with dominant epistemological positions in medicine, such as evidence-based medicine, than by the historically critical (artistic) philosophical underpinnings ( Fragkos 2016 ; Koole et al. 2011 ; Ng et al. 2015 ). This problematic area is currently under discourse and will not be explored in depth in the present essay.

Based on these models and theories, various techniques for reflection have been tested in healthcare education during design and evaluation. Summative reflective technique methods include portfolios (paper or electronic), reflective diaries/autobiographical stories (paper or electronic), critical incident reports/essays and seminar presentations while formative reflective techniques include class exercises, facilitation, and self-reflection guided by critical friends, supervisors, mentors, preceptors or peer observation. Other authors have invariable examined reflective journals, portfolios, logs, blogs, questionnaires, videos, and diaries ( Buckley et al. 2009 ; Miraglia and Asselin 2015 ). Important aspects of this techniques usually involve reflecting on daily practice or reflecting on goal oriented tasks. Despite their shortcomings in knowledge production, they appear to have an effect on changing attitudes, values, beliefs, and assumptions of individual participants increasing their sense of self-efficacy and purpose.

However, reflection has problematic areas of practice and research and issues that remain under investigation. The most important issue is the epistemological oxymoron since theory seems to contradict application. Until this is resolved or a consistent stance is adopted by researchers, educators and practitioners, this will be an important point of critique ( Ng et al. 2015 ). The next issue remains whether reflection truly enhances learning, self-understanding and improvement in practitioner skills or it simply has a positive effect on behaviour and mood. ( Mann et al. 2009 ; Prasko et al. 2012 ; Tsingos et al. 2015a )

Koster and van den Berg (2014) define self-study as the study of one’s own practice by the systematic exploration of what is happening, what participants think about their own practice, and what they want to change in their practice (p. 86). It has become popular in recent years and is in line with action research tradition followed by education. It is considered beneficiary for improving one’s own practice ( Loughran 2004 ; Pinnegar and Hamilton 2009d ; Tidwell et al. 2009 ). This is the general definition followed but depending on the filed under investigation, self-study tends to relate to moral purpose, professional value and self-understanding within one’s own profession ( Lunenberg and Hamilton 2008 ; Lunenberg et al. 2010 ). Vicki Kubler LaBoskey phrased the concept of self-study and personal motivation quite eloquently in 2004 by saying:

Our motivation in adopting a self-study stems also from the acknowledgement that we are as limited by our own personal histories and cultural identities as are our students, we cannot expand their horizons if we do not expand our own. Similarly, we cannot help them to detect and interrogate their biases if we do not detect and interrogate ours ( LaBoskey 2004 : 840).

It is clearly related to self-reflection with obvious similarities to theoretical underpinnings described in the previous section and its origins within the reflection scholarship ( Lunenberg et al. 2010 ), but it remains quite different from it. As Allard and Gallant (2012) describe it, self-study aims to systematize pedagogical reflection, but reflection meaning both as the motivation for self-study and as a means to be perform self-reflection and critical reflection as defined above ( Dinkelman 2003 ). If we think about it, this sort of reflection needed for self-study is something that will be subjected to scrutiny similar to that that we would scrutinize a research dataset of when reviewing a paper. This type of reflection is more strictly defined in a sense that because it will be studied and presented, it will need to be well defined and have rigor. As mentioned above, self-study is meant to be shared with your peers to improve your own practice. Hence, one quickly understands how self-study takes self-reflection from an abstract meaning to something more concrete meant to be analyzed and interpreted.

The dangers with self-study remain with issues of reliability. When studying one’s own self and practices, the teacher educator must be able to separate his personal feelings from the issue under investigation. Self-studies have been alleged to be frequently narcissistic and idiosyncratic lacking generazibility other qualitative research offers. The issue under investigation is part of his identity and in a sense defines the person. Hence, the teacher educator might come up with the issue of having to question his own actions or values that led him to them. In this context he needs to remain genuine and objective as possible acknowledging the subjective nature of the activity he is performing.

From the literature, a few methods have been used for self-study and are very closely related to reflective techniques. One important distinction is individual self-study and collaborative or group self-study; the second is considered to offer slightly more objectivity since more voices are participating and eventually heard, but some authors have argued that this is related to the goals of self-study and the professional or moral values underpinning the whole exercise ( Allard and Gallant 2012 ; Koster and van den Berg 2014 ). Invariably, biographies, core reflection, Socratic dialogue, and video-stimulated recall have been quite popular techniques, with the use of video been quite widespread over the last 20 years ( Gaudin and Chaliès 2015 ; Greenwalt 2008 ; Hamilton 2012 ). John Lyle defines video-stimulated recall “an introspection procedure in which (normally) videotaped passages of behaviour are replayed to individuals to stimulate recall of their concurrent cognitive activity” ( Lyle 2003 : 861). Its implementation can vary significantly, with individual analysis or collaborative analysis and goal-purposed interpretation or reflexive dialogue (either alone or with peers) ( Samaras et al. 2016 ).

Self-research

My abhorrence of neoliberalism helps to explain my legitimate anger when I speak of the injustices to which the ragpickers among humanity are condemned. It also explains my total lack of interest in any pretension of impartiality, I am not impartial, or objective .. [this] does not prevent me from holding always a rigorously ethical position ( Freire 1998 : 22).

Performance [auto]ethnography is the future of ethnography, and ethnography’s future is the seventh moment. In the seventh moment the dividing line between [auto]ethnography and ethnography disappears. The reflexive ethnographer becomes the guiding presence in the ethnographic text. In the seventh moment critical social science comes of age and becomes a force to be reckoned with in political and cultural arenas ( Denzin 2003 : 259).

The final step in the proposed model is how to analyze effectively the outcomes of self-study and self-reflection. The process of self-study is largely based on qualitative data and hence any analysis should be based on theory of qualitative research. Since many of the outcomes are related to following’ someone’s life (the teacher educators themselves), it needs to have an ethnographic narrative and because it relates to the self, autoethnography appears the most attractive ( Denzin 2003 ).

Autoethnography is a subtype of ethnography in which an author uses self-reflection and writing to explore their personal experience and connect this autobiographical story to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings ( Ellis 2004 ; Mills et al. 2010 ). The presence of autoethnography in research literature in education is strong. Maréchal (2010) defines autoethnography as “a form or method of research that involves self-observation and reflexive investigation in the context of ethnographic field work and writing” (p. 43) while Ellis (2004) defines it as “research, writing, story, and method that connect the autobiographical and personal to the cultural, social, and political” (p. xix). However, a consensus on the term’s definition is far from certain: autoethnography was initially described as insider ethnography, however a more inclusive definition is currently given by Adams et al. (2015) :

Autoethnography is a research method that uses a researcher’s personal experience to describe and critique cultural beliefs, practices, and experiences. Acknowledges and values a researcher’s relationships with others.. Shows people in the process of figuring out what to do, how to live, and the meaning of their struggles.. Social life is messy, uncertain, and emotional. If our desire to research social life, then we must embrace a research method that, to the best of its/our ability, acknowledges and accommodates mess and chaos, uncertainty and emotion ( Adams et al. 2015 ).

Traditionally five factors are used when assessing narrative papers that include analysis of both evaluative and constructive validity techniques. The criteria are given by Ellis (2004) and Richardson (2000) :

• • Substantive contribution. Does the piece contribute to our understanding of social life? ( Ellis 2004 ; Richardson 2000 )
• • Aesthetic merit. Does this piece succeed aesthetically? Is the text artistically shaped, satisfyingly complex, and not boring? ( Ellis 2004 ; Richardson 2000 )
• • Reflexivity. How did the author come to write this text? How has the author’s subjectivity been both a producer and a product of this text? ( Ellis 2004 ; Richardson 2000 )
• • Impactfullness. Does this affect me emotionally and/or intellectually? Does it generate new questions or move me to action? ( Ellis 2004 ; Richardson 2000 )
• • Expresses a reality. Does this text embody a fleshed out sense of lived experience? ( Ellis 2004 ; Richardson 2000 )

However a proper theoretical stance is needed: the teacher educator needs to define whether he will follow phenomenology, grounded theory or another interpretive stance such a reflexivity, narrative inquiry or critical pedagogies. Considering that the objects of analysis are written texts or audio-visual materials, an issue of coding comes into place as well ( Adams et al. 2015 ; Denzin 2003 ; Ellis 2004 ).

Springer’s Book Series Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices offers an insightful series of volumes which explore the research nature of self-study and how to proceed. Self-study is considered as a genre of qualitative research and as such it should be researched under that umbrella. Trustworthiness and being trustworthy during practice, data collection and data interpretation is necessary. Next triangulation with other sources is needed to establish the strength of a result. Finally the need for pragmatic but also theoretic conclusions is stressed ( Pinnegar and Hamilton 2009a, b, c ).

An interest aspect is given in another book of this series Research Methods for the Self-study of Practice ( Fitzgerald et al. 2009 ). Since self-study is happening in a collaborative manner, co/autoethnography is becoming prevalent, in a sense that interpersonal relationships, cultural beliefs and more abstract principles that relate with the interplay of many people cooperating together on a certain research issue, affect the outcome of the analysis ( Coia and Taylor 2009 ).

Epilogue and Discussion

In the present essay it has been advocated that a chain of self-reflection, followed by self-study and eventually by self-research may lead to improvement of teacher educator practice. This continuous cycle is depicted in Figure 1 . Some general comments that I think are quite important in achieving the improvement of teacher educator practice are given below.

The teacher educator needs to understand his identities and question them. Each identity is associated with various other concepts, which could be values, professionalism, personal beliefs, cultural beliefs and so on, an all this comes into effect when your identity is investigated. Hence, self-understanding of one’s identity is imperative for this kind of improvement. The self-critiquing stance that in essence applies subjectivity and constructivism to your beliefs is more close to critical pedagogical approaches compared to behaviorist positivist approaches in education.

The next thing the teacher educator should understand is reflection. There are many types of reflection but reflection remains the cornerstone of improvement. However, reflection should be deep and not superficial, coming about as a mere dictation from a regulation body that suggests this to ensure professional registration. This reflection requires a reflexive stance where improvement is your aim through constant inquiry and also questioning of your existing beliefs. The quotation by Paulo Freire (1998) presented in the Self-research section and the article by qualitative researcher Norman Denzin (2003) are enlightening towards this path of inquiry. Reflection is currently suffering from its own paradoxes in that although it could belong (and maybe should) to critical pedagogical approaches, it is being adapted (and adopted) by utilitarian reductionist practitioners, possibly eschewing it from its original conceptions by Donald Schön, John Dewey and Jack Mezirow.

Next important step is familiarization with self-study. Self-study is largely based on reflection theory and techniques but it something new altogether. In my eyes, it is the introduction of a new field, that proposes that systematic analysis of one’s own practice can lead to improvement of his own practice. Issues that come up and are related to self-research and need to questioned and clarified are data collection techniques, data analysis and ensuring trustworthiness (reliability). Research should be ethical, non-narcissistic and non-idiosyncratic. However, this self-improvement stance could also be challenged as a difficult one because it essentially expects anyone who realizes his/her identity as a teacher educator to become literally a researcher. However, if one excludes the final step of self-research/self-study, personal practice can be improved through various techniques of self-reflection. Another point to contest is the possibility of building-up the teacher educator ego since their own practice becomes their mode of operation, depriving them from a perspective on others’ views.

That previous comment brings highlights the importance of individual versus collaborative self-reflection/self-study/self-research. Collaborative self-reflection along with the impact it has on study and research, can deal with the some of the shortcomings posed by individual self-study. Narcissism and idiosyncrasy tend to become obsolete when working in the presence of a team.

In conclusion, this present essay has suggested a model of improving teacher educator practices by acknowledging the multiple identities a teacher assumes in daily practice. This requires a self-critiquing stance of personal actions and the development of new skills in teaching practice.

Notes On Contributors

Konstantinos C. Fragkos is with UCL Medical School and University College London Hospital. He finished his studies at the National University of Athens, Greece and is a qualified physician. His research interests include systematic reviews, meta-analysis, education, reflective practice, and clinical nutrition with several publications in these areas.

Acknowledgments

This study received no funding.

[version 1; peer review: This article was migrated, the article was marked as recommended]

Declarations

The author has declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

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• Version 1. MedEdPublish (2016). 2018; 7: 67.

Reviewer response for version 1

Trevor gibbs.

This review has been migrated. The reviewer awarded 4 stars out of 5 An interesting paper to read and one that provides a very useful reference list. I would have liked to see the author complete the Take Home Messages section because I feel that it would focus a little more of what the main messages were.The paper gave support to the need to develop the educator and that they are not just borneI would recommend this paper to all those about to embark upon any aspect of medical education.

Reviewer Expertise:

No decision status is available

Stewart Hazelton

1 Bond University

This review has been migrated. The reviewer awarded 3 stars out of 5 Strengths of PaperThe paper chosen gave a very broad analysis of the components and theory behind self-reflection by educators to improve their craft. The author provided a comprehensive deconstruction of self-reflection through literary review. Poignant acknowledgements of having a balance between foundations in theory and real-world experience underpinned the direction of the article. Moreover recognises inherent biases in the self-reflection profess that may impede an appropriate self-evaluation. The graphic representation of the overarching points disgusted provided an easily consumable method of tying salient points components together. Weakness of PaperThe paper is highly technical and philosophical. This was ironic to me, as self-reflection is a very practical ‘everyday skill’, that’s carried out in seconds, hours, or days, in order to self-correct and improve. The language and technical approach employed perhaps detracted away from its useability to the layperson. Confining it’s understanding to those who academically specialise in this area. Thus this very practical and vital skill was analyses and philosophised to a level of impracticality to everyday thought. A suggested improvement for a revised edition could be to include a section that translates this highly theoretical and philosophical paper into a practical methodology that can be employed by the everyday clinician. Flavour of Interest (***)Given the above, I would imagine this paper is more appropriately directed towards the educator specialising in the ‘theory of self-reflection’. Key points to then be distilled and disseminated to those who will use this everyday method of self-correction. For students or clinicians that primarily teach by the bedside with incidental student encounters, this article is probably too theory heavy.

Anthony David.M

This review has been migrated. The reviewer awarded 4 stars out of 5 An enjoyable read. The concept of Reflection aiding one's development as a Medical Educator is very valid. The cycle proposed is a do-able one and which many of us can follow. This concept I feel is very useful for some uf us who double up as Teacher Educators taking active part in Faculty Development programs.

Subha Ramani

1 Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital

This review has been migrated. The reviewer awarded 5 stars out of 5 I thoroughly enjoyed reading this essay and agree with all the aspects of 'self' in this model for medical teachers. It is important for teachers to reflect on their actions, do a self-study of effective and ineffective strategies and develop commitment to change. I also believe the recommendations and proposed model will help teachers in this journey of self-exploration.There are some challenges to this process that must be discussed. First, the world of medical education has assumed that all graduates will just begin to teach spontaneously. It is gratifying that more and more teachers are stimulated to participate in staff development activities. Second, clinicians who teach face increasingly full professional plates (platters) and where is the time to reflect? If educational leaders believe that this voyage of self is important, they must establish explicit expectations and provide time and space to reflect. Lastly, there are research reports that indicate that professionals do not always accurately calibrate their strengths and weaknesses. This might initiate an erroneous chain of self-reflection. Perhaps, peer observation and facilitated reflection can be of enormous value.All those who teach in health professions education will find this paper to be of value in guiding how they approach their teaching.In Ronald Harden's 3-circle Dundee model, reflection can be placed at the highest circle- "the right person doing it".Most enjoyable and I will be using this essay to continue to grow as a teacher.

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How Teachers Use Self-Reflection and Evaluation in Education

Do you consider yourself a reflective teacher? Learning to use self-reflection and evaluation in education to move your career and personal life forward to achieve your goals.

Self-reflection and evaluation are an essential part of my daily routine. Trust me, it works.

Improved class performance, small ‘thank you’ notes from students and their parents, and the appreciation of your peers and supervisors – these are items that testify to you being a good teacher. Go the extra mile to become an exceptional educator. Embrace and model two tools for your students: reflection and self-assessment. This process coincides with the growth mindset concept paramount in education and anyone’s life.

Understanding Self-Reflection and Evaluation in Teaching

As a reflective teacher, you know ‘reflect’ means to ‘contemplate’ and to think seriously. Reflection goes far beyond this meaning in an educational setting. It’s a critical self-regulation factor that motivates teachers to monitor their performance and evaluate their progress against specific criteria.

Through the self-evaluation stage that follows, they can recognize their strengths and identify weaknesses, which, in turn, allows them to formulate strategies for challenging situations. As this is an iterative procedure, teachers will soon begin to recognize improvement. Analyzing this further will enable them to choose more appropriate goals and develop reasonable plans.

Why You Should Reflect and Evaluate Your Work

It’s easy to become the victim of your ego when someone proposes you reflect on and evaluate your current process. After all, you are a capable instructor whom the school chose because of their capabilities, knowledge, and experience. Proposing self-reflection and self-evaluation isn’t to undermine your skills or demean you. It’s an invitation to reap numerous benefits that will transport you to the ranks of a “rocking with the times” teacher. Here is an article from the University of Washington on self-reflection on teaching .

Self-reflection is one of the most efficient ways to acknowledge that your teaching strategies can be improved. Instead of having others make snap judgments about your method without having the context to support it, it is you who collects and analyzes all data to ensure your teaching strategies improve if necessary.

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” ― John Dewey

There is truth to the trending topic of teachers teaching the value of failing intelligently, one of the top 10 education career trends for teachers .

As for self-evaluation, this process allows you to step successfully into your students’ role, their parents and your superiors entrusted you to take care of with expertise. If you don’t take the time to evaluate whether or not your students understand what you impart, your effort and time will go to waste. This process is fundamental if you have ‘at risk’ students who need more attention.

Another reason to evaluate yourself is to enhance your skills as an educator. As an expert on a subject, you understand what you’re trying to say. Your students are another story, though. By asking for their feedback, you’ll be able to discover problems in your teaching style and begin fixing them. However, don’t request feedback if you don’t plan on improving accordingly.

Not only will you offend the people you’ll be working with for the rest of the school year, but you’ll teach your students that reflection and self-evaluation are useless tools.

Opening up to self-evaluation will help close the gap between you and your students. They’ll discover you are a learner with successes, failures, frustrations, and concerns. As a result, they’ll feel safe about sharing what they think. Remain patient and attentive while listening to students’ queries and celebrating mistakes, emphasizing they lead to learning opportunities.

Finally, combining your reflections and self-assessment results lets you gather better data and opinions while strategizing with your supervisor. They will guide you on the best methods and share valuable advice from their experience.

In addition to advancing your career through relevant information, regularly touching base with your supervisor will show your dedication to your students and job. Rest assured, your passion for reflective teaching and helping students won’t go to waste, and you may receive a better compensation package in the future.

The Process of Self-Reflection in Teaching

Once you decide whether to reflect on a specific feature of your teaching or a particular problem in your classroom, you can begin collecting information on the feature or problem. This knowledge lets you determine what you’re up against and take necessary steps, such as the following.

A Journal – A self-reflective journal is probably the easiest way to track the success level of the lesson. After class, jot down a few notes detailing your reactions, feelings, and any observations identified about your students. To ensure your assessment’s consistency, break down your journal into sections like lesson objectives, classroom management, and materials.

Video Recording – A valuable method to facilitate self-reflection, video recording is probably the best. It gives you an unbiased view of how practical your lesson was from both a teacher’s and a student’s perspective. While viewing the video footage later, you may encounter odd behavior you didn’t catch while teaching.

Student Observation – Students love giving feedback, so provide them with the opportunity to share their opinions. Hand out a survey or questionnaire that allows them to express what they feel about your lesson. Remember to write the questions in a way that enables them to express their thoughts thoroughly.

If you think your students won’t fare well writing their thoughts, conduct focus-group interviews or have an outside person take over instead to ensure objectivity. Ask the questions you have in mind and probe the students to get more detailed information and clarification. Only choose this path if your student-teacher relationship is strong and built on trust.

If you’d rather not be as direct, you can evaluate your technique and how well your students are learning by looking at their assignments and test results, provided they’re well-designed to measure students’ learning achievements. Conduct verbal tests after each class; ensure every student participates.

Peer Observation – Have a colleague observe your teaching. As the observation is more casual, you’ll be able to teach naturally, and your observer will be able to provide insight into your instruction. Since your colleague is as busy as you are, create a questionnaire using questions like those below so they can fill it out as they observe.

Was the lesson too easy or too difficult for the students?

Have you taught to make sure students understand the content?

Did any issues arise in class?

During which parts of the lesson did the students seem most engaged?

Which parts didn’t seem as impressive or compelling?

Do you think the materials used in class helped? Which were the most useful and which didn’t work in the lesson?

Do you have any suggestions for better materials I can use?

Were my lesson instructions clear?

Was I delivering the course material at a reasonable pace?

Did all the students participate in the activity?

How practical was the lesson overall? Do you have suggestions on how I can improve to encourage more involvement or increase learning?

How well do you think I managed to handle problems during instruction?

Do you think I was perceptive and sensitive to my students’ needs?

How were my attitude and delivery overall?

After collecting this information, you should begin analyzing it. First, look for recurring patterns. Did your camera record something that kept happening several times during your class? Are several students pointing out the same issue in their feedback forms? Jot down areas that need change and start looking for solutions.

Two excellent sources you should explore are:

Colleagues – Peers will offer valuable advice, especially since they may have faced the same issue. Even if they didn’t, they’d provide you with a list of tips on how to do things differently.

World Wide Web – You can use the Internet (capitalized, I think it’s a proper noun) to locate resources explaining and solving your challenges. Use the World Wide Web to find other teachers on blogs and social networks. By interacting with them, you can ask questions and discover exciting answers.

Remember that the goal of this is for you to improve how you teach. Therefore, make sure to implement any changes to your technique or delivery before your next

How to Effectively Plan Your Self-Evaluation

Subjecting yourself to teaching strategies and instructional techniques for your critical evaluation isn’t enough. After all, you’ll only develop a checklist that allows you to focus on ideas instead of formal structure. For the latter, you need self-evaluation. This more precise method requires more planning since it can help you improve the educational experiences you provide while highlighting the education you’ll need to develop your capabilities and teach well.

To plan for your self-evaluation, use the following five steps.

Define the Context of What You Will Teach

Describe the lesson’s objectives or course, detailing information about the purpose of the assessment and intended uses.

Identify the Stakeholders

Mention those involved (e.g., students, department, instructors, etc.) and list their needs. Recognizing this will allow the assessment process to grow more focused, maximizing the benefits of this procedure.

Establish Central Questions

Determine the purpose of the evaluation by devising broad questions. These questions will help you establish how the assessment should be conducted.

Mention How You Intend to Use the Assessment Results

Establish how you will use the results for each of your fundamental inquiries. Ensure users relate directly to the assessment’s purpose.

Create an Assessment Plan

In this step, you’ll create a plan which includes an overview of how the research will be implemented to reach the objective.

With a plan, you can begin your analysis through paper and pencil classroom assessments, document analysis (for syllabi, exams, etc.), observation, surveys, and even product analysis (examining portfolios or objects designed to demonstrate learning).

The Bottom Line to Advancing Your Career

Self-reflection and self-evaluation are necessary for any teacher who wants to become a capable educator and efficiently advance their career. Both practices are necessary if you value your students and effectively share your knowledge. Enjoy their benefits by practicing them regularly and acting on their outcomes. Start assessing your teaching skills before your next class to join the ranks of great all-star educators.

Using this beneficial strategy, include your experience and success in implementing self-evaluation and reflection when writing your resume and cover letter.

While on the blog, you can read ten resume-writing tips for teachers .

Learn more about Candace Alstad-Davies by reviewing this  about me page . From that page, you can review testimonials and frequently asked questions.

Need some help making a stellar resume? Connect with us.

Send an email if you like, or call me toll-free at 1 877 738-8052.

I would enjoy chatting with you.

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3 Inspiring End-of-Year Teacher Reflection Examples That Hit the Mark

As the school year ends, there are many things to do. You need to add an end-of-year teacher reflection to your end-of-year routine that helps you reflect on this year and create a plan for the following year. Because I love helping teachers everywhere simplify their teaching tasks so they can enjoy more life, these end-of-year teacher reflection examples will help you know exactly how to take this year’s challenges and turn them into wins for the next year! 

If you found yourself struggling this year with finding the time you need to spend with family, take care of yourself, and live your life outside of teaching, fgrab a copy of my 5 Teacher Time Management Secrets to Leave Work at Work so you can finally spend your upcoming school year the way you want! Download your copy here . 

Read on to learn more about the end-of-year teacher reflection examples that will help you get a head start on your year next year! 

End of Year Teacher Reflection Example 1 

The 10-minute reflection .

Take a few moments with your favorite notebook and best pen and write down one or two things from each school year month, including ups and downs. 

Set a timer for 3 minutes and try not to overthink how good or bad each was but instead get it all out on paper. 

Once you have everything down, you can look back and see what came out of your year. Take 2 minutes to reflect on each and process how the year went. 

Then take 5 minutes to plan for what you will continue to do next year, what you will stop doing, and what you must think about before deciding. 

End of Year Teacher Reflection Example 2

The conversation .

As you did in the 10-minute reflection, take 3 minutes to write out all you can about your year. 

Find a time to speak with a trusted colleague or administrator about what you wrote down. Ask them for feedback or insight to get a different perspective on what you experienced. They may have another way of seeing something that seemed challenging then and help you see how it was a learning experience for you. 

Take the insight you gained and bring it back to your notebook. Use the opportunity to journal how you can use the year’s challenges as learning experiences to help you plan your instruction differently, prep your lessons in less time, deliver your education creatively, or have another inspiring idea! 

End of Year Teaching Reflection Example 3

The ask .

If you can, send a letter to families or ask your students a few questions about how they felt the year went for them. Know that what is written is only one person’s opinion, and don’t be too harsh on yourself if there is negative feedback. 

Here are some examples for students 

• What are you most proud of accomplishing this year? 
• Where did you encounter struggles today, and what did you do to deal with them? 
• What about your thinking, learning, or work today brought you the most satisfaction?

Here are some examples for parents 

• What growth have you seen in your student this year? What do you think contributed to that growth? 
• Where did you see your student struggle? What do you think would have helped them to overcome the struggle?

Take a few minutes with the feedback and choose 3 things to modify, grow or change for the upcoming school year. 

More Examples of End of the Year Teacher Reflections

Teacher End of Year Reflection: A Year of Growth and Change (blog)

Why Teacher Reflection is an Educator’s End-of-Year Secret Weapon (article)

END OF YEAR MUST DO: TEACHER, STUDENT, AND PARENT REFLECTIONS (blog)

10 fun ways to reflect on your teaching (Video)

Go Forth and Reflect

End-of-the-year teacher reflections are a necessary part of teaching to help you learn and grow as you continue year after year. No matter how many years you have been in the classroom, there are always things that can be shifted, improved, or changed to help to make your teaching and life better. 

As lifelong learners, teachers are always finding ways to improve, especially in time management. In addition to the 3 Inspiring End of Year Teacher Reflection Examples, you can learn how to keep teaching in the classroom and enjoy a lifestyle you love with the 5 Teacher Time Management Secrets to Leave Work at Work. 

Recommended Articles

3 simple ways to cure spring fever in the classroom, beyond the classroom: 4 clever ways to fix the effects of teacher burnout this summer, when passion fades: dealing with end of year teacher burnout, summer stressors: 5 tips for managing teacher anxiety in summer.

5 Teacher Time Management Secrets to Leave Work at Work

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Self Reflection Essay

What goes through your mind when you have to write a self reflection essay? Do you ponder on your life choices, the actions you take to get where you want to be or where you are now? If you answered yes and yes to both of the questions, you are on the right track and have some idea on what a reflection essay would look like. This article would help give you more ideas on how to write a self reflection essay , how it looks like, what to put in it and some examples for you to use. So what are you waiting for? Check these out now.

10+ Self Reflection Essay Examples

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Defining Self

A person’s self that is different from the rest. On occasions it is considered as an object of a person’s view.

Defining Self Reflection

A self reflection is often described as taking a step back to reflect on your life. To take a break and observe how far you have become, the obstacles you have gone through and how they have affected your life, behavior and belief.

Defining Self Reflection Essay

A self- reflection essay is a type of essay that makes you express the experiences you have gone through in life based on a topic you have chosen to write about. It is a personal type of essay that you write about.  It makes you reflect on your life and journey to who you are today. The struggles, the fears, the triumphs and the actions you have taken to arrive at your current situation.

Tips on Writing a Self Reflection Essay

When writing a self reflection essay, there are some guidelines and formats to follow. But I am here to give you some tips to write a very good self reflection essay. These tips are easy to follow and they are not as complicated as some might believe them to be. Let’s begin. To write a good self reflection essay, one must first do:

• Think : Think about what you want to write. This is true for the title of your essay as well. Thinking about what to write first can save you a lot of time. After this tip, we move on to the next one which is:
• Drafting : As much as it sounds like a waste of time and effort, drafting what you are preparing to write is helpful. Just like in the first tip, drafting is a good way of writing down what you want and to add or take out what you will be writing later.
• State the purpose : Why are you writing this essay? State the purpose of the essay . As this is a self reflective essay, your purpose is to reflect on your life, the actions you did to reach this point of your life. The things you did to achieve it as well.
• Know your audience : Your self reflection essay may also depend on your audience. If you are planning on reading out loud your essay, your essay should fit your audience. If your audience is your team members, use the correct wording.
• Share your tips: This essay gives you the opportunity to share how you have achieved in life. Write down some tips for those who want to be able to achieve the same opportunity you are in right now.

How long or short can my self reflection essay be?

This depends on you. You may write a short self reflection essay, and you may also write a long one. The important thing there is stating the purpose of you writing your essay.

Writing a self reflection essay, am I allowed to write everything about my life?

The purpose of the self reflection essay is to reflect on a topic you choose and to talk about it.

Is there a limit of words to write this type of essay?

Yes, as much as possible stick to 300-700 words. But even if it may be this short, don’t forget to get creative and true in your essay.

A self reflective essay is a type of essay that people write to reflect on their lives. To reflect on a certain topic of their life and talk about it. Most of the time, this type of essay is short because this is merely to take a step back and watch your life throughout the beginning till the present time. Writing this type of essay may be a bit difficult for some as you have to dive deep into your life and remember the triumphs and the loss. The beauty of this essay though is the fact that you are able to see how far you have reached, how far you have overcome.

Self Reflection Essay Generator

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Write a Self Reflection Essay on a time you overcame a personal obstacle.

Reflect on your personal growth over the last year in your Self Reflection Essay.