Title: Why Reflection Is Important In Teaching | TeachThought
Headings: Why Reflection Is Important In Teaching
Why Reflection Is Important In Teaching
Making Reflection Part Of Your Teaching Practice
Reflection As A Strategy To Improve Social Equity
Four Strategies For Reflective Teaching
Build Community
Create a cycle of reflection
Choose a Purpose
Use Open-Ended Probing Questions
About The Author
TeachThought Staff

Content: As educators, we can build communities that value justice, equity, and empowering our students; we can normalize struggle, and we can pick each other up when the answers don’t match our ideals. After all, as educators, it is our responsibility to build the spaces where people have the courage to walk inside their perspective and emerge with answers that they can live with. Four Strategies For Reflective Teaching
Build Community
Reflection can be individual, but there is great power when done in community. It allows teachers to share key learnings, hear other perspectives, and make commitments with people they trust. Create a cycle of reflection
Set aside a regular time and routine for teachers to reflect. In this routine, ask similar questions repeatedly over time, identify possible actions, and reflect on implementation. Choose a Purpose
Reflection yields more concrete actions when the purpose is clear. Some purposes include building class culture, empowering students, increasing student learning and engagement, or identifying biases. Use Open-Ended Probing Questions
Use questions that seek to learn more, to uncover underlying processes and values, and which encourage multiple possible perspectives or answers.