Title: Reflective practice
Headings: Reflective practice
Reflective practice
What does the research say?
The advantages of reflective practice
Reflective practice attitudes and attributes
Attitudes
Attributes
Essential modes of, and lenses for, reflection
The modes of reflection
The lenses for reflection
The autobiographical lens (self)
The student lens
The colleague lens
The theoretical lens (literature and research)
References
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Department resources
Other resources

Content: Reflective practice
Reflective practice
What does the research say? Effective teachers continually reflect on, and improve, the way they do things, but reflection is not a natural process for all teachers. Some teachers think that the toolkit is enough. Biggs (2003) eloquently highlights that a toolkit will not necessarily lead to excellence in teaching: Learning new techniques for teaching is like the fish that provides a meal for today; reflective practice is the net that provides the meal for the rest of one's life. Reflective practitioners take an inquiry stance in that they actively search for understanding, and are always open to further investigation. Timperley, Wiseman and Fung reinforced the fact that teachers need to be constantly updating and improving their practice, and engaging in lifelong learning: It is important, therefore, for teachers to continually update and expand their professional knowledge base and to improve or revise their practices so as to meet the learning needs of their increasingly diverse students… The ever-changing knowledge base in our society means that a teaching force that uses yesterday’s professional knowledge to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s society can no longer be tolerated. The advantages of reflective practice
Reflective practice provides a means for teachers to improve their practice to effectively meet the learning needs of their students.