10 Components of Reflective Teaching Operate in a Circular Way
Back to: Learning and Teaching – Unit 4
Reflective teaching is a process where teachers look back at their teaching practices and find ways how their teaching methods can be improved or changed for the better learning of students. They could find out by looking at how well students are answering in class and the results of the tests. A teacher reflects on their teaching process to learn about their practice and think if it’s working for the students’ learning process. By self-observation and self-evaluation, teachers can improve their teaching techniques. Through reflecting on one’s teaching style, teachers will be good at their job and provide an effective learning experience for the students.
10 Components of Reflective Teaching
Professional Growth
Reflective Teaching can help educators in their professional growth. By reflecting on their teaching process, the teachers will get a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and this will help in their professional development.
Promotes Innovation
Reflective teaching leads to innovative methods and techniques of teaching by the educator. Reflective teaching allows teachers to find innovative ways to make the class activities interesting and fun for the students.
Enhances Problem-Solving Skills
Reflective teaching also helps in the improvement of the teacher’s problem-solving skills. It’ll allow them to come up with new techniques and strategies to make the learning process easy and simple for students. This skill will not only help the teachers in their career growth but overcome their problems as well.
Improves relationship between Teacher-Student
A teacher needs to have a good relationship with the students for the students to look forward to his/her class and listen attentively. Reflective teaching allows us to evaluate each student’s performances and capabilities and think of each student as a unique learner. Teachers need to think of ways to connect and communicate with the students, engage them in the class lessons, and improve their learning process.
Peer observations
Peer observations can be a helpful way for understanding one’s teaching techniques. With the help of peer observation, the teacher can understand in which aspects he/she shall improve for effective teaching in the classroom. The teacher may also request student feedback.
Record class lessons
Recording class lessons can be an effective way of analyzing one’s class lessons. The teachers can notice things that they were not aware of. This can be a helpful way of understanding one’s way of teaching.
Making notes
The teacher can make notes after every class to understand how the lessons were taught and how the students responded. This way the teacher will understand his/her strengths and weaknesses and can improve the teaching techniques.
Ability to reflect
The ability to reflect upon one’s teaching practice and identify the strengths and weaknesses from it. It is based on the teacher’s self-observation and self-evaluation of their teaching methods.
To Understand the Needs
Reflective teaching encourages teachers to understand their learners and their needs. They’ll focus on working for the best interest of the students.
To Improve the Best
Open-mindedness towards one’s teaching practices and willingness to improve for the best.
Reflective teaching is an important concept. It can help a teacher largely in the way he/she functions in the classroom. Reflective teaching allows us to know what works best for the interest of the students. This will lead to both effective teaching and the learning process.
