Throughout my degree it has always been said by many tutors and lecturers that one of the key skills to learn and implement that will highly benefit you as a teacher in the way you teach, grow and learn and benefit your students in the way you create their learning to suit them and the skill is being able to be reflective on your practice. Being able to look at the lessons you taught and think about how effective they were, how they could be done better, what worked and to be able to shape and change the way in which you teach based on your reflective thinking. I really believe this and throughout all my practicums I have aimed to be reflective and to look for ways in which i could improve and to reflect on how the learning went.
Peter Pappas Taxonomy of reflection is a great guide to follow to allow critical thinking and to look back, improve and implement changes based on how things have been going in the classroom (2010). Looking through the taxonomy of reflection shows what kind of questions as a teacher we should be asking ourselves and constantly evaluating the way in which things worked in the classroom to ensure the learning is being understood and taken in, to ensure the style of teaching and lessons cater for the students needs and to ensure that we are continuously improving in our practice
Being a reflective teacher is one of the best ways to ensure that you are taking the time to think of your students and to ensure that crucial learning is being taught effectively and the students in your class are being catered for. This can also be done in learning spaces, they way in which the room is set up needs to be reflected upon to ensure the space is being used well, the areas are benefiting learning, the structure is enhancing learning, the seating arrangement is benefiting the students and that the room is set up in a way that encourages learning and development. This can also be said about online learnign spaces – reflecting on the way in which the class blog is being used – is it simple to use for those learning, is it benefiting learning, is it being used in an appropriate manner and are the students engaging with the medium.
Being reflective is a great way to ensure that as a teacher you are striving to provide the best education for the students in your class by looking at how things are being done in the lessons, content, classroom structure and online mediums to nesure that learning is enhanced and encouraged at every opportunity.
Pappas, P. (2010). The reflective teacher:a taxonomy of reflection. Retrieved from http://www.peterpappas.com/2010/01/reflective-teacher-taxonomy-reflection.html