REFLECTIVE

TEACHING
Sergio Villacorte
Hernan Sarasty
One day a young girl was watching her mother cooking a roast of beef. Just before the mother
put the roast in the pot, she cut a slice off the end. The daughter asked her mother why she had
done that, and the mother responded that her grandmother had always done it. Later that same
afternoon, the mother was curious, so she called her mother and asked her the same question.
Her mother, the child’s grandmother, said that in her day she had to trim the roasts because they
were usually too big for a regular pot.

Teaching without reflection can lead to ‘…cutting the slice off the roast’

(Farrell 1998).
 What is reflective teaching?
“Critical reflection, refers to an activity or process in which an experience
is recalled, considered, and evaluated, usually in relation to a broader
purpose. It is a response to past experience and involves conscious
recall and examination of the experience as a basis for evaluation and
decision-making and as a source for planning and action”.

(Richard 1990).
Empower your students to ask why questions to
their classroom experiences.

Start by recognizing that you and your students

are key persons in learning environment.

Your being in the classroom must make sense to

you and your students.

Recalled experiences as a teacher and those of

your students are explored and evaluated.
What is not reflective teaching?

● Summarizing what happened in the classroom.

● Examination based on the teacher’s beliefs.

 Why reflective teaching
➔ Reflective teaching informs you that you are in charge of your
teaching/learning and that you have a major contribution to make
towards its success.

➔ To you the teacher,reflective teaching is a deliberate move to allow you

think critically of your teaching practice so that your students can
maximize their learning.
Why reflective teaching?
● To help us identify problems or areas of improvement.

● To avoid jumping into conclusions.

Misconceptions about reflective
teaching
● I am experienced enough.

● It’s just thinking.

● I don’t have time.

 CONSTRUCTIVISM

Assimilation Accommodation

From the definition of

reflective thinking Reworking one’s
Fitting new
and constructivism it understanding of
experiences into
can be seen that the way the world
what they already
assimilation and works to fit new
know
accommodation experiences
occur during the
process of reflective
practice.
Approaches for critical
reflection
Approaches for critical
reflection
Self observation
This is a technique where
you observe and evaluate
yourself under the
guidance of an observation
checklist or some
questions you decide on
before the observation.
Tips for videotaping your lesson
1. Get someone experienced with the
equipment to help you.

2. Tell him/her what aspects of the

lesson to focus on during the filming
session.

3. If you will videotape yourself, place

the video-camera so that the whole
class can be viewed.
Guide questions in self-
observations
You want to get information about :
● Class participation and student responses

● Pacing of the class and amount of student engagement

● On-task behaviour of specific students

● Whether or not your lesson was a successful one

Procedure for class
participation
Record students’ verbal participation by using symbols on a seating chart to
indicate who responds and how.

Use a symbol each time a student recite.

Procedure for class pacing and
student engagement
observation
Record the time for each activity and any observations about student
engagement for that activity.
PEER OBSERVATION
Peer observation can provide
opportunities for teachers to view each
other’s teaching in order to expose them
to different teaching styles and to provide
opportunities for critical reflection on their
own teaching.
PEER OBSERVATION
● Each participant would both observe and be
observed

● Pre-observation orientation session

● The observation

● Post-observation
PEER OBSERVATION
Benefits:

The teachers identify a variety of different aspects of their lessons for their
partners to observe and collect information on.

The teachers gain a number of insights about their own teaching from their
colleague’s observations and that they would like to use peer observation on a
regular basis.

They may also obtain new insights into aspects of their teaching.
Teaching journal

This is a place where you write about your experiences or record

some specific teaching events, and your feelings about them on a
periodical basis. As you go through the reflective cycle, you can
write down your experiences on your journal.
Still we have a technology-integrated way that can be used as a
teaching journal; BLOGS!
Action Research
● Is a reflective process of progressive problem solving.

● is the systematic, reflective study of a teacher's actions and the effects of

these actions in a school or classroom context.

● includes data collection and data analysis

Conclusion
Reflective teaching suggests that experience alone is insufficient for
professional growth, but that experience coupled with reflection can be a
powerful impetus for teacher development.