A REFLECTIVE TEACHER AND TEACHING

A REFLECTIVE TEACHER; Being reflective as a 21st century teacher is not limited to certain subject or area of specialization. It is very paramount to imbibe the reflective teaching practice in other to be more effective and get the best out of you, as a teacher and your students.

Historically, Reflective practice was introduced in the late nineteenth century by Dewey, followed  by other prominent scholars such as  Schӧn, Kolb, and Gibbs (Rushton &Suter, 2012). 

As Dewey (1933) argued, a  reflective process starts with a perceived  conflict in a context, continues with the  interpretation of classroom activities and ends in making a decision regarding  removing the problem. Gore and Zeichner  (1991) proposed that reflection is thinking  about an action in the context; therefore,  teaching as a reflective practice comprises  two processes:

1. Self-observation: in this process, teachers must consider their students’  needs, goals, interests, habits, lessons,  and the time of the class.

2.Self-evaluation: teachers make a  decision about their classes. According  to Nikolov (2015), self-evaluation is the result of self and peer correction and helps  learners to become more reflective in the  learning process. In this process both  teachers and learners are responsible.Learners evaluate themselves and their  peers, and teachers evaluate everyone in  the context. They can all gather together  and discuss their reflections and the  critical comments from the evaluation  exercise. In this way, teachers can decide  on the classroom context. 

Therefore, reflective teachers are those  who promote reflection as an essential  tool in their classrooms and reflective  practice is an interactive process between  a teacher and students. It is not only about  making the teacher a better educator,but it is also about making the students  aware of their learning processes.

Reflection is a fundamental tenet of learning; it is also, therefore, a fundamental part of teaching.

Why it happens, is a matter of humility. But how and when it happens–and with whom–is less clear. This is partly because there are multiple sides to reflection–length, width, and depth. A Z-axis.

To reflect means to look back at how something ‘went,’ and see it for all of its available parts and patterns: Causes and effects; comparisons and contrast; strengths and weakness; its characteristics; how close it came to what you were expecting; your emotions.

Meanwhile, Reflective teaching is a practice of examining one's beliefs, methods, and impacts on students' learning before, during, and after teaching.
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Reflective teachers make adjustments in instruction based on critical analysis and evidence of effectiveness. Reflective teaching helps teachers avoid getting into a rut and improve their teaching quality

Reflective teaching is also a process whereby teachers reflect on their teaching practices in order to examine the overall effectiveness of their instructive approaches. Improvement or change in teaching methods may be required, depending on the outcome of this analytical process, which is based on critical reflection. 

Teachers who explore their own teaching through critical reflection develop changes in attitudes and an awareness which they believe can benefit their professional growth as teachers, as well as improve the kind of support they provide to their students. The reflective teaching journal, is definitely an excellent tool for this pedagogical exploration.

How do you become a reflective teacher? 

Some ways you can become a reflective teacher include journaling on your teaching practices in order to examine the overall effectiveness of your instructive approaches. Implement improvements or changes after self-analysis of your teaching methodologies via SWOT analysis for example. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

What are the characteristics of a reflective teacher? 

Some characteristics of a reflective teacher include the ability to self-analyze, identify their own strengths, weaknesses, objectives and threats, as well as good time-management skills, organisation, patience, self-acceptance, and the well for, and implementation of, self-improvement of self and teaching practices.

 -----Abiola M. Samson

Ohio State University, U.S.A Trained Art Teacher

Official Judge for World COBIS Art Contest

Cambridge Certified Art and Design Teacher