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Evidence-Based Reflection in Teaching Practice

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Evidence-Based Reflection in Teaching Practice

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This article argues that teacher reflection should not be limited to fixing what did not work, but should also involve intentionally identifying what is working and understanding it through evidence. It introduces approaches to reflection that do not remain individual, such as reviewing lesson recordings, gathering feedback from students and colleagues, and sharing learning through Professional Learning Networks (PLNs).

In my own practice, this reminded me of the importance of moving beyond a general sense that a lesson went “well” or “not well,” and instead articulating why I reached that judgment using concrete evidence such as student responses and learning outcomes. While there are opportunities to share practice through formal reflections or reports, I also realised the need to explore more ongoing networks where reflective dialogue can happen on a regular basis.

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10 Ways To Be A More Reflective Teacher | TeachThought

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Don’t become addicted to ‘fixing’ your teaching; celebrate what you do well. Identify strengths and use them to transform your teaching.

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The Reflector’s Toolkit from the University of Edinburgh offers a collection of resources designed to support reflective practice in learning and development. It provides a series of practical tools and strategies for students and educators to reflect on their experiences, enhancing self-awareness, critical thinking, and personal growth. Key components of the toolkit include templates for structured reflection, guidance on how to analyze and assess learning experiences, and techniques for setting goals and improving performance. These tools encourage learners to think deeply about their knowledge, skills, and attitudes, helping them make connections between theory and practice while promoting lifelong learning. The toolkit emphasizes the value of reflection in fostering both academic and personal development, particularly in environments that prioritize experiential and applied learning.

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This article states that teacher training is practically useless if teachers don't practice 'evaluative thinking'.

Evaluative thinking improves learning by aligning goals, instruction, assessment, and feedback—helping students understand what quality looks like and how to improve.

It is not about constantly grading or judging without evidence. It's a mindset based on reflection and questioning, focus on improvement, and the use of criteria and standard. Evaluative thinking, it seems, forms a habit in teachers to regularly self-assess and reflect. This habit in turn leads to better outcomes for students in the end.

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The first few lines of this rang true. I have had to sit through countless sit-and-get PD sessions, both here and even more so in my previous job. Those sessions were very often disappointing, because little thought was placed on the target audience, which was a group of adult teachers. I like Madison Anders' idea of self-directed learning. I also really like the idea of teachers researching a topic on their own, and meeting at different times during the year to share their information and discuss different perspectives. Another great idea was building on experience. In workshops, I have often been treated like a topic was new to me, and little consideration was given to my or other participants' prior knowledge. There are more ideas here and the message is basically to treat adults like adults. I would argue that most of these methods would work with children as well, so treat your students as responsible learners as well.

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Professional development is too often designed using pedagogy that works well for children. Adult learning theory can help design better PD for teachers, centering agency and genuine collaboration.

How many professional development (PD) trainings have you sat through, only to realize in the first couple of minutes that it was going to be a complete waste of time? I often feel this way after PD, and for a long time I couldn't understand why. I love to learn new things and find ways to improve my classroom, but I would sit through trainings feeling at a loss. After many years, I realized that it was because the administrators delivering PD often start as teachers, taught to educate children-not adults. The information isn't usually the thing that makes us feel like PD is a waste of time, but rather how the information is organized and delivered. Adult learning theories bridge this disconnect and provide ways of educating adults effectively.

principles of Adult Learning Theor y

Self-directed learning: Adults have fully developed interests and methods through which they like to learn or obtain new information. Training in which the individual is allowed to explore a topic on their own time, and with their own methods, results in better information retention and application. Typical professional development in education settings is often delivered in a "sit and get" or a lecture-type format.

Administrators can implement self-directed learning in their professional development in a variety of ways. For example, maybe there is a specific focus or theme for the school year (Resilience, Community, Competency-Based Learning, etc.). Administrators then allow teachers to research these topics on their own and have specific times throughout the year during PD when they can share the information they learned and discuss their varying perspectives. By allowing adults to explore, you give them the ability to learn how this information is relevant to their continued improvement as a teacher.

Building on experience: Adult learners want learning opportunities that build upon their experiences as a teacher. Often this means they do not want to sit through professional development that is presented as if it is completely new information. The point of training for teachers is to give different perspectives, methods, or approaches to classroom teaching that will improve their craft. Adult learning opportunities are best received by learners if they acknowledge the teacher's prior experiences and knowledge and then build an understanding of the new material.

Administrators can be successful with this foundational principle by having moments within a professional development that have teachers reflect upon a specific element of their classroom experience and then introduce a closely related topic after. This reflection acknowledges the teacher's expertise in the classroom setting and then provides an anchor for the new information to be received.

Taking responsibility for learning: Adult lives revolve around meeting responsibilities both at work and at home. It makes sense, then, that adults want a sense of responsibility in what they learn and how they learn it. Adult learners should be allowed more freedom in all aspects of their continuing education.

To truly give a sense of responsibility and ownership in learning new information, the training should allow learners choice as much as possible. Learners should have a choice of what information they will learn and how they will learn it. By doing this, we show adult learners that their choices will help them to better their craft in the classroom.

Administrators who want to implement a sense of responsibility in their professional development can do this by offering choices. I worked in a school once that was very driven by technology. They were constantly looking for new and innovative practices for the classroom and wanted teachers to do the same. They encouraged this with a giant Bingo board for technology professional development; all of the squares were different ways to incorporate more instructional technology in the classroom. It was a huge hit and got teachers excited about winning a prize.

Problem-focused: Adult learners are more driven by problem-focused learning opportunities. Educators especially thrive in these types of scenario-based training environments because they elicit the educators' input to fix something, and there is always room for improvement and changes in processes in this career.

Administrators can include problem-focused training opportunities through scenario-based activities. For example, maybe you are conducting walk-throughs and notice a trend of teachers not bringing their lessons to a full close. As an administrator, you feel that this is a missed opportunity for teachers to check for understanding of their students.

During the training, strategically place teachers in groups so that those who do this really well are in each group. Then, have them read through scenarios that you have observed in classrooms. Have the groups work through how they could improve the lesson. Bring the conversation back to lesson closures so that all teachers understand the focus of the lesson.

Intrinsically motivating: Adults do not do well with ultimatums or high-stakes learning environments. If this is the only way that teachers are receiving professional development, then it will be very difficult to have successful learning opportunities.

Administrators should look at a variety of professional development types to deliver to their faculty. Maybe one week it is time for sharing self-discovery topics, and then the next is a boring rollout of the new curriculum from the district. Or once a month you have an hour of an "unconference" where teachers can choose what topic to sit down for and have discussion-based learning opportunities with their peers.

By delivering this variety, you give teachers a better chance of finding something that motivates them to learn. Or, if anything, you are providing them with a learning modality that will spark their intrinsic need to participate and engage in a learning environment.

Administrators have the duty to empower teachers to be lifelong learners. During PD, administrators should remember that they are no longer teachers in the classroom, but educators to adults who have different learning needs to closely engage with content and obtain new information.

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5 Adult Learning Principles to Help Design Better Professional Development

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Professional development is too often designed using pedagogy that works well for children. Adult learning theory can help design better PD for teachers, centering agency and genuine collaboration.

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この記事では、5つのリフレクションモデルが紹介されていた（1. CARL Framework、2. Four F’s of Active Reviewing、3. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle、4. Integrated Reflective Cycle、5. What? So what? Now what?）4つ目のIntegrated Reflective Cycleは、自分がMiroでまとめたReflective Processと似ていると感じた。Barbara Bassotによって提唱された比較的新しいモデルのようで、自分のリフレクションに関する考え方は、こうした最近の理論に影響を受けているのかもしれないと思った。とはいえ、どのモデルもそれぞれに興味深く、今後の参考にしたい（使ってみたい）。

Five reflective models were introduced in this article (1. CARL Framework, 2. Four F’s of Active Reviewing, 3. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, 4. Integrated Reflective Cycle, 5. What? So what? Now what?). I felt that the fourth one, the Integrated Reflective Cycle, was similar to the Reflective Process I had organised on Miro. It seems to be a relatively recent model proposed by Barbara Bassot, and I thought that my own understanding of reflection might have been influenced by these more recent theories. That said, I found each of the models interesting in its own way, and I would like to refer to (or try using) them in the future.

Prompt: Translate this into English without changing the tone or intent or adding any information.
Translated by ChatGPT (GPT-5), 27 Oct 2025

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A quick overview of all the reflective tools included in the Reflectors’ Toolkit and a description of the examples provided.

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About reflective practice - reviewing resources

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About reflective practice - reviewing resources

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Reflective practice in IB context involves teachers regularly reviewing their resources, strategies, and classroom experiences to improve student learning and align with IB principles. For example, in Chinese language teaching, a reflective IB teacher might review how effectively selected texts, media, and cultural materials promote both language proficiency and international mindedness. After observing that students respond more thoughtfully to contemporary Chinese social issues than to classical literature alone, the teacher could adjust future units to balance authentic modern sources with traditional texts. This process of reviewing, evaluating, and adapting not only enhances engagement and understanding but also models the IB's commitment to ongoing professional growth and critical reflection as part of effective teaching practice.

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Improving reflective practice as a teacher is central to becoming a more effective, dynamic educator. If, and of course we do, want our students to succeed, we need to learn not just to survive but to thrive- to be happy. The 10 ways to be a more reflective teacher offer some great insight to improving reflective ability in and out of the classroom.

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Teaching isn’t easy.

It will challenge your content knowledge, pedagogical skills, charisma, diplomacy, communication, statistical analysis skills, and a dozen other strands you didn’t know where strands. Some teachers may try to tell you that being happy doesn’t matter. That it’s about results. Data. Performance. Or more rhetorically, the students.

Teaching is about the students, but guess what? If you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t help the students–not in a way that’s sustainable. We’ve talked before about surviving teaching. But what about setting the bar higher? What about being happy? And further, can you be happy and be a good teacher at the same time?

A key factor in happiness can be perspective, and a factor in effectiveness can be reflection. Below are 10 ways to be a more reflective teacher.

1. Record yourself teaching

This used to require awkward VHS systems and tripods that students would knock over–and that would distract them endlessly.

Today, it can be a matter of casually propping up your smartphone out of sight, setting it to record, and getting on with the lesson. In fact, you can even create a time-lapse (there are many apps that do this with ease) to track your movement around the room. You can watch the video with and without sound. You can even look for specific things–who talks the most, average wait time, clarity of instructions, etc.

And it doesn’t have to be video–just audio can be revealing, too.

2. Share that video with your PLN

And ask them to help you do the above, and offer feedback of their own. (Just be sure that students’ faces are blurred if you’re making the video public.) Every teacher needs a high-functioning Professional Learning Network.

3. Invite colleagues to observe your class

Not just the same few teachers, either. Ask them to be ‘critical friends’ and then thicken your skin. It’s not about you, it’s about your craft.

4. Ask the students for feedback

You might be surprised how good they are at guiding you in your work.

5. Ask yourself daily, “How did it go and how do you know?”

This is a question from Cognitive Coaching training, and it’s a useful tool to frame reflection. What are your general impressions, and what evidence do you have to support those impressions? Think of something right now that you believe to be effective. A literacy strategy, for example. Or a favorite unit. Maybe a no-zero grading policy.

You say it ‘works.’ How do you know? What can you point to as evidence? What would others say? What metrics are you using? (See #10 below.)

6. Keep a minimalist blog or journal

This doesn’t have to be anything ambitious–the point is reflection, not web design. Make it as basic as possible and try to blog at least twice a week–and don’t skip it if you’re feeling too tired or stressed to reflect. These can be the best times and writing about it can be therapeutic. You can even limit yourself to five minutes per entry.

The only goal here is to reflect–maybe create a list of sample prompts or stems to support the reflection. Then go back and read previous entries every now and then to see what you were thinking, when, and why.

7. Be honest with–but not critical of–yourself

So many potentially great teachers are blind to their shortcomings.

This is probably a kind of defense mechanism. That, or they really can’t see their hangups. No teacher is perfect, but reflection can help you identify those barriers that are keeping you from improving. This will require you to be honest with yourself; don’t rationalize your own mediocrity, but don’t tear yourself apart, either.

Reflect, iterate, and improve.

8. Surround yourself with enthusiasm

The more potential you see around you, the more you’ll observe, analyze, and design to try to fit some of those ideas in.

9. Look for what’s working

Don’t become addicted to fixing the broken bits in your teaching; celebrate what you do well. Identify your own strengths, and use them to transform your teaching. If you’re good at tinkering, use that in your teaching no matter the content area. If you thrive through interpersonal connections, use that to drive your work.

By looking for what’s working, we can see how that affects everything else, tracing cause/effect patterns to understand how to reflect and grow.

10. Diversify your metrics

It’s tempting to have ‘stuff you like,’ but have a diverse set of measures of the effectiveness of what you do: Talk to students. Get feedback from parents. Have colleagues watch you. Record it and share with your PLN. Use a variety of types of assessments.

And that’s just the content part. You also need to know if your manner of interacting with colleagues is working for both you and them. Your tone, body language, quantity and quality of conversation, and so on.

The same with how you grade papers, store unit materials, call the class to attention, manage your time, and on and on. Of all the ways to be a more reflective teacher, there is no single best approach. Just make sure you know what’s working and what’s not. So often, teachers spin their wheels wildly without knowing it.

10 Ways To Be A More Reflective Teacher

10 Ways To Be A More Reflective Teacher

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A key factor in happiness can be perspective, and a factor in effectiveness can be reflection. Here are ways to be a more reflective teacher.

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Planning Professional Development on ChatGPT

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Planning Professional Development on ChatGPT

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This article highlights the importance of adapting teacher professional development to incorporate AI like ChatGPT into education. Teachers have various opinions on this rapid technological development, but no matter how negative teachers may be, students will be exposed to AI like ChatGPT more and more in the future. Teachers need to face up to this challenge and adapt their teaching methods to the changing times.

Teachers themselves are facing new situations that they have never learnt about before, and are now in a situation where they have to make use of the knowledge and methods they have already acquired to deal with these situations. Like the students, the teachers need to work as a team to develop collaborative activities, ideas and understanding. We are teachers, but at the same time we must always bear in mind that we are also learners.　Azusa

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Planning Professional Development on ChatGPT

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How to help educators feel heard, supported, and empowered to address the role of AI in education.

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In this article, Hattie describes the five core evaluating thinking skills, and explains that "educators with high levels of evaluative thinking have greater pattern recognition, are more adept at checking biases and constraints, are more able to monitor their and others' judgements, and are more likely to seek alternative actions." I thought these qualities are related to what IB's teaching approaches that how teachers are collaboratively support student agency, and integrate assessment through the learning process. The teachers are required to see problems from students' perspectives and support them to understand from the concepts. Also, he mentions the importance of moderating standards and expectations across teachers and schools for student growth. I also thought it's very important to do so, but would be challenging for some of the Japanese teachers, because they don't like to show their expectations to students. I think this is our educational issue to shift to the next level of educational growth, so I like to understand deeper in how to implement evaluative thinking in class. Mai

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John Hattie writes that the secret to great teaching lies in evaluative thinking-it's less about what teachers do and more about how they think about what they do.

The most critical teacher influences relate to their having high expectations for all students, not labeling students, seeing differentiation as allowing for different paths and different times for all to attain the success criteria, being high in verbal ability (especially in their early years of teaching), being seen by students as highly credible influences on their learning and achievement, having high levels of clarity such that student all know what they are learning and why they are learning, and knowing their progress in their learning. Finally, the greatest influences are when teachers work together to evaluate their beliefs and evidence of impact, seek critique and alternative explanations of their impact, and use microteaching to collectively review this impact on students.

While there are no metas on the nature of thinking used by teachers, the claim is that there are particular ways of thinking that demarcate the more from lesser effective teachers. We call this evaluative thinking (Rickards et al., 2021). As Scriven (1991) noted, the core evaluative thinking skills are critical thinking, reasoning, and understanding others (how they think, reason, judge, interact). In education, this evaluative thinking is focused on maximizing our impact on the learning lives of the students, which thence includes making classrooms inviting places to learn, developing a climate of fairness, developing respect for self and others, and ensuring the focus is on improvement in learning and student character (see Hattie & Larsen, 2020). We identified five core evaluative thinking skills:

1. Evaluative thinking involves invoking reasoning and critical thinking in valuing evidence, leading to where-to-next recommendations.

2. Evaluative thinking involves addressing the fidelity of implementation, continually checking for unintended consequences, and allowing for adaptations to maximize the value of the outcomes.

3. The focus of evaluative thinking is specific to the major decisions each profession aims to make: for teachers, it is maximizing the impact on the learning lives of students.

4. Evaluative thinking involves investigating potential biases and confounding factors that may lead to false conclusions.

5. Evaluative thinking relates to understanding others' points of view, leading to judgments of value or worth.

Thus, educators with high levels of evaluative thinking have greater pattern recognition, are more adept at checking biases and constraints, are more able to monitor their and others' (e.g., their peers and students) judgments, and are more likely to seek alternative actions. As a result, they can be slower to come to problem representations and conclusions, try to see the world through other eyes, check back with the problem statement more regularly, and are focused on becoming a learning expert.

Every year, a student engages in a huge gamble as to who is at the front of their class-will it be a teacher who has a major positive influence or a teacher who has a less-than-average although positive influence? Will it be a teacher who engages in evaluative thinking or one who wants to cover the curriculum? The mantra is that every student should have a great teacher by design, not by chance. A great teacher is not defined by the teaching methods they use, their personality, their initial teacher education program, or necessarily their subject matter knowledge.

Instead, a great teacher is determined by their impact on all students, engaging in both knowing-that and knowing-how notions in lessons, and ensuring and knowing that all are gaining more than a year's growth for a year's input. We know quality teachers more by how they think and seek critique about their impact on students than by what they do and know.

Teachers' initial teacher training programs have little impact on how well teachers influence their students' achievement. Maybe subsequent effects (e.g., the experience of the first classroom years) wash out this earlier training. The low quantity and quality of evidence of teacher training should be a major embarrassment for these institutions, who constantly ask for more years, more resources, and more influence. Teacher education may be more successful if it places more emphasis on learning and teaching strategies; developing teachers' conceptions of teaching as an evidence-based profession (learning from errors as much as from successes); creating an appraisal system that involves a high level of trust and dependence on observed or videotaped reflection/evaluation of practice; and providing beginning teachers with a range of different teaching methods to use when current ones do not work. In addition, it may be more successful if it reintroduced microskills teaching methods, which have demonstrably positive effects on new teachers; developed teachers' understanding of different ways to teach surface, deep, and conceptual knowledge; demonstrated how teachers could build positive relationships with all students; and showed how evaluation and assessment of students provide effective feedback to teachers about how well they are teaching, who they have not taught so well, and where they need to reteach.

One way forward is to ask teacher education programs to articulate a set of graduating standards and then evaluate the nature and quality of evidence that all students meet these standards. Suppose employers and independent educationalists sit with the education program academics in making these decisions. In that case, there is a higher likelihood that these programs will improve to concentrate on training new teachers to affect students' learning.

It is difficult to find evidence that subject matter knowledge is important. This is a conundrum. The claim is that those with high levels of subject matter knowledge are more optimally placed to understand the content, the likely errors and misconceptions, and the optimal progressions of surface and deep learning in that content. Such teachers are better placed to provide feedback as students struggle and help move them from their current understanding to deeper and more richly constructed views of the content. It would be expected that students are more likely to become passionate about and enjoy the subject as they master the content, as opposed to those students who learn in a minimax fashion to gain knowledge and facts to pass the test, complete the assignment, and move on to whatever is the next content prescribed for them. But the evidence is lacking for these claims. We may need to ask what minimum subject matter knowledge is needed to be an accomplished teacher and how we can optimize the teaching strategies of those teachers with greater subject matter knowledge. The hunch is that there needs to be alignment between the higher levels of content knowledge and the proportion of surface and deep learning. It is likely that where surface dominates the teaching methods, then subject matter knowledge matters little.

So it is teacher beliefs more than the methods or content that matter. It is less about what teachers do and more about how teachers think about what they do. Teachers walk into a classroom with conceptions of teaching, learning, curricula, assessment, and their students (Brown, 2011 ; Witter, 2021). We need to understand these conceptions better, as it seems they are powerful moderators on the success of these teachers. Low expectations of the students' success are a self-fulfilling prophecy. It appears that expectations are less mediated by between-student attributes (gender, race, physical attractiveness) than by whether they are held (high or low) for all students. How to invoke high expectations seems critical, and this may require having more in-school discussion of appropriate benchmarks across grades and seeing evidence of performance before starting the class or year (Nuthall, 2007, shows half of all material taught in any class is already known by the stu-dents); so much of the early months of the year involves trial and error, as teachers find out proficiencies of students-information which could have more readily been garnered by reviewing student records and having a discussion with previous teachers.

The greatest single issue facing the further enhancement of students is the need for teachers to have common conceptions of progress and standards. Moderating standards and expectations across teachers (and schools) is essential to student growth. When a student moves from one teacher to another, there is no guarantee that they will experience increasingly challenging tasks, have a teacher with high expectations of how to progress up the curricula, work with a teacher who will grow the student from where they are as opposed to where the teacher believes they should be at the start of the year, and experience a teacher with high levels of evaluative thinking.

My colleague Russell Bishop (2019) moves around classes asking students, "Does your teacher like you?" and so many ethnic minority students (in New Zealand) say no, but the white students say yes. When teachers are shown the results of surveys, they are often astonished-primarily because they assumed that the relations were positive, looked for cues that all was well, and rarely saw the classroom through the eyes of the students. The powerful effect of Bishop's work is that, after seeing these results, the teachers were quick to change their practices. Professional learning that questions assumptions and the teacher's theories of practice can be very effective.

The power of positive teacher-student relationships is critical for learning to occur. This relationship involves showing students that the teacher cares for their learning as a student and can "see their perspective, communicate it back to them so that they have valuable feedback to self-assess, feel safe, and learn to understand others and the content with the same interest and concern" (*Cornelius-White, 2007, p. 123). Then the powers of developing a warmer socioemotional climate in the classroom and fostering effort and, thus, engagement for all students are invoked. This requires teachers to enter the classroom with certain conceptions about progress, relationships, and students. It requires them to believe that their role is that of a change agent-that all students can learn and progress, that achievement for all is changeable and not fixed, and that demonstrating to all students that they care about their learning is both powerful and effective.

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John Hattie writes that the secret to great teaching lies in evaluative thinking-it's less about what teachers do and more about how they think about what they do.

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Quotes on the Importance of Reflective Practice

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Quotes on the Importance of Reflective Practice

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This clip makes one's heart feel lighter. Why? This is because the speaker tells you that "failure is an everyday thing for teachers." He convinces the audience why it is so, andpersuadese them to accept that failure is a good thing.

In the latter half of the video clip, many quotes on the importance of reflective practice are introduced. One that I liked the most was when asked why teachers needed to reflect on their practices, the answer is not because teachers are not good enough but rather they can be even better. It lifted my spirits! Kyoko (11/2/2024)

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How to Create an Effective Professional Learning Communities (article)

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How to Create an Effective Professional Learning Communities (article)

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This article discussed how to make PLCs, or Professional Learning Communities, can be made more effective for teachers to use.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) promote collaboration and innovation among teachers, which benefits student learning. PLCs involve educators working together in recurring cycles of inquiry and action research to enhance student outcomes. However, while the intent is to stimulate innovation, it's essential to strike a balance between fostering teacher autonomy and maintaining shared expectations for student learning.

PLCs primarily focus on defining what students should learn and creating common assessments to gauge their understanding. This alignment is crucial to ensure student success. Still, some elements of this process require teachers to adhere to a common approach, limiting their creative freedom. However, the emphasis on alignment in specific areas allows for exploration and innovation in other aspects of teaching and instructional practice.

The success of PLCs depends on creating an environment where teachers feel safe to take risks and explore new strategies. Teachers need space to innovate, especially in the "Groan Zone" where divergent thinking and productive conflict can lead to better ideas and stronger teams. PLCs can foster such an environment by establishing clear norms, protocols for effective communication, and strong facilitation.

Facilitators in PLCs play a critical role in promoting learning, risk-taking, and innovation. They must balance advocating for ideas and managing the team's process, ensuring that all voices are heard. A structured decision-making process, like the Gradients of Agreement structure, can facilitate consensus while respecting divergent thinking.

I have experience working in PLCs while teaching in Texas. During that time I was taught by my mentors and PLC lead teachers that a well-structured PLC is instrumental in driving innovation and risk-taking in education, allowing teachers to continuously learn, collaborate, and discover what best serves their students. - José

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6 Tips for Making Reflection a Consistent Habit

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6 Tips for Making Reflection a Consistent Habit

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During the duration of this course, the theme of reflection has consistently surfaced, and prior to participating in this, I had not fully grasped its significance. However, my understanding has evolved, and it is now clear to me that reflection plays a vital role in fostering both personal and professional development.

The article by Rachelle Dene Poth share six tips for effective teacher reflection. Here is a summary of them:

1. Establish a Dedicated Reflection Time: Set aside a specific time each day or week for reflection. Make it non-negotiable in your schedule.

2. Journaling and Reflection Tools: Use journals, digital tools like Google Docs or Evernote, or creative options like note cards and digital boards to capture daily thoughts and observations.

3. Quick Class Closers: Take a few minutes at the end of each class to reflect on what went well and what needs improvement. Engage with students for feedback or use online forms.

4. Voice Memos and Podcasts: Recording your thoughts, even if you don't publish them, promotes deeper reflection. Use tools like Voxer, Anchor, and Flip for audio reflections.

5. Professional Learning Communities (PLC): Collaborate with colleagues to share experiences, feedback, and observations. Virtual platforms like Edthena can facilitate reflection and skill development.

6. Avoid Isolation: Prioritize self-care and seek opportunities to connect with colleagues. Regular interactions can help prevent isolation and support ongoing learning and growth.

These simple and convenient tips are certainly strategies I plan to implement when I resume teaching next year.

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This poster has some suggestions for ways teachers can reflect on their classes, and I've actually done some of these tips. When I first started teaching on the JET Program, I kept a journal where I wrote down lesson ideas or things I learned. One entry that I remember well was a reflection on what all of the best teachers I worked with had in common during their lessons. I think I remember these things so well today because I took the time to write them down and reflect on them.

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