Do You Want To Be A Better Teacher?
Manpal Sahota
Are you a good teacher?
Are you a bad teacher?
What are some ways you can become a better teacher?
Reflective Practice
Why reflect on your teaching practices?
Clearly and objectively examine successes
and failures
How do you talk about teaching?
Why reflect on your teaching practices?
Clearly and objectively think successes and
failures
Increase practical knowledge
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over
again and expecting
different results.”
Why reflect on your teaching practices?
Clearly and objectively think about
successes and failures
Increase practical knowledge Increase personal development
“Training is what others to do you… development is what you do to yourself.”
- Julian Edge
Why reflect on your teaching practices?
Clearly and objectively think about
successes and failures
Increase practical knowledge
Increase personal development Gain awareness
“If teachers are active reflectors of what is happening in their own classroom, they better position themselves to discover whether
there is any gap between what they teach and what their students learn.”
- Tom Farrell
Who should reflect on their teaching practices?
If you have been teaching for ten years… do you have ten years of experience… or
one year of experience repeated 10 times?
… or too old
How can you reflect on your teaching practices?
Individual
Make notes during/after class
Write a journal
Record your class
Feedback from students (verbal/written)
Action research
Teaching Portfolios
With A Partner
Critical friendships (talking, emailing,
calling, etc.)
Exchange journals
Peer observations
With Multiple People
Teacher development groups
“Communities of Practice”
Share ideas, share concerns, share
journals, support each other, interact
regularly
When do you talk about teaching?
Where do you talk about teaching?
Reflective Practice Groups
Group of reflective teachers
Reflect on your reflections (meta-
reflection)
Regular meetings (weekly, monthly,
bi-monthly, etc.)
Reflective Practice Meetings
Reflective Task – Teacher Burnout
1. Have you ever experienced the feeling of being
burned out from teaching? Describe how you felt.
2. What do you think caused the burnout?
3. How did you overcome the feeling?
4. What advice would you give to help beginning
teachers avoid burnout?
Reflective Task - Routines
1. Are you aware of any routines in your teaching?
2. Do you start and end your classes the same way each day?
3. Do you keep the same materials year after year and continuously use them?
4. Do you think teachers should follow routines in their teaching and the use of materials?
John Dewey (1933)
Open-mindedness
Responsibility
Wholeheartedness
Three characteristics or attitudes of people who are reflective:
Suggested Readings
Thomas Farrell
Jack C. Richards
Thomas Farrell
Let’s Start a Reflective Practice Group!