with Terry Heick
Reflection is the foundation of learning; and, therefore, it is an important part of teaching.
Why it happens is a matter of subjectivity. But how and when it happened—and by whom—is unclear. This is because there are many dimensions to display—height, width, and depth. Axis.
It’s complete.
As a kind of explanation, meditation it means looking back at how something ‘went’, and seeing it in all its available parts and patterns: causes and effects; compare and contrast; strengths and weaknesses; its characteristics; how close to what you expected; your feelings.
I planned this, and it went like this, and now I think this.
Therefore, reflection is the bridge between what we do and what we can do better. Rest that allows development, peace that precedes understanding. And while it may seem like a good idea, its results are nothing.
What Does a Reflection Look Like?
Reflection on teaching might look like this:
The teacher pauses at the end of the lesson to make a quick note: What went well? What didn’t? How did the students react?
Joint discussions between professional learning communities (PLCs): Sharing successes, analyzing failures, and considering other strategies.
Reviewing student work with curiosity rather than judgment: What does this tell me about their thinking? What gaps do I see? What strengths can I build on?
Mental repetition at the end of the day: Reflecting on the highlights—the successes, the struggles, the surprises—and uncovering why they matter.
Reflection doesn’t always require structure, but structure can help. It’s a way to make meditation a habit instead of an afterthought. Reflection can happen alone or with others, formally or informally, in writing or in thought.
Meditation Tools
To make meditation effective and efficient, consider tools like these:
To make a journal: Keep a simple teaching journal. At the end of each day, write down three things: what worked, what didn’t, and what you want to know about tomorrow.
Checklists or rubrics: These can be used to evaluate lessons or teaching strategies against specific criteria.
Student response: Always get feedback from students about what helps them learn. This can be through surveys, open-ended questions, or informal interviews.
Video recording: Recording a lesson and reviewing it can provide a direct view of your teaching practice.
Meditation as a Shared Practice
Reflection should not happen in isolation. Collaborating with peers adds new ideas and reveals blind spots. When teachers share their thoughts, it makes a habit and creates a culture of growth in the school.
Ask your colleagues: What’s a tactic you’ve used that’s worked well lately? What challenge have you been thinking about?
Participate in virtual protocols: Structured discussions such as the “Key Friends” protocol provide a framework for sharing and analyzing teaching practices.
Benefits of Meditation
The benefits of reflective teaching are obvious. For teachers, it fosters professional growth, sharpens self-awareness, and governs purpose. For students, it creates the best learning experience and symbolizes a lifelong learning process.
Meditation is not about achieving perfection but about continuous improvement. It is the practice of aligning your actions with your beliefs, ensuring that your teaching reflects your core values and best intentions.
Contemplation sounds like a vague idea—something vague, and a little vague. Something we do in the shower when we get home when no one is around and we are free to wander in our minds. It is quite true that meditation comes effortlessly, and in its purest and most raw forms, in those situations where we—that is, our minds—are not otherwise engaged.
Reflection is not a one-box–elliptical learning cycle. It is as much a matter of self-awareness, humility, and love as it is time, sequence, and process.
I can see the work of teaching as a sequence of steps and the realization of a design. It is both parts and complete. Science and art. Professional and people.
I know that nothing is going well, so I want to improve. I also know what I can do, and what are the ways to get there.
I believe in the patience of knowledge and understanding, and I will bring everything I know to carry my craft.
With this kind of testing put in place, their meditation practice is very fruitful, a kind of tilling the soil to harvest crops. This is where non-extracts come in–tangible tools, practices, and meditation partners that allow us to connect with ourselves and our teaching, and benefit from a tangible meditation practice.
The Role of Reflection in Teacher Development
When I use social media, I do it both as a practice and as a reflection. Mechanical actions lead to thought, and vice versa. I watch social channels, look at what’s being said and the messages, and respond if it makes sense. This is input. The output, if I understand correctly, is a display.
When I read a tweet, interpret what I believe to be its meaning, find relevance in its message, and think—even briefly—about how I relate to it and to myself, I approach self-reflection.
Tweet: Building Momentum Behind Social Emotional Learning
My reaction: What is the ‘big idea’ of social-emotional learning? What do I know – and what don’t I? What tools do I know that would work here? Do I need a tool—is this worth clicking? Should I save to Pocket without clicking? Click and read? RT without reading? Read, then RT? Do you like reading or not reading? How am I currently spending my time on social media? Am I kidding myself, or should I be more serious—this tool or idea of this need I have tomorrow.
If reflection happens in social media—and it does—then it’s both a matter of practice and habit—tending to the kind of thinking that inspires change in your teaching. But this really has nothing to do with twitter; this is just a simple example that many of you can relate to. It’s about the dimensions of meditation: How, When, and Who.
How Does Meditation Happen?
You can start with warnings for reflective teaching. This—or else—can be about looking at the ins and outs of teaching as long as it leads to building both the capacity and the inclination to self-reflect.
There is, of course, vulnerability that comes with meditation. Be honest, transparent, and stand up for yourself.
Meditation actually starts early, alone, in your mind after something happens. Then, it usually happens to someone—a friend, co-worker, or loved one. Maybe even a student. Then, you will probably think again, alone, now you have been pushed forward in your thinking about the ‘togetherness’ part. Writing about it again, and then sharing that with others makes the reflection more difficult, and more personal.
Sequence: Alone–>Together–>Alone
Meditation, among other patterns, often occurs alone (which is slow and passive), Together (which is fast, and active) and Alone Again (again, slow and passive).
Sequence: While Teaching–> After Teaching–> After School
Meditation is also a matter of time. Reflection can happen at any time, but as soon as the event starts to happen: Lecture, assessment, meeting, Discussion.
While we teach, How is it going really? What changes seem necessary? What is most important here? Then immediately after that, how did it go (the test), and how do I know (the data)? After school, now that I’ve had the chance to ‘run away’ from others at the event, what am I thinking now? What is delaying? What should I do differently next time? What will the students say if they are here next to me?
Sequence: Students–>Partners–>PLN
Then, who should i think with? Students? Colleagues? Professional Learning Networks? My partner? How is each episode different? What should we talk about and what should we forget?
How can I see meditation as a teaching method so that it is not possible to separate and unite, but to be moment by moment thing that’s sitting on me like a heartbeat?
What It Means to Be a Reflective Teacher
Source link
