Reflection is part of professional development. The learning is imbedded and personalized to the educator’s current instructional situation. This is a natural opportunity for teachers to learn from their instructional experiences. This a way for educators to naturally improve their craft, specialty, or expertise. Educators might focus on one piece of an instructional lesson that may be included in several or one instructional lesson to reflect on. Educators should be continually learning how to improve their development and delivery of an instructional lesson.
Each educator may have a different way of reflecting on an instructional lesson. Many individuals complete this task naturally in relation to their personal activities. Some need a routine to ensure that reflection takes place. Some need to write notes about their analysis. Some might use a positive, negative t-chart about a lesson. Some educators may have a journal dedicated to write their analysis—reflection of instructional lessons and possible options for future lessons. These notes may also be used as anecdotal data. Some will analyze and jot notes as we move through the lesson. Some will wait until the end of the lesson. Others need to wait for a quiet uninterrupted moment to analyze aspects of a lesson. The actual reflection may take place during a quiet walk or it might take place in quiet moment during the instructional day. There are no set rules to follow, only that you take a few minutes to ponder about an event that has taken place.
During reflection teachers might ask the following questions. Did the lesson bring the intended outcome? What did I notice about students throughout the lesson? How may I increase student agency during this type of lesson? Why did this student struggle? What were the hiccups or bumps during the lesson? How might I improve the lesson next time?
Through questioning your conclusion might reveal:
- a new instructional method that went surprisingly smooth
- a small or large piece that may need to be addressed, like altering how long students should read-to-self
- this group of students struggles to work in small groups
- this group of students needs more background knowledge or practice
Each group of students is unique and may have different needs to soak in the information being presented.
Each carefully planned instructional lesson will have some positive and negative outcomes. At times the positive outcomes may show through and at other times the negative aspects will shine brighter. The goal would be to create a lesson that will produce more positive vibes. Students tend to embrace and participate in an activity that they enjoy (intrinsic motivation). For example, an instructional lesson about how to properly use commas is often dry, laborious, boring. Maybe the lesson would be better embraced if students wrote the sentences that need commas? What if this lesson was taught within an interesting science lesson? What if students were allowed to develop those sentences in small groups? What if the students were allowed to present their findings? What if they were able to work in pairs?
Reflection is a vital component in the process of developing instructional lessons. Reflection is a “mini” analysis of a past event. Reflection helps teachers evaluate what took place during an instructional lesson. Reflection also helps educators to wonder about which direction they might take next in developing an instructional lesson. Reflection also assists educators to organize and bring clarity to their thoughts or evaluation of instruction. This is especially true when they choose to write about the reflection. The process of writing usually deepens their analysis of the topic.
