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5. Reflection

5.1. Reflecting on teaching

It’s useful to keep a record of when you tried each approach. The next step in becoming a reflective teacher is to think about what worked well or what did not in your classrooms.  Do you remember the questions from course 1 that can help you build your own skills in reflection?  Here’s a quick recap:

  1. Which activities worked well in my lesson? Why?
  2. Which activities did not work as well as I planned? Why? What can I do to improve this next time?
  3. Did I have all the materials I needed? What else would have been useful?
  4. Which learners worked/participated well in the lesson? Why?
  5. Which learners found the activities difficult? What can I do to help them?
  6. What do I need to remember next time when I am planning a similar lesson?

Do you notice how questions 1, 2 & 4 are all followed by one word: ‘Why?’ and that some of the questions focus on the learners? Noticing how learners are reacting to the lesson is an important part of being reflective.

When you are reflecting on a lesson or series of lessons it is important to move on from describing what you have done to analysing why it was successful or not.

Admitting that something did not go as well as you hoped, is not a sign of weakness. Rather it is a strength, because it is through being analytical and honest that you will improve as a teacher.

Activity 4.10: Reflecting on teaching

Take a look at these two examples of teachers’ reflections. Which do you think is the better reflection? Why?

Example 1 We had a pair work review in the TGM and each teacher discussed something on pair work on the successes and challenges faced during pair work activities. It was discovered that nearly every teacher appreciated the approach and it worked well because every learner was involved, but it can be time-consuming.

Example 2 In my English lesson on things that are found in the classroom, I divided students into pairs to practise ‘what is this’ and ‘this is a…’ and the words for objects in the room. I faced challenges because I forgot to demonstrate in the first place how the practical work should be done. I realised some learners did not know what to do. I gave some instructions desk-by-desk, but those I did not get to became restless. I think it would have worked well if I gave clearer instructions and perhaps encouraged pairs to help each other.  

What do you see in Example 2 that is not in Example 1?

What would you want to ask the teacher who wrote the reflections in Example 1?

Did you notice...

  • In Example 1 the teacher just describes what they did. This passage will not be very useful when they look back on it – much better to have recorded some of the reasons for the successes, the challenges and how to tackle them.
  • Example 2 moves away from just describing what has happened in the lesson. The teacher is reflecting on what happened and why. For useful reflection to take place it’s important to spend more time thinking about the ‘why’ than the ‘what’. This will be useful for the teacher when she looks back on her notes and will remind her about how to organise pair work.

Here is an example reflection from a teacher’s notebook in the Central Province.

Chisamba's notebook

Look at how the teacher divides the reflection into different sections:

  • Title
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Way forward

When you are writing your reflections on a particular lesson or part of a lesson in your Notebook, think about following a similar structure. Writing down the strengths and weaknesses of a lesson/activity will help you come up with a plan to move forward, as this teacher has.

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