Reflection For Continuous Improvement
What is reflection for continuous improvement?
Reflection is the practice of watching and examining the specifics of the teaching-learning dynamic as it progresses. It involves putting questions to yourself regarding:
- What is being done,
- How it is being done,
- Is it working? And why?
- Assessing the degree to which the outcomes are consistent with those anticipated,
- Evaluating what changes are required, and
- Conceiving alternative teaching approaches, pedagogical challenges, and supporting materials
There are two distinct opportunities to reflect. The first, real-time reflection, occurs during contact time with students, while in they are actively engaged in working through challenges. The second is after sessions have finished. Real time reflection provides the basis for real-time adaptation. Reflection after sessions have finished allows for consolidation of insights over time. Both contribute in their own way to continuous improvement of efficiency and effectiveness.
Why reflect?
- When you reflect, you are more likely to stay connected to the reality of the situation. Reflection will keep you vigilant and sharpens focus on the students’ learning as it unfolds in the situation. Reflection leads to relevance. That is, by reflecting, teaching interventions can become more relevant and better suited to enhance learning.
- Reflecting leads to questions and hypotheses, hypotheses lead to experiments, experiments lead to a deeper understanding, and a deeper understanding can lead to improved teaching efficiency and effectiveness. Reflecting on what works and why by putting questions to yourself, shining the spotlight on your own actions and the consequences that follow and then acting on those reflections sets the stage for improved teaching.
Considerations for reflection and continuous improvement:
- Is it more important to focus on the process or the result? Why?
- What is a good question?
- How can you intervene without interfering?
- What is bias? How can you avoid it?
- In what ways, can my teaching be described as effective? Efficient? Ineffective? Inefficient? How can it become more effective? More efficient?
