The Reflective Teacher: evolution, existing research, and actions for the ‘23–’24 School Year

Reflection on my pedagogy, the curricula I have worked with, and my experiences in the classroom have been central topics on my teacher social media pages since I created them, but if I am being honest, I didn’t arrive there with much intention. While I am proud of where I am today as a reflective practitioner, it was not a direct route that led me here, and there is always room for growth. Based on my evolution and the existing research focused on self-reflection for both pre-and in-service teachers, I have put together a plan to make this my most purposefully reflective year yet, and hopefully help you do the same.

Background: My Evolution as a Reflective Practitioner

Like many of you, I wrote many reflections about what I experienced each week as a student teacher throughout my teacher preparation program. Most were guided by a prompt connected to the topics we were learning about in our program during that week or the courses we were in, and they were graded. Completing these reflections became one more step I needed to complete to get a good grade and continue progressing in my program, stacked on top of all the other aspects I was navigating. I rarely connected the value of the assigned tasks to what I would be doing in the future. The prompts and processes connected with these reflections often felt impersonal and more like busy work than valuable practice. Was this a flaw in the program design or a bad perspective on my part? I cannot answer that for sure, but in hindsight, I wish the reflection piece had been presented to us as more central and valuable than a simple graded assignment and that I had taken more time and care when completing those early reflections.

Despite those early experiences with reflective practices, my first year as a teacher was filled with reflective moments. Unfortunately, these moments were not purposefully organized or guided in a way that was meant to produce long-lasting, meaningful actions on my part. My early reflections were absolutely useful day-to-day as I adjusted to interacting with students and made edits to my pedagogical approaches, but encouraging self-reflection on specific elements, recording those reflections in an organized manner, and revisiting them as the year continued to unfold simply was not happening with much intentionality. I had no guide at that time in my life to help me become more purposeful with the reflection process so that my students and I could benefit from these actions consistently.

In 2017, I joined the teacher social media space on Instagram and YouTube. Admittedly, I did not initially join teacher social media as a place to self-reflect on my praxis or well-being as an educator; however, I quickly realized that was exactly what I was doing. As I spoke through my decision-making processes regarding curriculum mapping, pacing, assessment strategies, prioritization of certain pedagogical strategies over others, and more, I grew as an educator. I watched my own Instastories back, carefully considered my processes, and improved them yearly. I still return to my archives on Instagram and YouTube to reflect on past choices and their outcomes; teacher social media, in this way, has benefitted me significantly. Yet, these were still unguided or unprompted reflections that were created when I had the time and energy to do so or when it was a topic that suited a public platform.

As a doctoral student and candidate who decided to conduct research using qualitative methodology and a critical theoretical lens, I had to develop my ability to maintain ongoing reflexivity throughout my work. In these moments, I became more intentional in the processes and organization of my reflective practices in my research and my professional life as an educator. The reflections I underwent were often deeply personal, challenged my beliefs, and forced me to adjust my perspectives and practices. Reflection at any scale can have important impacts; however, when it is intentional, organized, and grounded in purpose, I have found that the payoff is much greater for all stakeholders.

Now, as a more experienced educator, I am working to extend my intentionality behind my professional reflective practices into a more personal space that helps me take actionable steps for the benefit of everyone connected to my classroom. But before we get into how I plan to do that, let’s look at two existing studies on self-reflection.

Existing Literature: The Power of Reflection for Pre-and In-service Teachers

Valtierra and Siegel (2020) reviewed literature that cited perceptions of preservice teachers (PSTs) very similar to the perspective I shared at the opening of this discussion, that the self-reflections embedded in teacher preparation programs are often viewed as busy work. Moreover, they discussed the requirement that teacher preparation programs incorporate reflective practices without the existence of many strategies with proven success for PSTs. Similar to how I came to better understand the power of reflective practices as a professional, Valtierra and Siegel developed their method for improving PSTs reflective practices based on their experiences with qualitative methodology. The researchers guided students in self-coding their reflections which required returning to and recognizing themes within their ongoing reflective processes. They found that as teachers returned to their reflections for the coding process, their understanding of core concepts became more significant, their awareness in their classroom placements when observing their mentors and students increased, and they increasingly made connections between core concepts they were learning and actions they witnessed in the field. A core takeaway for in-service teachers from this study who seek to become more reflective practitioners is that the action of intentionally returning to previous reflections to identify ongoing themes regarding one’s praxis can lead to growth. Reflecting back on my earlier discussion of my own evolution, entering the reflective space with increased intentionality and organization can help to make the reflective process more meaningful.

Another important aspect of teacher self-reflection that must be considered, especially since 2020, is its power regarding our well-being as educators and, thus, longevity in this field. In response to challenges faced by teachers in the United Kingdom, Kelly et al. (2022) reviewed the historical uses of diary writing, or life writing, in various fields and then recruited secondary educators to participate in a guided, reflective life writing process. They posited that “the diary itself may help address the feelings of loss of time, anxiety and overburden that characterise [sic] the contemporary teaching profession in the UK” (Kelly et al., 2020, p. 262). They also acknowledged how free time away from work looks much different in 2020 and how this has impacted the well-being and retention of teachers. Within the study, there were 15 participants, with most identifying as experienced in the profession, secondary educators, and female. The diary entries written by participants remained private; instead, the researchers presented the participants with questions about the writing process to better understand the potential benefits of this reflective process. Following their participation, 93.3% shared that they did experience an improvement in their well-being, with others stating that they could identify themes in their work regarding their experiences as teachers and recognize an increased understanding of their individual identities (Kelly et al., 2020). Importantly, at least one participant was able to reconnect with why they were in the field of education and how they could better approach negative or challenging situations in the future. For teachers seeking growth and hoping to reconnect with their passion for education again, the findings of this study signify that practicing intentional and regular reflection on professional experiences can foster improved well-being and satisfaction in the field. As stated by Kelly et al. (2020), reflective writing alone will not address all of the challenges we face in our classrooms; however, it does present an opportunity for us to take charge of our professional growth and potentially improve our well-being as it connects to our praxis.

Other studies I reviewed when considering the power of reflective practices as an educator are included in the references below for your consideration. Some studies discussed the role of reflection in establishing culturally responsive pedagogy, teacher self-efficacy, understanding one’s professional purpose, confronting one’s biases, or developing a better understanding of connections between the conceptual and practice (Blanchard et al., 2018; Narayanan & Ordynans, 2022). Other studies centered on reflective behaviors beyond writing. For example, one study included a video self-analysis of practice taken on by middle school teachers to better understand how to effectively incorporate problem-based learning instruction. The findings showed that reflecting on the recording of their teaching improved their understanding of the necessary skills for fostering truly student-centered learning (Horak et al., 2023). In this study, the reflection process for the teachers was targeted at a specific element of their practice. Horak et al.’s findings emphasize the importance of intentionality and organization when attempting to use reflection for professional growth because the targeted nature of the reflection process led to the participants’ abilities to identify specific future actions to improve their classrooms. Whether focused on one’s identity, feelings, professional practices, interactions with students, or curricular decisions, if reflection is going to improve our overall experiences as educators, it should be grounded in purpose.

Implications and Future Actions: The Reflective Teacher Planner

Based on my own anecdotal experiences with reflection over the course of my career, as well as research that supports the potential benefits across various areas, I am challenging myself to have organized and purposeful reflection throughout this school year. I have created a designated space for my reflections and some general prompts that allow me to reflect weekly and monthly on how I am feeling as a teacher, my successes, my challenges, and, importantly, the actions that I need to take based on these reflections to either maintain or improve my overall situation. Moreover, I will set specific, tiered goals connected to my reflections and revisit them at the end of each month. I want to be able to look back over these reflections at the end of this year and turn them into positive changes for my well-being and praxis as an educator who hopes to remain within the field of education for the long term. This upcoming school year will come with a host of challenges for me personally, and I will be relying on reflective behaviors to get me through. As someone who has experienced the highest levels of burnout to the point that my physical and mental health suffered, I am approaching this process with as much fidelity as possible.

If you are interested in going along on this journey with me, I am sharing the Reflective Teacher Planner that I created to help me foster more organized and intentional reflective practices throughout the school year. I will be using my planner on my iPad in the Good Notes App. For more info on the specifics of the planner or to grab your copy, click on the image of the planner.

Finally, I hope this has encouraged you to consider your own reflective practices in the past and how you will continue or improve them in the future. I fully credit where I am as an educator and researcher today to the evolution of my reflective practices, and I hope if it is something you have not considered making a central part of your life thus far, that this discussion has at least caused you to reflect on how these practices could benefit your life in the future.

Thank you for reading, and I will see you in the next one!

Click the image to learn more about The Reflective Teacher Planner for the 2023-2024 school year.

References

Blanchard, S. B., King, E., Schagen, A. V., Scott, M. R., Crosby, D., & Beasley, J. (2018). Diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice: How antibias content and self-reflection support early childhood preservice teacher consciousness. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 39(4), 346-363. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2017.1408722

Horak, A. K., Marotta, J., Brusseau, R., & Daly, K. (2023). Supporting PBL instruction with teacher video self-analysis and reflection. Teacher Development, 27(1), 36-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2022.2153909

Kelly, L., Huxford, G., & Kelly, C. (2022). In our daily struggles: Diaries as a tool for teacher well-being. Life Writing, 19(2), 261-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/14484528.2020.1763232

Narayanan, M. & Ordynans, J. G. (2022). Meaning making and self-efficacy: Teacher reflections through COVID-19. The Teacher Educator, 57(1), 26-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2021.1990455

Valtierra, K. M. & Siegel, L. N. (2020). Qualitative self-coding as reflection: Empowering teacher candidates with the tools of the researcher. Reflective Practice, 21(3), 415-428. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2020.1753684