5 benefits of fostering a reflective practice
Thomas Courtley
Education Specialist
Metacognition is related to reflection and self-awareness. For students it is the process of thinking about one's learning. For teachers, on the other hand, it is the process of thinking about their teaching and its effect on their students. It comprises everything that takes place when teachers plan, monitor, evaluate, and make changes to their teaching methods.
What do metacognition & reflective practice mean for you?
Reflection is a continuous reviewing process which allows you to make links from one teaching experience to the next, to make sure your students get the most out of it.
Reflecting is an integral aspect of both teaching and learning. It intends to sharpen your consciousness of your own professional expertise and actions by questioning your presumptions. The process of reflection stimulates collaborative work with others, allowing you to share best practice and rely on support from your colleagues. Ultimately, reflection ensures that every student learns more effectively, as the learning experience is customised to their needs.
The process of reflection is a cycle which needs to be continuously repeated. It works as follows:
- Teach
- Self-assess the effect your teaching had on learning
- Consider new ways of teaching which can improve the quality of learning
- Try these ideas in practice
- Repeat the process
The 5 benefits of becoming a reflective teacher
1. You become a more confident teacher
Upgrading your teaching skills and finding new ways to share your knowledge will boost your confidence in the classroom and help you understand yourself better. Reflective practice helps you figure out what teaching and assessment strategies work best, improving your problem-solving skills by encouraging you to question and adjust your approach.
Reflective practice can also help build students' confidence. Try out new techniques in the classroom to challenge your students and help them explore different ways of learning.
How can LessonUp help you become a more confident teacher?
New ways to transfer knowledge
Embedded videos, textual or audio hotspots explaining details of an image related to your subject.
Identify ways to assess your students
Open questions, video questions, a spinner for name-picking, quizzes, or drag-and-drop questions.
Implementing new learning techniques
LessonUp offers 50+ ready-made lessons with interactive and engaging learning techniques.
2. You are always aware of your teaching and your students
Reflect on your teaching practice to understand how your students learn and take responsibility for their progress. By assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your approach, you can see what helps or hinders their learning.
Encourage students to share their thoughts and feelings about their learning. This involvement helps them take responsibility, collaborate with you through feedback, and develop self-awareness. As students engage more actively, they also gain insight into different learning styles.
How can LessonUp help you become more aware of your students?
- By understanding how your students learn: check student reports in LessonUp to see how your students are learning, and create polls to learn about their preferences.
- By evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your approach: ask open questions about what works for them and what doesn’t in the safety of a digital learning environment.
- By encouraging your students to share their thoughts about learning: implement specific learning techniques with interactive features to help students share their thoughts and feelings (mind maps, questioning, spinners, and more) about learning.
3. You encourage innovation in teaching
Engaging in reflective practices enables you to tailor lessons to meet the specific needs of your students. It allows you to generate and test new ideas, methods and strategies to achieve optimal interaction and results during your lessons.
Through experimenting with various teaching approaches and adjusting your teaching style and the learning environment, students benefit from a more diverse and enriched experience. By thinking creatively, imaginatively, and resourcefully, you help them in becoming better equipped to adapt to new ways of engaging, thinking and learning.
How can LessonUp help you encourage innovation in teaching?
Tailor lessons to meet the specific needs of your students
In LessonUp you can easily adapt your lesson by assigning different colour codes to different learners.
Adjust your teaching style and learning environment
Try out different ways of teaching with LessonUp’s numerous interactive features, in a digital learning environment.
Encourage better equipped students
If students communicate with you in an interactive digital environment, as well as in person, they are better equipped for the world we live in.
4. You stimulate student engagement
Embracing a reflective practice makes you aware of different perspectives and viewpoints, including those of your students and colleagues. Considering their points of view helps you discover new strategies and ways of teaching.
Gain a deeper understanding of your students' strengths and preferences, and then make sure you tailor the learning experience to meet their unique needs. This personalised approach stimulates their curiosity and encourages students to explore topics more in depth, resulting in a more meaningful and effective learning experience.
How can LessonUp help you stimulate student engagement?
- By gaining awareness of different perspectives and viewpoints: ask your students for feedback in a safe digital environment. It’s easier for them to be honest with you.
- By developing a deeper understanding of your students' strengths and preferences: you know your students, but LessonUp can support you with polls, quiz questions, mind maps, open questions, photo questions, and more.
- By exploring topics more in depth: start your lessons with a mind map to activate prior knowledge, assess as you go, and end with an exit ticket plenary (2 to 3 open questions).
5. You make sure everybody benefits from your teaching
Reflective practice and metacognition is not only about you, and improving your performance in the class. It is also about students and other teachers: about maximising their pleasure, interaction and engagement.
It leads to a collaborative working environment where all teachers are aware of their own methods, as well as those of students and colleagues. This promotes a clear understanding of everyones' ways and objectives. If you collaborate more often with students and colleagues, you cultivate positive relationships founded on mutual respect. Students feel included in the learning process, while colleagues are encouraged to share their passions and expertise.
How can LessonUp help you make sure that everybody benefits?
Pleasure, interaction and engagement while teaching and learning
Every single feature in LessonUp stands for pleasure, interaction, and engagement.
Collaborative working environment to the benefit of everybody
With a school subscription, you can create lessons with your colleagues, and organise them in a shared portfolio.
Colleagues can share their expertise and offer each other support
Create shared interdisciplinary lessons, and easily fall in for each other if needed.
