Principles of Effective Teaching
Reflective Teaching
Effective Teachers are:
Effective teachers cover a diverse range of strategies which are contemporary and beneficial to learners of the 21st century. According to Woolfolk & Margetts (2013), there are critical elements of teacher professional development including "questioning and analysing your own teaching and the practices and techniques identified in the research, considering why these practices were successful or not, and reflecting on what else might be as good or better." (p.20). As a practising teacher I believe in reflection which therefore assists in promoting positive teaching strategies, such as inclusive learning. Teaching is dynamic, and a profession in which learning and development are continuous. "The process of reflection thus feeds a career long spiral of professional development and capability." (Pollard, 2014, p.26).
Reflective Teaching in the Classroom
Reflective teaching is personally fulfilling, and leads to a steady increase in the quality of the education provided for students. Teachers can reflect on a daily basis according to the success of their lessons, or over a longer period of time after a unit of work. Using observation throughout the day or data collected from assessments, reflective professionals should be able to draw on, or contribute to, many sources of evidence, and use them to inform their teaching practices (Pollard, 2014, p.67). If students are not meeting lesson or unit outcomes teachers need to self reflect to find out why and to work out where to go next with student learning. The teaching and learning cycle should be dynamic, always changing and based on teacher self reflection from the data collected.
Difficulties & Challenges
Possible challenges or difficulties faced with reflective teaching could be lack of time, and needing to keep up with new program content. Taking into consideration the practicalities, performance standards, personal ideals and wider educational concerns, the job of reconciling the numerous requirements and possible conflicts can be overwhelming (Pollard, 2014, p.60).