Artifact #6

Reflective Practitioner

TEP believes that educators must engage in reflective practice. Reflective practice is the ability to reflect in a thoughtful way on the significance of different teaching situations and on their role in defining a learning environment. Educators must demonstrate self-knowledge by openly identifying personal biases and projections. Reflective practice, guided by the principles of self-evaluation and self-directed learning, is considered the foundation of continuous professional growth. 

One of the most important things we learned over the course of our year in the TEP program was reflecting. Most of our profs had us reflect at one time or another and it was a critical part of our practicum experience. In the beginning I found it a little tedious and was not sure that it was really necessary. However, my attitude towards the reflections changed during my long practicum. I am very grateful that we were told to do the post conference reflections 4 times a week. By doing these reflections I was forced to critically assess my lessons, and I may have not done that otherwise. This was beneficial for the good, the bad, and middle of the row lessons. It helped me to identify things I could change for my next lesson and celebrate things that went well. I was also able to identify when patterns were happening and this assisted me in fixing them. The other really nice thing about these reflections was how we focused on a goal. This made it feel less overwhelming an made it easier to assess if I was becoming certification ready in the different sections. 

A lot of time and effort went into planning an executing my lessons and units, so I hope to use them again in the future. By reflecting on them I have the potential to make them the best they can be for myself and the students. I realized that a failed lesson was not really a fail, but merely a stepping stone towards a wonderful lesson.

I am also grateful for the weekly reflections we submitted to our FM. I felt very comfortable with my FM so I had no problem going into great detail how my week had gone. She went as far as telling me that I was "brutally honest with [myself]". These reflections were necessary for my growth and will be something that I have, to look back on, through my teaching journey. Just like the post-conference forms, they will be a reminder as to what went well, what didn't, and how I improved. They are also a quick summary when I want look back at what I accomplished.

Overall I have a greater appreciation for reflections. As I continue to create lessons and units in the future I hope to stay in the habit of reflecting, even if that means just jotting down a few notes after. I know that when I get busy my memory is not as strong and by doing this I can ensure that I have something to look back on when I want to use the lesson or unit again.