Why are your students struggling to meet academic goals? Why is your class struggling to follow the expectations? Why is the school culture struggling? How can you be more intentional in the classroom? How can you help your students better understand the content? How can you help your teachers be great at what they do? How can you be more supportive to your colleagues? Why am I asking all of these questions? To put it plainly, because reflection is key to success inside and outside of the classroom. I have one more question – How often do you find yourself in a state of reflection?
Taking time to reflect on ourselves as professional educators – both teachers and administrators – is the key to success in the classroom, the hallways, and overall school. If we do not take time to reflect on what we are doing, how we are doing it, and the outcomes that are coming from what we are doing, then we will constantly be in a state of insanity. We will always expect different results without doing anything differently. Without reflection, we also start to play the blame game. You see, reflection forces us to look at ourselves for the “Why?” and “How?”. However, it also depends on your focus.
As an educator, you got into this job because you wanted to make a difference in students’ lives. You wanted to give to others what you were given, or be to others what you didn’t have when you were growing up. Overall, you got into the education profession because of others – not because of you.
What many neglect to realize is that teaching comes with significant responsibility and influence, and we must be careful not to abuse that responsibility and influence. One of the best ways to do this is to be in a constant state of reflection and humility.
As an educator of more than 10 years, I can tell you that I did not start that way. I walked into the classroom straight out of college and thought I had it all figured it out. I also came into education hearing teachers constantly blaming the system, the strict requirements, the assessments, and everything else for their students’ academic struggles. As a new teacher, I quickly fell into that trap. When my students were not performing well, I blamed the curriculum, the assessments, the time frame, you name it. I was never taught the value and importance of reflection.
Four years into teaching, and I finally started to change my perception and who or what was to blame for my students’ lack of academic progress. I started to believe that I had the power to change everything in the classroom and encourage my students to learn and to get excited about learning. I started to do some research and find ways that I could change the classroom environment to encourage student learning and academic success. After numerous articles and research, I landed on Project Based Learning. After implementing Project Based Learning and working hard at bettering my craft, I have seen significant improvement in my students’ academic progress and success. I have also seen a new found love for learning in the classroom.
This is just one example of how reflecting on pedagogy can improve the classroom. There are many ways that teachers can change their pedagogy to encourage positive changes in the classroom to improve student academic achievement. However, pedagogy is only one aspect of the classroom. Sometimes, we need to reflect on how we interact with students, as our interactions and relationships with students play a significant role in students’ academic achievement. It’s crucial that we don’t become tunnel visioned in what we are changing. It’s important to be constantly reflecting throughout all areas of our profession to ensure students are getting the best in their education.
It is important that we take the time as educators and administrators to reflect on what we do, why we do what we do, and how we do what we do. By reflecting, we take ownership of all that we do and realize that we have the power to change the outcome of things rather than blame anything and everything else. With all that being said, be sure to take time and reflect. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself, your students, and your profession.
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