respond to this student prompt below on what it means to be a refective practicioner
According to What is Reflective Teaching And Why Is It Important?, reflective teaching is a "personal tool that teachers can use to observe and evaluate the way they behave in their classroom. It can be both a private process as well as one that you discuss with colleagues” (Cerra, 2015). There are various ways you can approach this style of teaching. Some examples include, yet are not limited to, taking brief notes directly following your lessons, gauging how students respond while teaching, or even allowing time to pass before checking in with yourself and evaluating how you personally thought the lesson went. Throughout my experience in my first year of teaching, my mentor and principal constantly encouraged me to reflect upon my classroom management, lesson planning technique, behavioral intervention, and what type of material I was presenting to my students. I am so grateful that this method was introduced to me at such an early stage in my career because I believe it is vital when trying to produce an impactful educational environment. I began to learn different techniques to help understand where my students were on a specific subject and where we needed to go next. Self-reflection is important, but I would argue that your audience can also provide you with crucial feedback. Who better to ask than the individuals you are attempting to reach? We were coming to a close in our first six weeks of the school year when I finally came to this realization. As I asked my students one afternoon during a keynote presentation how they were feeling, I found that only one provided a response of “I don’t know.” I then proceeded to ask all the students to raise their hands and on the count of three, I encouraged them each to show me their level of understanding on a scale of one to ten using their hands. That was the day the “Hands Up!” method was created in my classroom and we consistently used it throughout the rest of the year. It also helped to blossom a space of open and honest communication which was beneficial for our entire class family. There are limitless possibilities when it comes to participating in reflective teaching and every educator can benefit from the practice. Just like our students, we always have room to grow.