Becoming a Reflective Educator

Posted by on May 17, 2002

[Public Education Network]

BECOMING A REFLECTIVE EDUCATOR
"At the heart of reflection," writes Joan Richardson, "is the belief that, given opportunities to carefully consider their work, educators possess the necessary knowledge to improve their practice. Reflection is the process through which educators tap into that knowledge." Reflection is an element in all inquiry-focused professional learning, such as action research, examining student work, classroom observation and feedback, and lesson study. Without reflection, few of those activities would generate the intended learning. "It’s the ability to look back and make sense of what happened and what you learned. But it’s also the ability to look forward, to anticipate what’s coming up and what you need to do to prepare
for that," said Bill Sommers, executive director of teacher and instructional services for the Minneapolis Public Schools.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/tools/tools4-02rich.html