Reflective Writing and Teaching

Donnelly and Neville (2008) tell us that reflective writing is when an occurrence is reviewed and evaluated and what went well and what could be done differently if the situation arose again, is considered. From doing an undergraduate degree in care I have ate, lived and breathed reflection for three years and finally (in my final year if I’m honest) it clicked as to why reflection is important within care; however, since starting my PGCE I am now posed with the question – why is reflection important in teaching?

The experts tell us that reflection helps us to learn and develop from our experiences (Coles, 2004); with Armitage et al (2007) stating that by reflecting, an individual is able to develop their knowledge and skills, review progress, understand errors, increase familiarity and expertise and ultimately better their practice. For those of us who are particularly new to teaching The Centre for the Study of Higher Education (2002) tells us that reflection allows teachers to see where areas of improvement are needed, which can then increase confidence in the classroom. I believe that for me, reflection is a transferrable skill and what I learnt about it in care can be utilised in my teaching, as it ultimately results in the same thing – me looking at what I am doing and seeing if there is any way I can improve.

So, is reflection the all signing, all dancing tool that will make everyone amazing? Well the answer is no, there are (although few) some negatives to reflecting, such as, it can be very time consuming and in the big bad world of employment, do people really have time to sit down and competently write about their thoughts and feelings? This then poses the risk of people just rushing through a reflection and not really recognising the issues and areas which need improvement. Some reflectors can be too judgemental on themselves, resulting in a knock in confidence and some reflectors may find it hard to fully critique themselves and recognise when they require further support (Coles, 2004).

This shows that nothing is ever perfect but take it from someone who moaned for two years about reflecting – they really are important and beneficial to our own personal development. Reflections can help us see things more clearly, learn from others, build on our strengths, work on our weaknesses, have a clear understanding about our own behaviour and be truly honest with ourselves.

Therefore, upon reflection…reflection is vital when teaching! By completing this blog I have taken part in reflecting on my own experiences, and thoughts regarding technology and have established that my initial thoughts about technology taking away from teaching is incorrect, and that it can be a very useful aide to teaching and learning.