Reflection in Teaching

I believe that reflection is an important part of teaching and learning. We learn a lot about ourselves if we are able to reflect on both our accomplishments and failures. By reflecting, we are able to learn from the mistakes we have made. I think that teachers and students find it hard to reflect because we do not want to look back at our failures; we want to move on. But we cannot avoid future failures without learning from our past mistakes. Students want to learn the information in order to pass the test at the end of the unit and then they move on to the next topic. They know that it is important to pass the test, but they do not look back at the information that they have learned after the test. For many, it is a short term goal; learn the information, take the test, move on. They are only memorizing the information, but are not actually "learning" it. I think that it is beneficial for the students if teachers test the knowledge from previous units and encourage them to continue looking back on what they have learned throughout the year. When students look back on their previous work, they can see what they need to work on and what they have mastered. That way they can see what they need to improve on. Teachers are the same way; by reflecting on what they have done in the past, they can see what has worked and what hasn't. Many people do not want to admit that something they did was unsuccessful, but it is important to recognize mistakes in order to avoid them in the future. If teachers know what methods do not work from reflecting on their previous work, they can make the necessary changes to improve their teaching. They can also see what teaching methods have worked and use those methods more frequently. Reflection helps teachers make the decisions that are most beneficial for themselves and their students.