Click on reflection page to download.
I think if there is one thing that has made the most impact on my teaching – it would be my reflective practice. At the end of the day I always take a moment to look at how the day went. I do not linger on my answers. Rather, I write down what immediately comes to mind. It does not take long to quickly review your day. (This is also a great tool to use with student teachers in your care.) Here are some of the benefits of a reflective practice:
- your teaching becomes more like research – learning along side the children
- attention is given to those areas that might otherwise be overlooked
- the social and emotional climate of the classroom is addressed daily
- teaching becomes more responsive to the children's current learning needs
- you will develop an more observant eye in the classroom
INSTRUCTIONS- To make your own journal – print out how many pages as you will need till the end of the school year.
- Hole punch the pages and put them into a notebook.
- Use this notebook to keep your thoughts and feelings about how your year is going. I keep mine at home as it can be very personal and I would not want just anyone reading what I write. This way I am free to express feelings of doubt and celebration! I do have a stack at school just in case I am feeling the need to capture my thoughts right after school.
Enjoy!
I kept a journal when I did my student teaching (years ago).LOVED IT! Thanks for the reminder ~ it just might be what I need at this point in my teaching career!
?First Grade Delight?
imgoingfirst@gmail.com
I love this! It is a perfect reminder and personal development tool! Thank you so much!
Jennifer
I have been slipping on doing reflections. This is just the push I need. Thanks!
Sally, this is great! Often, I fall asleep thinking that I should have written something down.
I love the simplicity of this form. Thanks for sharing it.
Sally, thank you SO MUCH! I used the sheet for Friday retrospectively and today with my pile of marking. I teach Year 1 in London. It is the equivalent in age to Kindergarten but it’s more formal, so when I teach Maths, all 30 children sit down (5 tables) to do a differentiated activity on the topic. I did my marking with so much more purpose today. I looked at what worked and what didn’t work, what some children needed to redo tomorrow. It has informed my teaching in a big way. We are required to evaluate our weekly planning in all subjects and to file them for the management to scrutinize every Thursday. It had always been a chore and I have therefore not benefited from it so far. Today using your sheet, I had an epiphany about what the SLT has been trying to tell us so brutally. It took your gentle way to allow it all to fall into place. I was close to breaking down because of the pressure at work but now I feel that this tool is going to improve my teaching so much that I feel confident again. Oh, and also, I wrote down for Friday about this little boy who is so incredibly behind in everything that he was able to do a Data Handling game successfully on the computer. If I hadn’t reflected on who stood out, I would have forgotten about it. Now I will remember and he might just get a certificate in the school celebration assembly on Friday… Thank you so much! Valerie
Thanks for this! I am going to try this with my new school year, since we only have 4 weeks left! It will be great for my professional growth plan.
I love the simplicty of this form and that it allows you to spend a few moments or a longer more contemplative time on it. Some days a long reflection is life-giving and so helpful. Other days a few minutes seems to suffice and is all I have time/energy for. I will be printing out and sharing with my co-teachers. One note, it appears to have a typo in the last question; I’m assuming we should think of a “word” or phrase (not a “work” or phrase). Thank you for sharing!
great! Thank you…
Help! When I click on the image to download, it only shows as an image but not as a document. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Liz! Click on the PDF, then right click, you should be able to download that way! Enjoy.