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CTE - Reflective Teaching

This guide provides resources and best practices for fauclty engaged in reflective teaching. These include resources on creating a teaching portfolio and teaching philosophy.

 

Classroom observations by our peers provide essential opportunities for feedback and dialogue about our teaching. For both the observer and observed, these allow us to engage in an active discussion about our pedagogy and praxis. For observers, these observations give us insights into other classrooms and approaches that can then inform our own. For the faculty being observed, they give us opportunities for feedback on a specific lesson or approach. 

As a faculty member, you are an active participant in the observation process and should work with your peer or chair reviewer to have the most productive observation possible. As such, you should not be afraid to ask for suggestions or recommendations on a specific lesson or activity; request a scheduled review of a particular class; and discuss how the class has progressed thus far.  By being proactive about your observation, you will be able to guide the process and receive useful feedback. 

 

Here are some suggestions about how to guide the observation:

 

Ask for an observation. Asking for observation allows you to control the timetable, and therefore, the lesson or activity that will be observed.  This is especially helpful if you are trying something, like new application, lesson, or activity, for the first time. 

 

Have a conversation. Before being observed, you may want to have a conversation with the peer or chair observing you. This will give you an opportunity to talk about how the class is going, what you're working on, and what you're goals are for the term. This will help to give the observer some context for what they see in the classroom, and it gives you an opportunity to ask them for feedback about specific aspects of your teaching.

 

Share your teaching goals. If you want feedback that helps you make progress towards your teaching goals, then it makes sense to share them with your observer. Sharing your teaching goals ahead of time will allow the observer to look for those targeted areas during the observation.  After the observation, the observer can also speak to them in their feedback, which can then be used in your teaching portfolio. 

Using Feedback

You will want to include peer and chair observation in your teaching portfolio as evidence of teaching effectiveness.  

 

When selecting observations to include in a portfolio, you will want to make sure they

 

  • speak to a specific element in your teaching philosophy
  • are carefully curated representations from different courses and levels
  • include a two or three different peer reviewers 
  • allow you to speak to your progress as a faculty member over time
  • give you an opportunity to address your teaching goals

 

It may be tempting to discard a less flattering observation--but resist the temptation.  These observations can be used to demonstrate your teaching development and progress towards teaching goals. They can also be some of the best opportunities for self-reflection, assessment, and change.