Last week, I had the good fortune to attend a plenary session at UBC’s Learning Conference, facilitated by Judy Brown (English) and Harry Hubball (Curriculum Studies). Although the presentation was focused on “conversation”, I found myself thinking about reflection – about our students, our practices, our successes and our defeats.
We struggle to carve out enough time in each day, week, month for this reflective activity. Review of student feedback is often a time for many to reflect on teaching practice. I’m offering up a few questions that I jotted down the session above:
- Did I achieve my teaching goals?
- Is there a gap between student expectation and my teaching approach? What can I do to close the gap?
- What do I want to do more/less of next term?
- Did students learn? How do I know?
- Did I learn what I needed to learn from my students? If not, how can I change this?
- Who can I have a conversation with about my reflections?
Pat Hutchings VP of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching would agree wit Judy and Harry about the importance of conversation and reflection in the development of teaching practice. In a recent article titled Building a Better Conversation about Learning she asks us to consider the scholarship of teaching and learning not as a stand alone initiative but a set of principles that “undergrid and connect diverse approaches to improving learning.” This begins with some reflection about how and in what circumstances students learn and a “commitment to the inquiry and evidence about those questions.”
Please share your questions in the comments field below. Perhaps we carry on a conversation here…