Reflection-on-Action:

During my 10-week practicum, I engaged in regular reflection-on-action. At the end of each block or later at the end of the day I wrote notes at the bottom of each lesson plan. I divided my reflections into two categories: lesson reflections and personal reflections. There I took notes on what worked or didn’t work with the lesson plan, as well as on how I thought my instruction and facilitation of the lesson went.

Then I aimed to review these notes at the end of the week to look for trends or weaknesses in my practice.  I would reflect further on the most problematic or reoccurring issues. I saught to employ what I learned from readings into DonalSchön’s reflective practice by  “framing” my actions them in their context or the “problem setting” and then “reframing” the issues in light of what I knew about those students and my broader knowledge of teaching to create a “plan.” Then I would implement the new plans and begin another spiral of my reflective cycle.

However, my inquiry into reflection was not without challenge. I found it challenging to dedicate longer chunks of time to really reflect on my practice in light of the trends and the bigger picture. Time was so limited, but when I was able to put any time into reflection, be it just the commute home or conversations with colleagues, I gain meaningful and useful insight. Thus, I came to greatly value the practice of reflection-on-action and learned how it is something one must be so intentional with and schedule into their busy teaching week.