How often do we stop to reflect on our language teaching? Hopefully we take the time and opportunity to do it regularly so that we are teaching our students as effectively as possible.
Let’s look at how we can think about our work as language teachers using Reflective Practice. I know, this all sounds way up there in the theory world. I promise you it’s not and that it’s fairly simple. Stick with me you’ll be looking at your teaching in ways that help to confirm what you are doing as beneficial and successful, along with some ways to perhaps modify, enhance or improve.
Lesson Reflection
One of the things I appreciate the most about the language teaching community is how much teachers want to be effective with students. The ethos of the group seems to be an openness and willingness to engage in reflective practice.
Why Reflect?
Reflection can help you to be more creative and try new things. It’s very easy to get stuck in a rut and it can be helpful to think about what you are doing and why you are doing it. This can help to spark new ideas and ways of thinking.
Reflective Practice for language teachers
Here’s a simple way to look closely on how we are teaching and find those opportunities to confirm what you are doing as beneficial and successful, while also finding ways to modify, enhance or improve.
- Teach
- Assess the effect your teaching has on learning
- Consider what can improve the quality of teaching and learning
- Try the new ideas
- Reflect on effectiveness
- Repeat
Number 3 is where the opportunity to modify, enhance or improve lies.
Success Criteria
Success Criteria helps to make this reflective process possible. These concepts are from The Success Criteria Playbook by John T. Almarode, Douglas Fisher, Kateri Thunder, Nancy Frey (2021). I spoke with Tim Eagan on Episode 60 of the podcast if you want to go really deep with Success Criteria.
But to put it simply:
- Success Criteria are essentially statements that specify the evidence to show whether or not you have met the learning intention, such as “I can” statements.
- “what you want students to know and be able to do by the end of one or more lessons.”
- Without learning intentions and success criteria, they write, “lessons wander and students become confused and frustrated.
The important and simple questions:
- What will be learned?
- Why is it going to be learned?
- How will I know that it has been learned?
- What will I do with what I learned?
Use the these Success Criteria questions to inform our Can Do Statements and to reflect on that important #3 in the reflective process above.
- Consider what can improve the quality of teaching and learning
Put this together with the Success Criteria questions to determine the success or breakdown in what was learned?
- What will be learned?
- Was what students were learning clear or unclear?
- Why is it going to be learned?
- Was the reason why students were learning the materia clear or unclear?
- How will I know that it has been learned?
- Were students able to demonstrate mastery?
- What will I do with what I learned?
- Were students able to do something with what they learned?
Then, revisit the Can Do’s for next time and modify as needed.
Reflective Practice for Language Teachers in a nutshell:
- Plan and Teach using success criteria
- Assess the effect your teaching has on learning
- Consider what can improve the quality of teaching and learning (success or breakdown on the success criteria)
- Try the new ideas
- Reflect on effectiveness
- Repeat
You can also listen to episode 77 of the podcast where I break down this reflective process.
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