Reflective Teaching
When instructors engage in reflective teaching, they are dedicating time to evaluate their own
teaching practice, examine their curricular choices, consider student feedback, and make revisions
to improve student belonging and learning. This process requires information gathering, data
interpretation, and planning for the future. Reflective teaching involves examining one’s underlying
beliefs about teaching and learning and one’s alignment with actual classroom practice before,
during and after a course is taught.
When teaching reflectively, instructors think critically about their teaching and look for evidence of
effective teaching. This critical analysis can draw on a variety of sources: Brookfield (2017) lays
out four crucial sources: “students’ eyes, colleagues’ perceptions, personal experience, and theory
and research.” Instructors can use various tools and methods to learn from these sources and reflect
on their teaching, ranging from low-key to formal and personal to inter-collegial. For example,
reflective teaching may include self-assessment, classroom observations, consideration of student
evaluations, or exploration of educational research. Because each semester’s students and their
needs are different, reflective teaching is a continual practice that supports effective and student-
centered teaching.
Examples of Self-Assessment
Reflection Journals: Instructors might consider capturing a few details of their
teaching in a journal to create an ongoing narrative of their teaching across terms and
years. Scheduling a dedicated time during the 5 or so minutes after class to write their
entries will ensure continual engagement, rather than hoping to find a moment
throughout the day. The instructor writes general thoughts about the day’s lesson and
might reflect on the following questions: What went well today? What could I have
done differently? How will I modify my instruction in the future?
Teaching Inventories: A number of inventories, like the Teaching Practices Inventory
(link is external) (Wieman and Gilbert, 2014), have been developed to help instructors
assess and think more broadly about their teaching approaches. Inventories are typically
designed to assess the extent to which particular pedagogies are employed (e.g. student-
versus teacher-centered practices).
Video-Recorded Teaching Practices: Instructors may request the Poorvu Center to
video record their lessons while conducting a classroom observation, or instructors can
video record themselves while teaching and use a classroom observation protocol to
self-assess their own practices. Some Yale classrooms have video cameras installed for
lecture capture, which instructors can then use for their self assessment.
Teaching Portfolio: A more time-intensive practice, the teaching portfolio invites
instructors to integrate the various components of their teaching into a cohesive whole,
typically starting with a teaching philosophy or statement, moving through sample
syllabi and assignments, and ending with evaluations from colleagues and
[Link] less focused on classroom practices, a portfolio is an opportunity to
reflect on teaching overall. The Poorvu Center offers an opportunity for faculty new to
Yale to complete a teaching intensive and reflective program, the Faculty Teaching
Academy, which includes a culminating portfolio. Faculty who complete the program
will receive a contribution to their research or professional development budgets. The
University of Washington CTL offers best practices for creating a teaching portfolio
(link is external).
Examples of External Assessment
Student Evaluations (Midterm and End-of-Term): In many courses, instructors
obtain feedback from students in the form of mid-semester feedback and/or end-of-term
student evaluations. Because of potential bias, instructors should consider student
evaluations as one data source in their instruction and take note of any prevailing
themes (Basow, 1995; Watchel, 1998; Huston, 2005; Reid, L. (2010); Basow, S.A. &
Martin, J.L. (2012) ). They can seek out other ways to assess their practices to
accompany student evaluation data before taking steps to modify instruction. The
Poorvu Center offers consultations regarding mid-semester feedback data collected.
They will also conduct small group feedback sessions with an instructor’s students to
provide non-evaluative, anonymous conversation notes from students in addition to the
traditional survey format. If instructors are interested in sustained feedback over time
from a student perspective, then they can also participate in the Pedagogical Partners
program.
Peer Review of Teaching: Instructors can ask a trusted colleague to observe their
classroom and give them feedback on their teaching. Colleagues can agree on an
observation protocol or a list of effective teaching principles to focus on from a teaching
practices inventory.
Classroom Observations: Any instructor at Yale may request an observation with
feedback from a member of the Poorvu Center staff. Observations are meant to be non-
evaluative and promote reflection. They begin with a discussion in which the instructor
describes course goals and format as well as any issues or teaching practices that are of
primary concern. This initial discussion provides useful context for the observation and
the post-observation conversation.
References
Basow, S.A. (1995). Student evaluations of college professors: When gender matters. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 87(4): 656-665.
Basow, S.A. & Martin, J.L. (2012). Bias in student evaluations. In M.E. Kite (Ed.), Effective
evaluation of teaching: A guide for faculty and administrators. Society for the Teaching of
Psychology.
Brookfield, S. (2017). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey
Bass.
Huston, T. (2005). Report: Empirical Research on the Impact of Race and Gender in the
Evaluation of Teaching. Retrieved 3/10/17 from Seattle University, Center for Excellence in
Teaching and Learning website.
Reid, L. (2010). The Role of Perceived Race and Gender in the Evaluation of College Teaching on
[Link]. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. 3 (3): 137–152.
Wachtel, H.K. (1998). Student Evaluation of College Teaching Effectiveness: A Brief Review.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 23(2): 191-212.