Reflection on Instructional Strategies

Video Transcription

Hi, everyone, and welcome. My name is Gino Sangiuliano, and today's lesson is called "Reflection on Instructional Strategies." I will provide you with an introduction to Marzano's reflective teacher practices as well as Danielson's reflecting on teaching indicators. Let's get started.

Lately, reflecting on decisions and looking at data has been a large part of my life. Personally, with some recent home improvements, I've been looking at our budget to determine what we can afford and cannot afford. And of course, professionally, data against critical self-reflective practices continue to be a driving force behind many of the decisions we have to make. The goal, of course, is to take something that is working OK, like this kitchen, and utilizing resources to make it better. Just like I am not going to make a huge purchase because I have a feeling I can afford it or think it will work, I can't make any instructional decisions based on hunches either.

So what does it mean to be a reflective teacher? Let's explore that question using characteristics provided by Charlotte Danielson, Robert Marzano, and Lee Shulman. A common thread among the three is that a reflective teacher goes back with a critical eye and looks at their instruction. They do this with fidelity to determine if students met the intended objective, and if not, they make adjustments in their practices.

Reflection shouldn't only occur after a lesson, however. Taking time to reflect during lesson design and preparation is also very effective. And if you teach, you know that sometimes, you may be in the middle of a lesson that is just not working, and adjustments need to be made in the moment.

Now that we have a better understanding of what a reflective teacher does, let's consider why it's important to do so. Without careful reflection and data, we run the risk of making poor decisions and may actually continue with strategies that just aren't working. Of course, our goal is to determine ways to ensure that our practices are working and helping students to meet their objectives.

As mentioned in the previous slide, reflection is the catalyst that can create positive change in our instructional practices. One of the keys to reflection is questioning. It's as simple as that. The list on this slide was taken directly from a blog that I wrote. You may want to pause here and take these questions into consideration. These may not all work for you and your situation. However, they certainly can be tweaked to meet your needs.

The work of many researchers, like John Hattie and Robert Marzano, continue to indicate that there is a real link between teachers' pedagogical skill in the classroom and the quantity and quality of student learning. That shouldn't come as any surprise. Good teaching produce results. However, according to Robert Marzano, the causal relationship between reflection and pedagogical skill has been discussed for years, yet does not get as much attention as it should.

Taking this a step further, you can clearly see the connection to Lee Shulman's fifth and sixth observable behaviors of reflection and new comprehension. He describes reflection as a process that includes a series of steps, including reviewing, reconstructing, reenacting, and critically analyzing one's teaching to improve. And if that's not enough, his sixth behavior talks about how through the act of teaching, the teacher achieves a new understanding of purposes, subject matter, students, teaching, and of themselves.

Here's a first grade math lesson that I used previously that was built using the Danielson Framework, in particular domains one and three. You may want to pause here to read it through. At the end of this lesson, I would want to reflect on my design and practice. This is not and should not be a long, drawn out process. In this case, there are two questions I would want to ask myself, and both are taken right from Robert Marzano's work.

First, how did this last inhale students interact with new knowledge? And second, how did I help students practice and deepen new knowledge? In this example, the knowledge is counting to 120 from any number. The anecdotal evidence, as well as the exit tickets, will help me to answer these questions.

The more you reflect, the more you will develop a process that works for you. Here are some tips to get you started. Gathering peer feedback is a risk worth taking. Take a close look at what your data is telling you. Some brave teachers find that video recording their instruction is helpful. Keep a reflective journal to show personal professional growth and effective practices. Seek out colleagues that are willing to let you observe them in an area of potential growth.

Here's a summary of what was covered in this lesson. We looked at what it means to be a reflective teacher and why it's important to do so. I shared some potential questions you could use and provided you with a sample lesson to practice them on. Finally, some tips were offered for those who are looking for ways to deepen their reflective skills.

Here's today's food for thought. Read Robert Marzano's Becoming a Reflective Teacher. If you want even more information about the topics covered in this lesson, check out the additional resources section connected with this video. There you'll find links useful for applications of the course material, including a brief description of each resource. Thanks so much for watching and learning with me. Have a great day.