This course introduces students who are interested in becoming language teachers to reflective practice (RP), a systematic way of thinking through your teaching. RP involves collecting information about your teaching and then reviewing it by yourself and with others to better understand your classroom鈥攖he place where you and your students come together and learn from each other. Analyzing information about your classroom can help you understand your decision-making process and your own behaviors. In doing so, you can increase your self-awareness, question your assumptions about teaching, and then re-evaluate your beliefs in light of this new information.聽
Although many teaching-related content courses introduce RP, its principles, techniques, and future applications are rarely covered in depth (Walsh & Mann, 2015). Most courses use reflection papers as the primary method for RP, but many other tools exist to collect information about your teaching. Additionally, most courses do not train teachers to analyze and draw conclusions from this information. This course allows you to engage in data-led and evidenced-based reflection (Walsh & Mann, 2015) and gain a deeper understanding of RP than what is traditionally covered in teaching-focused courses. In this class, you will build your knowledge of RP through lectures, readings, discussions, activities, and service-learning. The primary activity in this class will be volunteer teaching or tutoring with a language learner, which will serve as the basis for collecting evidence and reflecting on your teaching. You will also get hands-on practice with data collection and analysis to help you investigate your teaching and understand it from multiple perspectives.聽
Topics we will explore together include the principles, models, attitudes, and tools of RP along with lesson planning, effective peer collaboration, data collection, and data analysis. You will learn to critically examine your teaching practice through the classroom data you have gathered, which may lead you to reconsider your beliefs about language teaching and learning. By developing your self-awareness and understanding of RP techniques, you will have the tools to study your teaching in new contexts and make informed choices in your classroom in the future, which will be important for your ongoing professional development. The pre-requisite for this class is SLS 303 (or concurrent enrollment) or instructor permission.聽聽