Best Practice

Improve your teaching: How to become a reflective practitioner

CPD Quality First Teaching Pedagogy
As teachers we must reflect on our practice, take risks and experiment if we are to learn from our mistakes, successes and ultimately improve our practice. But how? Andrew Jones explores what it looks like to be a reflective practitioner
Image: Adobe Stock -

As a teacher, you will know that learning is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that involves reflection, feedback, and improvement. But how do you reflect on your own teaching practice and learn from your experiences?

One useful framework is Donald Schön's (1983) reflective practice model, which was developed in response to problems of urban planning, but has since been adapted to healthcare, psychiatry, and education.

 

High ground and lowland

In his 1987 book, Educating the Reflective Practitioner, Schön – a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – suggested that the topography of professional practice can be divided into two main areas: the “high ground” and the “swampy lowland”.

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