Dr. Brian Steinberg guides teachers on critical reflection, where they examine their own teaching practices to identify strengths and weaknesses.
Video Summary
Dr. Brian Steinberg teaches science to middle school and high school students, as well as at online community colleges. He mentions that self-reflection and reflective teaching—the act of acknowledging and addressing one’s own biases and assumptions in the classroom—are important for improving teaching practices. Dr. Steinberg emphasizes that to be a more effective and critical teacher, reflective teaching should be a priority. He also provides self-reflection strategies that can enable growth.
Key Points from the Video
🔵 Critical reflection is a process of examining one’s own teaching practices to identify strengths and weaknesses in order to become a better teacher. It is not always evaluated by a dean or principal, and self-reflection is important.
🔵 Reflective teaching is the act of acknowledging and addressing one’s own biases and assumptions in the classroom. A teacher can become more reflective using strategies like recording oneself teaching, seeking feedback from students, and reading literature on reflective teaching.
🔵 Feedback from students is an important part of critical reflection and can be obtained through surveys, Google forms, and live feedback sessions. When instructing students to give feedback to you or to others, ask them to use clear and constructive language and be aware of the tone they convey.
🔵 Reflective teaching is a form of professional development. It involves self-assessing one’s effective teaching, considering new ways of teaching that can improve learning quality, and experimenting with these ideas in practice. This process should be repeated multiple times—lather, rinse, repeat.
🔵 Diversifying metrics for evaluation such as exit slips, reflective journals, videotaping, and teacher mood boards can show students you care about their opinions and their learning experiences.
🔵 New teachers should reflect on their teaching philosophy and update it frequently as a way to establish their own style and authority as an educator.
