Session 4: Teachers’ Journal and the Principles of Reflection

British Council 2014

Teacher’s Journal & Principles of Reflection

Learning outcomes

By the end of Session 1, Formadores will be better able to:• Find their way around the Teacher Journal • Effectively reflect on their own learning• Explain the importance of reflecting on their learning and teaching • Reflect on today’s training sessions.• Record their reflections and notes in their journal and reflect on what they have learned and how they can develop and improve.• Plan any action they need to take, based on today’s training sessions.

What’s the difference between ...

• a diary

• a journal

Continuing Professional Development

ELT conferences, networking groups, teaching magazines, trying out and developing your own materials, membership of professional associations, mentoring colleagues, observing and being observed, resources from publishers, reflection on teaching practice, classroom action research, specialisation such as young learners or business English, take a training course, attend a workshop

Reflection – what is it?

Thinking about the things that happen in the classroom, why they happen, our responses to them, insights into why things did/didn’t work, etc.

Why is reflection an important part of a teacher’s life?

• To consolidate what we are learning• To give us a chance to think• To allow us to make links between what we

are learning and our own context/practice• To allow us to consider how we will

implement what they have learned• To enable us to identify any gaps in our

knowledge and ask questions or seek clarification.

Complete the sentences in the first column of the table

• Something new I learned …• Something I really enjoyed …• Something I need to know more about …• Something I found difficult …• Something I didn’t enjoy so much …• Something I will try with my class …

Homework

• Read the suggestions about Reflection in the Teacher’s Journal. Write up your own reflections from your first day’s training in your journal.