Reflective Practice

professional-developmentreflective practicereflectionreflective teaching

The habit of systematically thinking about one's own teaching in order to improve it. Recognised as the core mechanism of Teacher Professional Development — the bridge between experience and expertise. Without reflection, twenty years of teaching is one year of experience repeated twenty times.

Definition

Schön (1983) established the foundational framework, arguing that professionals develop expertise not through technical training alone but through reflecting on their practice. In ELT, reflective practice means teachers systematically examine their classroom decisions, underlying assumptions, and teaching outcomes to generate insights that improve future practice.

Farrell (2015, p. 1) defines reflective practice in language teaching as "a cognitive process accompanied by a set of attitudes in which teachers systematically collect data about their practice, and, while engaging in dialogue with others, use the data to make informed decisions about their practice."

Key Models

Schon (1983)

Reflection-in-action: Thinking on your feet during the lesson — adjusting when something isn't working. The experienced teacher notices mid-activity that students are confused and spontaneously restructures the task. This is the hallmark of expertise: the ability to reframe problems in real time.
Reflection-on-action: Thinking after the lesson — what happened, why, what to change. This is the more accessible form of reflection for all teachers, from novice to expert.
Knowing-in-action: The tacit knowledge embedded in skilled performance — the teacher who "just knows" when to move on from an activity without being able to fully articulate why.

Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle (1984)

Concrete experience → Reflective observation → Abstract conceptualisation → Active experimentation

Teaching improvement happens when teachers complete the full cycle rather than just repeating experiences. A teacher who teaches a lesson (concrete experience), thinks about what happened (reflective observation), forms a principle or hypothesis (abstract conceptualisation), and tries something different next time (active experimentation) is learning. A teacher who teaches and then teaches again without the middle steps is not.

Gibbs' Reflective Cycle (1988)

A structured six-stage model widely used in teacher training programmes for its accessibility and thoroughness:

Description — What happened? (factual account, no judgement)
Feelings — What were you thinking and feeling? (acknowledges the emotional dimension)
Evaluation — What was good and bad about the experience?
Analysis — What sense can you make of the situation? (drawing on theory, experience, evidence)
Conclusion — What else could you have done?
Action plan — What will you do differently next time?

The model's strength is that it separates description from evaluation and analysis — teachers often jump from "what happened" to "what I should have done" without understanding why something happened.

Brookfield's Four Lenses (1995)

Reflection is richer and more critical when viewed through multiple perspectives:

Autobiographical lens — our own experience as learners and teachers; often the default but also the most biased
Students' eyes — how learners experience our teaching; often surprising and humbling
Colleagues' experiences — peer perspectives via observation and discussion; Brookfield's "critical mirror"
Theoretical literature — research and professional reading; provides frameworks for understanding experience

Brookfield argues that relying on only one lens (typically the autobiographical) produces limited or self-reinforcing reflection. Genuine critical reflection requires at least two lenses.

Farrell (2015) — Framework for Reflecting on Practice

Farrell proposes five levels of reflection, from personal to contextual:

Philosophy — What are my core beliefs about teaching and learning?
Principles — What theories and principles guide my practice?
Theory — How do I plan lessons and why?
Practice — What do I actually do in the classroom?
Beyond practice — What moral, social, and political dimensions shape my teaching?

Reflection in the Cambridge Teaching Framework

The Cambridge English Teaching Framework tracks reflection development across stages:

Stage	Reflection capacity
Foundation	Reflects with guidance; limited awareness of beliefs vs practice mismatch
Developing	Reflects independently; some awareness of strengths/weaknesses
Proficient	Reflects critically; actively seeks feedback; recognises belief-practice gaps
Expert	Consistently reflects critically; highly aware of beliefs; actively seeks diverse feedback sources

Practical Tools

Tool	Description
Teaching journal	Regular written reflection after lessons; can be structured (Gibbs cycle) or free-form
Video self-observation	Recording and watching own lessons; the most powerful but also most confronting tool
Post-lesson notes	Brief annotations on lesson plans — "This worked because...", "Next time, change..."
Critical incident analysis	Deep examination of a specific significant moment — positive or negative
Peer discussion	Structured reflection with colleagues after peer observation
Learner feedback	Student evaluations, informal feedback, learning surveys
Portfolio	Collecting evidence of teaching and reflection over time
Blog or online reflection	Public or semi-public reflective writing; adds an audience dimension

The Belief-Practice Gap

A recurring theme in reflective practice research: what teachers believe and what they actually do in class often differ. This connects directly to Teacher Cognition research (Borg, 2003, 2006). Reflection helps surface these gaps. Common examples:

A teacher who believes in student-centred learning but dominates class talk time
A teacher who values communicative practice but spends most of the lesson on grammar explanation
A teacher who endorses error correction research but corrects every mistake immediately

The Cambridge framework specifically tracks whether teachers can "recognise where there is a mismatch between their own beliefs and good practice."

Why It Matters for ELT

Core professional competency: Reflective practice is not optional — it is the mechanism by which good teachers become better
Qualification requirement: CELTA, DELTA, and most MA programmes require evidence of reflection
Bridges experience and expertise: Experience without reflection does not produce improvement; reflection transforms experience into professional knowledge
Supports autonomy: Reflective teachers are self-directed learners who continue to develop without external pressure
Improves learner outcomes: Teachers who reflect and adjust their practice are more responsive to learner needs
Professional identity: Reflection develops not just technical skill but professional self-awareness — understanding what kind of teacher one is and wants to become

Key References

Schon, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books.
Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall.
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford Polytechnic.
Brookfield, S.D. (1995). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. Jossey-Bass.
Farrell, T.S.C. (2015). Promoting Teacher Reflection in Second Language Education: A Framework for TESOL Professionals. Routledge.
Borg, S. (2006). Teacher Cognition and Language Education. Continuum.
Richards, J.C. & Lockhart, C. (1994). Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms. Cambridge University Press.
Mann, S. & Walsh, S. (2017). Reflective Practice in English Language Teaching: Research-Based Principles and Practices. Routledge.