reflective practice in the esl/esol/tefl classroom

There are some helpful ways to get us to become better teachers:

We can learn from experience: Jay Doubleyou: kolb and experiential learning

We can reflect on and question why the we do things: Jay Doubleyou: learning theory: a short guide

We can go with the flow: Jay Doubleyou: dogme and emergent language pt 1

Much of this is about our own professional development: Reflective Practice - YouTube

Or, as Adrian Underhill says: 

See what’s going on, try something different, learn from it.

Pronunciation: Three practices to question, three practices to explore | Adrian Underhill's Pronunciation Site

With another example from him: Reflective teaching | Demand High ELT

Here he is at the IATEFL conference in 2012: 

This plenary talk looks at the connections between three fields – systems thinking, post-heroic leadership and learning at the organisational and individual level.

Plenary session by Adrian Underhill | TeachingEnglish | British Council

And this is from an article from Adrian, on reflective practice, action inquiry and deep values - from the IATEFL newsletter of summer 2007:

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE, ACTION, INQUIRY AND DEEP VALUES 

Introduction 

My aim is to encourage inquiring conversations of the kind “How, in my work, do I follow or contradict the values that are deeply important to me?” and to hold this question as a rigorous reflective practice in the midst of professional action. I suggest that this question can provide rich starting points for worthwhile professional reflection and inquiry, as well as a source of „passionate energy‟ for professional development. I shall say a little about where I am coming from, link that to reflective practice and action inquiry, and move on to the question of values as a starting point for inquiry...

In designing an action experiment it helps to remember that there are essentially only three types: 

1. Do something different from what you usually do, and observe well;

2. Refrain from doing something you usually do, and observe well; 

3. Do what you usually do, while observing it both differently and better than usual. 

The designing and refining of action experiments is an iterative process; the question changes as we learn.

Summary 

I have suggested that looking for and experiencing contradictions between one‘s values, actions and outcomes can be a productive and rewarding activity that can provide a rich source of inspiration for worthwhile professional reflection and inquiry. Experiencing oneself as a living contradiction can also provide a source of energy to drive inquiry of this nature. I have offered a simple framework for those who would like to experiment with this in their practice, either to change circumstances to align actions with values, or to develop the values themselves

Editors’ Foreword

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