Drew Zailik's Educational Portfolio
Reflective Practicioner
A reflective practitioner continuously examines not only his/her understanding of schools, students, and learning, but also the content to be taught and the pedagogical concepts and practices best suited for the diverse student population in today's schools.
Nothing like a good session…
On the walk or drive home from an epic surf session, there is no feeling more satisfying than trying to recall all the great waves I have ridden. I’m usually tired, exhausted, and can’t lift my arms above my head from paddling so much, but I always walk away with the biggest smile on my face. I think about the waves I caught that were incredible, whether for their size or for the number of well-executed maneuvers I could perform on them. I think about waves I could have improved upon. For example, why did my one cutback work perfectly, while the other caused me to hit the lip of the wave and wipe out? I always reflect and try to mentally improve on my surf session so that the next time I paddle out will be even better than the last.
This exact theory can be directly applied to teaching. I need to find a way to exit the classroom with a smile on my face every day. I need to first focus on the positive; I need to recognize the students that I helped or the teaching strategy that went well. I need to realize these things so that I can positively motivate myself. And in teaching, there is always room for improvement. I need to reflect on entire lessons, right down to the most minor adjustment, so that I can perfect my productivity spent in the classroom. I hold very high expectations for myself while surfing, and teaching is no exception...
I have kept a constant reflection of my student teaching progress. I am always actively revising and re-editing lesson plans. Many times, a lesson does not go as accordingly as planned. I had set a number of goals for myself, and through an active reflective process, was able to monitor my progress and eventually meet all of the teaching goals I had set for myself.
Here are some excerpts from the journal I actively kept during my student teaching experience:I videotaped myself teaching so that I could critique my performance in the classroom.Read my reflection on it.
I also wrote a number of reflections on my early experiences while teaching, which demonstrate quite a change in my teaching performance. Read about them here.© Drew D. Zailik 2007