Professional development and reflective practice
Reflection as a cycle
Reflection is not a diary of events. It moves through description, analysis, conclusion and planning (Kolb, Gibbs), and it should end in action. Schön distinguishes reflection in action from reflection on action. Brookfield's four lenses are our own view, our students' eyes, our colleagues' perceptions and the theoretical literature.
Tools and formats
Teaching journals, critical incident analysis, lesson recordings and transcripts, peer observation, team teaching, mentoring and coaching, lesson study, action research, communities of practice, reading, conferences and online CPD. Action research follows a spiral: identify a problem, plan, act, observe, reflect, repeat. Peer observation works best with a pre-observation briefing, an agreed non-judgemental focus, and constructive feedback leading to action points.
Traps
Reflection that stops at description with no action point; observations conducted with no criteria; confusing developmental observation with appraisal; misattributing the four lenses. Beliefs and practice often diverge, and a recording exposes the gap that memory hides.
Rule of thumb
End every reflection with one concrete, observable change for the next lesson and a way to check whether it worked.