Reflective Teaching

I strive to be a reflective teaching practitioner. This includes taking time to reflect on my own after each class period and semester, getting feedback from peers and instructors, and student evaluations.

Reflecting on my own teaching

Teaching Log

I use a Teaching Log to reflect on my own teaching after each class. I make notes of:

What worked well
What didn't work well
Ideas for future teaching

I also include notes about any changes that need to be made to the class materials I used that day. I keep my reflections and marked-up materials in a binder so that I can easily find them when I go to prepare that lesson for the following semester.

End-of-the-semester Reflection

At the end of each semester, I take time to reflect on what went well and what could be improved for the next time I teach the class. I think of this from my own perspective, but I also consider end-of-the-semster relfections from students at this point.

Reflecting on student evaluations

Formative Assessments

I seek out student feedback on a daily basis in class using formative assessments, which help me track how students are understanding the course material or assess their prior knowledge on a topic.

Examples
- Influenza Intro Activity - Responses - This was meant to assess students' prior knowledge about the topic for a day of guest teaching.
- Genetic Counseling Activity - Responses - The goal of this activity was to test students' understanding of topics covered during one of the guest lectures.

End of Semester Feedback

I also reflect on student feedback at the end of the semester using their course evaluations. I categorize their comments as positive, constructive and actionable, constructive but not actionable, and irrelevant. I look for themes in the students' responses.

Reflecting on peer & faculty evaluations

Throughout the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching, I have been gotten feedback from and observed the teaching of my peers and faculty. Some of my biggest takeaways from reflecting on peer evaluations have been:

Noting the amount of student participation and interaction that occurs in my peer's teaching. Coming from a biology background where lectures and exams are common methods of teaching and assessing learning, it's been helpful to see the strategies used in other departments.
In particular, watching my peers and faculty facilitate classroom discussions has helped me learn about strategies and classroom climates that help to make this successful.
In feedback from others who have evaluated me, I have gotten helpful suggestions about reducing my own tendency toward lecturing and improving my activity facilitation skills.

Together theses experiences have greatly helped in improving my teaching and implementing strategies from other departments that are beneficial for student learning.