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Ronglin Yao
The importance of ‘reflection’ for teachers
Reflection is a very important practice for teachers as it relates to whether teachers
can continue to move forward, and whether teachers can improve teaching practice so
as to become good teachers. But in the end, reflection ‘is in our own best interests’
(Brookfield, 1995, p.22).
Brookfield (1995) gives us six reasons in answering the importance of ‘reflection’ for
teachers:
1. It helps us take informed actions. For example, when are questioned as to why we
are doing something, we can show how our action springs form certain assumptions
we hold about teaching and learning, and then make a convincing case for their
accuracy by laying out the evidence that undergirds them (Brookfield, 1995, p.22f).
This is true for those teachers who constantly reflect their teaching beliefs /
assumptions and practice. Such teachers can have their teaching beliefs / assumptions
and practice firmly grounded in a clearly understood rationale. They can justify their
teaching beliefs / assumptions and practice when needed. So this prompts Brookfield
to claim his 2nd
reason for the importance of teacher reflection:
2. It helps us develop a rationale for practice. Brookfield (1995) provides us such
explanation:
A rational for practice serves as a methodological and ethical touchstone. It
provides a foundational reference point—a set of continually tested beliefs
that we can consult as a guide to how we should act in unpredictable
situations (p.23).

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3. It helps us avoid ‘traps of demoralization and self-laceration’ (Brookfield, 1995,
p.2). As teachers often encounter various problems in classroom teaching, for
example, despite our best effort, students show resistance in learning or become
uncooperative / disruptive in the classrooms, or when dropout happens, quite often
‘we tend to accept the blame for problems that are not of our own making’
(Brookfield, 1995, p.2). Another situation is, ‘We become depressed when ways of
behaving toward students and colleagues that we think are democratic and respectful
are interpreted as aloof or manipulative.’ But chances are that it is due to social,
emotional, cultural, and economic pressures entirely beyond our control (Brookfield,
1995, p.2 & p.180f). If we are critically reflective, we can avoid all these ‘traps of
demoralization and self-laceration’.
4. It grounds us emotionally. Teachers can be caught in emotional roller coaster where
every action either confirms our brilliance or underscores our failure. Either we
withdraw from the classroom or we are forced to suppress the emotional content of
our daily experiences. If we have the habit of critical reflection, it can ground us
emotionally (Brookfield, 1995, pp.24-25ff).
5. It enlivens our classroom. Osterman (1990) comments that critically reflective
teachers are more likely to have classes that are challenging, interesting, and
stimulating for students (cited in Brookfield, 1995, p.25f) as they ‘turn the classroom
into a laboratory for purposeful experimentation’ (Brookfield, 1995, p.264).
6. It increases democratic trust. If we adopt a reflective practice, we will know that
something about the effects we are having on students. A teacher who takes students
seriously and treats them as adults shows that she / he can be trusted (Brookfield,
1995, pp.25-26ff).

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From Brookfield’s stated reasons, we can clearly see the importance of reflection for
teachers. If we use reflection as part of our professional life, it can make us a lot
easier in our classroom teaching.
Having mentioned Brookfield’s six important reasons for teacher reflection, I shall
now move into other areas that are very important for teacher reflection.
What I considered important in teacher reflection is that it can give us an opportunity
to inquire into ourselves, our students and our own teaching practice. Teachers who
have a deep respect for the power of chance to reflect can know that much of what
occurs can not be predicted. But they know that they are not victims of fate. They can
make adjustments in their teaching practice so they do not feel out of control
(Bradfield, 1995, p.264f). This is the very reason why reflection is important for the
teaching professionals.
The importance of teacher reflection can extend to curriculum construction / program
design, implementation and evaluation since teachers are often involved in such
process. By reflecting on such process, we can identify some issues relating to
curriculum construction / program design, implementation and evaluation, and find
solutions to the issues. In this regard, teacher reflection is vital for the success of the
curriculum construction / program design, implementation and evaluation.
Alongside the important part teacher reflection plays in curriculum construction /
program design, implementation and evaluation, the importance of teacher reflection
also relates to our own teaching practice, specifically our unit plan, lesson plan,

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teaching methodologies, classroom management, assessment and reporting. Through
reflecting our own teaching practice in these areas, new teachers can survive in the
classroom; in-service teachers can further improve teaching practice. Thus, it is
evident that reflection is important for the teachers concerned. Pollard (2002) echoed
that teacher reflection supports the development and maintenance of professional
expertise (p.4f).
Furthermore, through reflection, teachers can be more aware of students’ perceptions
of good teachers. For example, students think that a good teacher should be one who:
 helps you with your work;
 explains well so we can understand;
 is friendly, easy to get on with, doesn’t yell at you;
 make lessons interesting and enjoyable;
 cares about you, always ready to listen to you, understands us;
 has a sense of humour, will have a laugh with you;
 controls the class
(Batten, 1993, pp.16-17)
The afore-mentioned students’ perceptions of good teachers can serve as a mirror
through that we can find out how good we are as teachers. This can only be possibly
checked out through teachers’ reflection. As such, it is important for teachers to have
a reflective practice.
Likewise, the importance of teacher reflection can also be seen as a way to improve
teaching.

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Batten (1993) lists students’ comments on good teaching as:
 explains clearly so you understand, shows you how to do things
 helps with our work
 caring, relates to students, understands what we say
 controls the class well, doesn’t yell
 makes the work interesting and enjoyable
 can joke around, combines humour with learning
 doesn’t rush us or force us, can work in my own way
 we learn a lot
 knows what s/he’s talking about
 fair, straightforward (p.28)
Here we can use Batten’s list to find out if our teaching meets students’ expectations
and if a good teaching has been realised. Again, this relies on our own reflection.
From this aspect, we can see the importance of teacher reflection.
More importantly, teacher reflection can lead toward a successful teaching. We can
reflect by checking against the following comments made by in-service teachers in
Batten, Marland, and Khamis’ (1993) research findings in terms of successful
teaching:
1. ‘It’s motivation basically in that the kids are enjoying what they’re doing’
2. ‘Having a comfortable environment where discussions can develop and the
students feel that they can get involved and have some sort of ownership of
what is being discussed’
3. ‘Monitoring of what’s happening and basically keeping everyone on track’
4. ‘Classroom management’

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5. ‘Almost getting towards the discipline element’
6. ‘Feeling comfortable in the class…I think it’s very important for them to see
you as a human being and for you to treat them as such, and then I’ve found
discipline is never a problem’ (pp.82-84)
Using these comments on successful teaching for our own reflection, we can be aware
of what successful teaching meant to be. This again proves the importance of teacher
reflection.
All in all, reflection is an important component in our professional life. Through
reflection, we can continue to learn from experience and grow as teachers; we can
enhance our teaching and become good teachers which will, in the end, support
student learning in the best possible ways.
References
Batten, M. (1993). Knowing how to teach well: Teachers reflect on their classroom
practice. In ACER Research Monograph, VOL.41-44, No. 44, Students’
perceptions of effective teaching (pp.16-17). Hawthorn, Victoria: The
Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd.
Batten, M. (1993). Knowing how to teach well: Teachers reflect on their classroom
practice. In ACER Research Monograph, VOL.41-44, No. 44, Exploring
teachers’ professional craft knowledge: The Victorian study (p.28). Hawthorn,
Victoria: The Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd.
Batten, M., Marland, P. and Khamis, M. (1993). Knowing how to teach well:
Teachers reflect on their classroom practice. In ACER Research Monograph,
VOL.41-44, No. 44, Criteria for successful teaching: Associated strategies /
reasons (pp.82-84). Hawthorn, Victoria: The Australian Council for
Educational Research Ltd.
Brookfield, S.D. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher (p.2, pp.22-26, p.180
and p.264). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Pollard, A. (2002). Reflective teaching: Effective and evidence-informed professional
practice (p.4). London: Continuum.