Reflection plays a key part in your development as a teacher. Having the ability to reflect highlights to you the areas where you have improved and areas which you can further development. Reflecting is a way that you can ultimately become a better practitioner through critiquing yourself to see what your next steps may be.

Reflecting on semester one, all I can say is that it’s been one massive learning curve. My results have majorly influenced my professional mindset, as they were different to what I was expecting. Feeling dampened by them, I felt my feelings towards the course dwindle as I sat feeling sorry for myself at the thought of them not being as good as I had hoped for. As I reflect on this now, having had the time to think about this properly, and also speaking with my advisor about this, it really only is a learning curve where I can actually use it to enhance my work and develop my weaknesses in the future. I can move on from semester one, and the results, looking positively into the prospects of placement and how I can use what I have learnt in the classroom. I have gained knowledge on how to correct my work in the future and how mistakes are ways of learning and becoming a better practitioner.

I have learnt more about reflection after reading “reflective teaching in schools” by Andrew Pollard. From this, I have seen how I can reflect on a variety of experiences and use this to mark against my progression as a teacher, and the ways in which this is beneficial to your own learning. Linking this to my professional development, it has shown me ways of understanding what my next steps need to be in order to be the best version of myself, and how I can encourage children to do the same.

Ultimately, reflection will help me in many ways. As a teacher you are ‘never done’ and there is constant space for development and progression in the way you teach and the way we engage with the children. It is a working progress but being able to reflect means I will always be wary of my areas of development and how I will improve these. It will allow me to become more confident and resilient, both being qualities that are essential to have as a teacher.

Pollard, A. and Black- Hawkins, K. (2014) reflective teaching in schools. 4th ed. Bloomsbury publishing