Choose Reflection Before Action

Meeting invitations, calendar requests and to-dos filled my email this afternoon when I checked it for the first time since late December. I was not at all surprised when I saw these requests the morning because busyness to initiate a semester is one of the very typical rhythms of a school year but the shotgun blast of school-based reforms that occur in January can become band aids if they are not based on all the work already done throughout the first semester. The first five months of a school year are completely different than the second five months and the students that we met in August and the classes we established connections with in September are completely different than they are now. All too often educators in all positions create, change and recalibrate in January with the intention of doing better by students and even in that work end up with the same pitfalls and problems just weeks into the second semester. The answer to this issue is not more action but more reflection which is a practice that seems too time consuming for our change-addicted profession but can completely transform how classrooms and schools operate.

Over the last three years I have committed to spending time in deep, honest and collaborative reflection before I did any planning for the upcoming semester or year. I have found that, with the help of excellent excellent colleagues, wholesale corrections to small miscalculations is not necessary and the ingredients to a more successful semester can be found when honest reflection takes place before any actions are taken. Before I forge ahead into the jungle of the next semester I look back at the path I created and often the most successful steps that led me to this point can be seen clearly and can instruct my moves so I am more calculated, balanced and most importantly so kids are impacted as much as possible.

The idea around reflection before action is simple: teachers who have pursued engagement for and relationships with students have likely found times of success in their classrooms. It is important to build on this success and not continue to recreate for two reasons. First, in order to keep teaching a sustainable practice routines and structures for lesson planning are essential can can be based on what worked not what is new. Second, using reflection to determine what worked with kids will continue to breed success in the classroom. Because teachers are by nature highly critical of themselves and their practice they are often caught in the trap of recreating in order to find success though much success has likely been found. There are four elements of important reflection before teachers dive back into each semester:

Celebration: Teachers should celebrate the wins and openly take credit for how their work impacted students is not a normal practice. Educators do not get in the work for credit (which is another topic for another time) but identifying successes and how effort led to those successes is not just for building confidence but to link where effort made inroads with students. By identifying where successes occurred and how an educators effort directly contributed to that gain is the first place to start when reflecting before the start of a new semester.

Collaboration: I am fortunate to work on a naturally reflective and dynamic staff and even more importantly they do not hesitate to identify places where I can improve my craft. Reflection is a personal process initially but bringing a reflection to trusted colleagues can help teachers dive deeper into their successes and areas of growth moving forward. Having colleagues hear my reflections at the end of each semester allows them to speak into my work and gives me automatic accountability.

Student Data: Perhaps the easiest place to start a reflection with the students. Surveys, inventories and short-answer questions about what and how to learn is a great place to end a semester or to start a semester. It is difficult to hear honest feedback from students but it is essential. Educators who are willing to listen to and act on data given from students may feel vulnerable initially but that one step will have a more substantial impact than any instructional move made or policy created. Students are clients and more importantly students are experts. They have been in schools and have seen teachers and to not use their expertise to refine our craft as educators is to do nothing less than ignore those who know best. Start with three simple questions for each student: What should we do more of in class, what should we do less of in class and what should we stop doing altogether? These three questions can be a do-now and guide each next step taken in schools.

Reflect, walk-away, revisit: Reflection at the end of the semester can be emotional and exhausting at a time in the school year that is already challenging. Giving energy and commitment to the reflection process is essential but refrain from acting right then. Take time to rest from the work and what was reflected upon will be distilled into the most essential components and steps. This is the most difficult part because educators rarely have time to be patient but patience will lead to the right steps and the right moves for students when energy has been restored after each much-deserved break.

If you are interested in reflection documents and resources please feel free to reach out to me at deremer.chris@gmail.com