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Purpose of Teaching

Reflective Practice

In recent years, teachers at the k-12 level have embraced Carol Dweck’s pathbreaking work on cultivating a growth mindset in students. Put too simply, a growth mindset is contrasted with a fixed mindset, or the idea that some of us are naturally good at certain fields of study–a “math person” or an “art person”–while others of us will never be good at certain things.

Dweck suggests that teachers should very intentionally and explicitly teach students that, with effort, we can all make progress in anything we study. What I want to suggest in this post, following up on an earlier one, is that teachers should also get in the habit of seeing growth as their goal. While we may know people who seem like “natural teachers,” I think we can all think more about the ways that even someone who is already a strong teacher can always get better and that even someone who initially struggles can grow into an excellent teacher.

One way to achieve growth is through consistent reflection. At the end of each class, we can reflect: What went well, what went less well? One practice I’ve used since I started teaching was making notes on my syllabus after every class. Using the Word comment function, I would leave comments like: “The class enjoyed the reading. The reading seemed too difficult. Spend more time framing the reading before releasing students to small group discussions.”

While there are certainly more time-intensive methods of reflection, this might be a good way to begin the habit of reflection. As well, we need to be careful before rushing to judgment. My first year was such a rollercoaster. When things went well, I felt great. When things went less well, I was distraught. If we course correct too quickly, we can make things worse. And we can get into negative self-talk and the thought that we must be perfect to be good.

This is why we need to open ourselves up to feedback and the insight of other teachers. An experienced teacher can tell us when we are overreacting and being too self-critical. They are also able to suggest when we aren’t pushing our students enough, or when we are assigning work that is misaligned with our learning goals.

This is all to say that teaching doesn’t need to be an individualistic act where we fear exposing our struggles lest we lose the title of “good teacher.” This is precisely the type of fixed mindset Dweck warns against. If we see teaching as something that all of us are always aspiring to get a little better at, we might be more willing to ask for ideas and suggestions from our colleagues. I think this way of embracing a growth mindset benefits our students, but I also think it makes our life as a teacher so much more enjoyable.