You have finished the session, and students are quietly gathering their belongings and leaving the learning space. What next? Take a breath and smile; you have just successfully supported a group of learners in their learning journey. As you begin to pack up your belongings, you may find yourself thinking about the things that went well during the tutorial/lab, and also things that you wish you could have changed or would have done differently. This is where reflection, self-observation and self-evaluation kick in.

Informal reflection happens all the time and throughout our lives, both consciously and unconsciously; for example, when we reflect on what we had for lunch and whether it was "enough," i.e., are we still hungry?; When we are late to meet a friend for coffee, we think about what we could have done differently to be on time.

You will find reflective processes key to your role as a tutor as you consider "what went well?" and "what didn't go as planned/or as well as you'd hoped?" This will support the development of your teaching practice and your confidence. It is essential that you document your reflections and observations (on paper or digitally). These reflections, observations, and planned actions will help you plan your next session (whether it's the following week or year).

Reflection in and on Action - "During and After"

There are two main times for (and types of) reflection: reflection "during" and "after", and both are forms of self-observation and self-evaluation.

The framework below (Schön, 1991) illustrates the key differences and provides examples of Reflection in Action "during" and Reflection on Action "after".

Reflection-in-Action
(thinking 'while doing')

This involves reflecting on your teaching 'in the moment' as it happens in your classroom and making judgements and changes in your actions based on your past experiences of a similar situation and any new information you glean.

For example, taking notes during the class, gathering informal feedback from students 'on the fly', using targeted questions, show of hands, digital student response system, group discussion or activity for checking their learning, etc.

Reflection-on-Action
(thinking 'after the event')

In this case, reflection occurs after you have been teaching, but similarly, you will use the knowledge gained to inform changes.

For example, writing down in a log or journal what you felt went well, what didn't go so well, and what you might like to make changes to in the future; speaking with a colleague, mentor, or critical friend; reading scholarly literature and contacting teaching and learning teams for advice and support.

Identifying the "highlights" and "lowlights"

When identifying "what went well?" and "what didn't go as planned/or as well as you'd hoped?" you may want to reflect on/consider the following key areas:

Click on the title for examples of each.

Once you've identified the "highlights" and "lowlights", you can use this information to improve your teaching practices.

Model adapted from University College Dublin: Reflective Practice Model
Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash