Teaching in higher education for over 20 years, I still feel a sense of trepidation when reviewing student course evaluations. Reflective practices can provide valuable insights and foster continuous improvement. Let’s explore ways to gather feedback, not just through our course evaluations but through other means that offer a more holistic view.
Fostering Self-Compassion
Before diving into reflective practices, I recommend listening to my interview with Danielle DeLamar on the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Episode 519. She discusses fostering self-compassion as professors, which is essential for ongoing improvement in teaching and other aspects of life.
The Ongoing Journey
We are always becoming the educators we aspire to be. Stephen Brookfield, who has written extensively on teaching in higher education, emphasizes the concept of becoming. This aligns with the idea that we are never finished growing and evolving as educators. A few years ago, our entire faculty gathering was built around this one word: becoming. Let us never be done with improving our teaching, while also being gentle with ourselves and cultivating solidarity in pursuing strategies that go well beyond what our individual efforts might be able to produce.
Overcoming Challenges
In my early career as a computer instructor, it was normal to be evaluated constantly. Despite often receiving high scores, the pressure and scrutiny could be intense. A week of class evals at that time most often looked like: 10, 10, 10, 9.98, 9.99. A memorable moment occurred when I received straight fives from a couple of women who talked the entire time during my class and were rather rude.
My manager invited me to hold the two pieces of paper that contained the scores they had given me and ask myself if their feedback was helpful to me in my teaching. When I answered no, he tore up the negative evaluations in a rather dramatic fashion. He was a guy who tended to follow the rules and stay in the lines, so this was shocking to me. I found his reaction liberating, the idea that not all feedback was going to be helpful to carry with me in my teaching. This experience was also an early start to my recognition of the need for broader perspectives on our teaching than what traditional course evaluations have to offer.
Course evaluations are often criticized for their inherent biases and their focus on likability rather than actual learning. It’s essential to recognize these limitations and seek additional methods to evaluate teaching effectiveness. There are other ways in which our beliefs and assumptions can make reflective practice difficult.
Brookfield's Assumptions and Myths
Stephen Brookfield identifies several assumptions that can hinder teaching effectiveness in Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher:
- Charismatic Motivation. This assumption equates good teaching with charisma, often ignoring structural inequities and the deeper ways to support student learning.
- Control Myth. Believing that teaching must fit institutional demands ignores the unpredictable nature of real learning, which requires flexibility and adaptation.
- Student Resistance. Rather than eliminating resistance, it should be seen as a part of the learning process, reflecting students' autonomy and perspectives.
- Perfect 10 Myth. High evaluations do not necessarily indicate good teaching. They often overlook the complexities and diversity of learning, as well as inherent biases.
- Complex Challenges. Standardized methods cannot solve complex problems. Teaching requires contextual adaptation to address the unique needs of each class and student.
- Lone Hero Problem. Individual teachers cannot solve systemic issues like racism or sexism alone. Addressing these requires a systemic approach rather than inducing guilt in individuals.
I can certainly relate to subscribing to all of these faulty assumptions at one time or another in my teaching and still struggling with some of them today. I’m grateful for Stephen Brookfield’s help in acquiring a more critical set of lenses to use in assessing my teaching and where I would like to improve.
Applying Critical Reflection
A vital way of overcoming the way we are held back by these assumptions is to apply critical reflection to our ongoing efforts to improve our teaching. Brookfield writes:
Critically reflective teaching happens when we identify and scrutinize the assumptions that undergird how we work. The most effective way to become aware of these assumptions is to view our practice from different perspectives. Seeing how we think and work through different lenses is the core process of reflective practice.
Four Lenses of Critical Reflection
Brookfield offers four lenses of critical reflection that we can use for a more holistic view of our teaching. Ideally, we will use a combination of all four of them as we seek to continue becoming, as teachers.
Students’ Eyes
Understanding students’ perspectives provides valuable insights that challenge our assumptions. Course evaluations are just one tool, and ongoing feedback throughout the course can be more beneficial for improvements related to each unique context and class.
Colleagues’ Perceptions
Colleagues offer new perspectives and encouragement. Peer observations and feedback can provide a more comprehensive view of teaching effectiveness than relying solely on student input, received after a class has concluded.
Personal Experience
Reflecting on our own disengagement experiences helps us understand student resistance and improve our teaching. Observing our reactions in disengaging situations, like faculty meetings, can offer insights into enhancing student engagement.
Learning from Theory
Reading teaching theory can validate our experiences and provide new ideas. Brookfield writes that absorbing theory from the scholarship of teaching and learning can “…feel like coming home.”
Rather than relying solely on the end-of-class student course evaluations, a combination of all four of these lenses from Brookfield can help us in our becoming, as educators. I am thankful for the ways in which friends have given edifying feedback on my teaching, as well as for all the wonderful books and articles I’ve been able to read about teaching.
Practical Tools for Reflection
There is another lens that doesn’t show up explicitly in Brookfield’s list of four, at least not when looking at the broadest parts of the categories. However, these tools have been some of the most instrumental in shaping my teaching in the past five years. A group of us participated in a certification program from ESCALA Educational Services, which first introduced me to classroom observation protocols and how to make use of them.
Classroom Observation Protocols
Observing and recording our teaching, with students’ knowledge, can provide valuable self-reflection opportunities. Peer observations can also offer insights, using instruments aligned with our teaching goals. When we are able to perceive our teaching in ways that learners might, using structured ways of gauging our progress, it can be incredibly helpful.
Advancing Inclusive Teaching
The Protocol for Advancing Inclusive Teaching Efforts provides 15 inclusive teaching practices based on student perspectives. This data-driven approach helps educators develop and assess their inclusive teaching methods. These researchers offer training on their website and opportunities to test your understanding by watching video case studies and evaluating the professors being showcased as they teach.
Reflective practices are essential for continuous improvement in teaching. By utilizing multiple lenses and embracing self-compassion, we can navigate the challenges and enhance our effectiveness as educators.
Resources
Here is a recap of the resources mentioned in this article, along with some other things that may be of help to you in becoming a critically reflective teacher:
Brookfield, S. D. (2017). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher (2nd ed). John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Enhancing inclusive instruction : student perspectives and practical approaches for advancing equity in higher education. (2024). Routledge. July 13, 2024,
Community of Scholars: Tracie Addie Addy discusses the importance of equity and belonging in higher education and how to create more inclusive learning environments.
Teaching in Higher Ed Episode 519 | How to Foster Self-Compassion as a Professor with Danielle De La Mare
