What This Skill Does
This skill produces layered reflection prompts designed for a particular teaching challenge, moving practitioners systematically from surface observation ("What occurred?") through analytical reasoning ("Why did it occur?") to critical examination ("What beliefs am I holding?") and finally to concrete action planning ("What will I change?").
Research shows that professionals don't automatically learn from experience—they learn by reflecting deeply on it. As Schön emphasised, "professionals do not learn primarily from experience—they learn from REFLECTING on experience." Without structured reflection, decades of practice can amount to one year repeated many times.
Evidence Foundation
- Schön (1983) distinguished between reflection-in-action (thinking during teaching) and reflection-on-action (structured thinking afterward). The latter builds professional knowledge through systematic examination of practice.
- Dewey (1933) defined reflection as disciplined inquiry: identifying problems, generating hypotheses, testing against evidence, and reaching conclusions—not merely "thinking about" events.
- Timperley (2011) found that powerful professional learning requires teachers to examine "the impact of their practice on student learning—not just reflecting on what they did, but on what students actually learned."
- Brookfield (2017) proposed four critical lenses: autobiographical (your assumptions), students' eyes (their perspectives), colleagues' perceptions (peer interpretations), and theoretical literature (research evidence).
- Kolb (1984) outlined the experiential learning cycle: concrete experience → reflective observation → abstract conceptualisation → active experimentation.
Input Schema
Required:
- Teaching experience: The specific lesson, interaction, or event to examine
- Reflection purpose: What the teacher aims to learn
Optional: teacher context, emotional response, reflection depth, time available
Output Schema
- Reflection prompts: A sequenced set guiding from description through analysis to action
- Lens analysis: Prompts encouraging examination from multiple perspectives
- Action prompts: Questions moving reflection toward concrete next steps
- Journaling scaffold: Structured format for written reflection
- Quick reflection option: Condensed version for time-limited situations
Known Limitations
- Reflection prompts support professional reflection; severe emotional responses may require mentoring or counselling support
- Dialogue-based reflection (with coaches or colleagues) is equally valid to written journaling
- Without subsequent action, even deep reflection remains intellectually interesting but professionally incomplete