ABSTRACT

Since we first published our approach to reflective teaching, numerous other framings have appeared. Some focus on reflection-in-action while others tend to emphasize reflection-on-action; some underscore teachers’ instructional work while others highlight student learning. Any proposal for reflective teaching embraces particular values and emphases and utilizes particular lenses. By their very nature, conceptions of reflection will highlight certain elements over others. Ours is a view that highlights a process of reflection-on-classroom-action; one that encourages an examination of valued educational ends, and honors teachers’ significant role in educational deliberations. We view teaching as both a professional and vocational endeavor, one that is committed to enhancing students’ lives, and one that occurs in larger institutional, cultural, and political contexts. In Chapter 5 we explored the role of reflection-on-action and educational ends by situating reflective deliberation amidst four educational traditions. In this chapter we continue to explore salient features of teaching.