And it's Thursday again, and we're back. It's been another intense week, but a very good one. A colleague and I taught our second iteration of a Dissertation workshop, and it was awesome just how easily and effectively we were able to work together. Fantastic!
The real highlight of this week, though, was my observation a class. Pure, simple observation. It's been a long time since I sat in a classroom without floating or teaching, so it was a great time to actually reflect on instructional practices without actually being involved.
This experience helped me realize that pure observation can lead to a different type of reflection than I talked about last week, when I was reflecting on my own teaching. The observation of others allowed me to step outside myself and think about the instructional practices instead of how I, personally, was instructing. It helped me focus on the content and praxis of the lesson, and how students reacted to it. When I was reflecting on my teaching, I had been using a prescribed lesson plan, so most of my reflection was internalized - me thinking about how I was teaching.
After this experience, I can see now that both are extremely valuable. I could see how, as an "experienced" instructor who gets caught up in their job, one could forget to sit back and observe others. I will try to remember this experience as I move forward in my instructional career, so that I can continue to evaluate and reflect on myself as well as others to be the most effective professional possible.
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