This course is the product of the TEG Learning Community (LC) project "Becoming a Reflective Educator". From 2020-2022, a team of academic faculty, postgraduates, and teaching assistants (TAs) from various disciplines (including history, psychology, and theatre studies), examined the meaning of "reflective educator". We were motivated to examine reflective education because ideal educators are often described as "reflective" in career development contexts (Brookfield, 1998). "Reflective", however, is rarely defined. Those using "reflective" tend to rely on an intuitive, self-evident meaning, which might not be shared or understood by their audience. Therefore, we set out to unpack and define what is understood by "reflective" to add clarity to educators' career development, and to develop our own understanding of what constitutes good educational practice. This course will offer educators the opportunity to learn about the benefits and limitations of reflective practice before applying this understanding to their teaching practice. We will discuss the nature of the reflective process and engage in a critical analysis of how we can and should make reflection a valuable educational practice. 

Session 1 of this course will involve an interactive sharing of reflective practice in education, addressing questions such as: 

• What does it mean to be reflective?
• What are sources of reflection?
• What are the limitations of reflection to be mindful of?
• How do we practically build reflective practice into our specific teaching contexts, around our specific teaching goals/philosophies, and how do we evidence the use of reflective practice?

The session will close with a reflective guide and implementation framework that colleagues will take away for use in the classroom before the follow-up session. 

Session 2 This follow-up session will delve further into effective ways to engage in reflective practice. We’ll provide opportunities for everyone to work on their reflections, as well as to share some of their experiences going on this reflective journey.