Collaborative Lesson Planning and Teaching Reflection

Introduction

As part of our school's ongoing commitment to improve teaching and learning, a group of us recently came together for a collaborative lesson planning and teaching reflection session. The aim of this session was to share ideas, strategies and resources and to collectively reflect on our teaching and the impact it has on our students. The session was attended by ten teachers from a range of subject areas and levels, and it was facilitated by one of our school's instructional coaches.

Lesson Planning

During the session, we began by discussing our lesson planning processes. We shared the benefits of forward planning, how we engage with our students' prior knowledge and how we sequence our learning experiences. We also discussed strategies for differentiating instruction, scaffolding learning for our students who require additional support and how we foster student choice and agency in our classrooms. We then moved on to identifying and sharing resources with one another. This included sharing links to online resources and suggesting relevant texts, videos and podcasts to support our teaching. We also discussed strategies for collaborating with one another both within and beyond our subject areas, including the use of professional learning communities, lesson studies and peer observations.

Teaching Reflection

The second half of the session was focused on reflecting on our teaching. We began with a brainstorming activity where we shared things that went well in our recent lessons. We then brainstormed any challenges or roadblocks that we faced during these lessons, and discussed strategies for overcoming them. We then took time to reflect on the impact of our teaching on our students. This was done through a fishbowl discussion, whereby two teachers volunteered to reflect on their teaching while the other teachers listened and observed. This was followed by a short debrief session where teachers were asked to provide specific feedback and ask any clarifying questions.

Conclusion

Overall, the collaborative lesson planning and teaching reflection session was a valuable experience for all involved. We were able to share resources and ideas with one another, reflect on our teaching, and offer support and feedback to one another. We left the session with a renewed sense of collaboration and motivation, and we are excited to continue working together to improve teaching and learning across our school.