Each week, the Faculty Collaborative for Teaching will bring you an easy-to-implement tool that you can use immediately in your classroom teaching. The goals of these tips will be to broaden your teaching toolbox, share resources on teaching, and alert you to upcoming teaching and learning opportunities.

TUESDAY TEACHING TIP-REFLECTION

Our first Tuesday Teaching Tip is on the concept of reflection. Reflection gives students the opportunity to make their own sense of the material or experience and connect that to others and the conditions that shaped the material or experience. Including reflection in your teaching can help students reimagine the concept or material for their own futures or social benefit (Ryan, 2014, p. 147). Regardless of the concept, material, or experience, providing students with an opportunity to reflect will increase their knowledge, understanding, and engagement with their learning.

Ignatian Pedagogy helps us understand that “all learning is dependent upon-and deepened by-reflection about those experiences”

We challenge you to include reflection in your class(es) this week-regardless of the topic or course. 

Here’s one way to do it 

• Think of a reflection prompt (we’ve given you a few suggestions below).
• Save the last 5 minutes of the class period.
• Before the class leaves, have them either answer the question in their notes or pass out some note cards or slips of paper for them. 
• Collecting their responses, even anonymously, is an option, and it can give you some insight into your class’ thinking.

Prompt suggestions

• What made you curious today?
• How might you apply this concept outside of the class this week?
• How might your new understanding of this concept help you in your future?
• What have you learned today?
• Why do you think we studied this concept today?
• How does this concept relate to what we learned previously? Can you draw connections?
• Did today’s lesson change your perspective or understanding about the topic? If so, how?

 DID YOU DO IT?

Let us know how it went here. We would love to hear your feedback about how you implemented today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip in your classroom.

Join us to explore this and other Ignatian teaching practices at the next Cafe. 

WANT TO READ A LITTLE MORE?

New! Ignatian Pedagogy DRT page by Paul Schutz.

Ryan, M (2014). The pedagogical balancing act: Teaching reflection in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 18(2). 144-155. 

Loyola Chicago’s page on Ignatian Pedagogy 

This week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip was prepared by Justin Boren and Patti Simone on behalf of the Faculty Collaborative.

And check out our full calendar of CAFEs and other Faculty Development and Faculty Collaborative events.