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Reflective Teaching Practice Certificate

The Reflective Teaching Practice Certificate is designed to support educators in becoming reflective practitioners. In short, reflective teaching involves collecting evidence about teaching and learning, thinking critically about that evidence to identify trends, considering possible explanations for those trends, and then making changes to one’s teaching in response to what has been learned. The process, as shown in this figure, is cyclical and ongoing.

a circular diagram representing the cycle of reflective teaching practice
Reflective teaching practice consists of four interconnected stages: 1) Collect data about something you’re interested in: This involves gathering information related to your teaching practice, such as student feedback, observations, or assessments. 2) Analyze data to identify trends: Once data is collected, it is analyzed to identify patterns, trends, or areas for improvement. 3) Consider possible explanations for those trends: Based on the identified trends, possible explanations or reasons for their occurrence are considered. 4) Make changes to course: The final stage involves implementing changes to the course based on the insights gained from the previous steps.

This certificate is designed to be completed over time, perhaps one or two academic years, so that educators have time to collect evidence from multiple sources, reflect on that evidence, make plans for how to modify their teaching, put those plans into action, and then reflect on how the changes worked. The certificate is also designed to accommodate any teaching modality (e.g., in person, hybrid, or online). Instructors will enroll in a self-paced Canvas course which will include details about what activities need to be completed.

Learning Outcomes

Educators who complete the Reflective Teaching Practices Certificate will be able to: 

  • Apply a framework for teaching effectiveness to self-assess their teaching practice
  • Use multiple sources of feedback about their teaching, including qualitative and quantitative data
  • Reflect on the evidence and feedback objectively, considering strengths and weaknesses
  • Make intentional changes to one’s teaching on the basis of the feedback and reflection
  • Compile evidence and narrative to illustrate one’s teaching practice

Activities and Deliverables

Everyone who participates in the certificate will complete the following introductory activities:

  • Teaching perspectives inventory
  • Teaching self-assessment
  • Certificate Planning

You will then choose 4 of the following reflection activities.

In each, the process will be the same. You will engage in the activity which will provide you evidence about your teaching and/or students’ learning. You will reflect on that evidence and make an action plan for changes that you would like to make. After implementing those changes, you will reflect on what the changes were and how they worked.

  • Mid-semester assessment
  • Course evaluation reflection
  • Peer observation
  • CTL observation
  • Quality matters self review
  • Quality matters peer review
  • Course data reflection
  • Student learning reflection
  • Teacher’s choice

All participants will finish the certificate with the following activities: 

  • Teaching philosophy statement
  • Teaching portfolio excerpt
  • Teaching self-assessment revisited

How to Sign Up

To begin working on this certificate, you can self-enroll in this Canvas course.