What is Teacher Self-Analysis and Why is it Significant for Student and Teacher Relationships?
Teacher self-analysis in the classroom is just as important as a critical self-reflection upon the unfolding of our lives. To know whether or not our students are getting the most out of our course, the first step must be to critically assess whether or not we are upholding our values and/or philosophical approaches to teaching. Without remaining mindful of our intentions for and approaches to teaching, it may be easy to lose sight of one's long term goals and could result in disorganization, a loss in student interest, and/or a poor student to teacher relationship. But being critical of the self is difficult due to our loyalties and beliefs that frame our perception. So how is the eye able to see the eye?
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dustin F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Students' Opinion
An answer to that question is to look in the mirror. In the case of a teacher, one of the most useful mirrors one could look into is that of the students. Gathering the opinions of the students, examining their language progress, and giving them self evaluations to do for themselves could all be useful methods to conduct a self-analysis as a teacher. This would be crucial to evaluate if one's observations of class progression have been blurred by our own biases. Furthermore, it would allow a teacher to become aware of how students would prefer to learn as opposed to how the teacher wants to teach. This, of course, is assuming that there is substantive feedback.
Also Read: Which are the best Spanish speaking countries for teaching English abroad?
Communication With Colleagues
Another important and valuable method of teacher self-analysis would be to have a work colleague sit in on a class and/or review the course material. The former would allow another teacher to observe with a distant eye the relationship between students and their instructor. Allowing a third party into the picture would certainly broaden the perspective and allow one to receive some outside observations regarding what one could be improving on or any other insights to help one critically reflect upon their relationship with their students whether it be a teaching method that is unfit for the students or a cultural disconnect. The latter would allow one to gather opinions and constructive, none binding criticism for their teaching methods. Reflecting upon one's methodological approaches to teaching could potentially allow one to become more aware of what type of class environment is being created or altered by class activities.
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And lastly, teacher self-analysis is significant in the teacher and student relationship because it should allow one to facilitate their students' self-analysis. While being able to critically analyze the self broadens the scope when trying to observe the cognitive process of another individual, self-reflections of the students can help them reflect upon their own needs from the teacher. Thus, a strong self-analysis can result in productive cooperation and understanding between teacher and student. And a stronger student and teacher relationship is much more valuable in a classroom than any type of methodology or course load has to offer.
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