Mirrors of Teaching: Reflect and Improve

This workshop is designed for academic teachers seeking to deepen their pedagogical practice through reflection. Participants will explore various reflective tools and techniques tailored to their teaching contexts, enabling them to critically assess their methods, engage with feedback received, and iteratively improve their instructional strategies. Throughout the workshop, various reflective tools will be introduced, including teaching observation, self-teaching observation, reflective team discussions, teaching diaries, and micro-teaching sessions. Through detailed descriptions and illustrative examples, participants will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of their applicability and effectiveness in enhancing reflective practice, fostering a culture of continuous improvement in their classrooms.

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants identify the reflective tools and techniques applicable to their teaching contexts.
• Participants implement iterative improvements in instructional strategies, utilizing specific reflective insights.
• Participants evaluate how reflective practices can contribute to enhancing the quality of teaching, identifying at least two specific areas of potential improvement in their own context.

Competences developed in the course:

The course develops competences falling under Pillar 4 (Reflective teaching and teacher professional development) and Pillar 5 (Professional cooperation) of the Framework for Effective Teaching at CU. In particular, it focuses on the following competences:

• (Pillar 4) Through evaluation and ongoing reflection, the teacher continuously improves their teaching.
• (Pillar 4) Based on self-reflection and feedback, the teacher sets specific goals for their professional development.
• (Pillar 5) The teacher regularly engages in discussions about teaching with colleagues for mutual inspiration and sharing of experiences.

The course is designed for those with English language proficiency at B2 level or above.

Lecturer:

Manuela Milani is an academic developer with more than 20 years of experience in different Universities in Europe. In the last years she has designed and delivered many training and professional development activities for faculty members. Her publications include several papers on the use of cultural differences in teaching and learning, on teaching observations practices and faculty training design and quality of teaching perception.