Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher

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Stephen Brookfield―the award-wining educator and bestselling author―explains how to confront the ­contradictions involved in creating democratic classrooms by using critical reflection as a tool for ongoing personal and professional development. All chapters have been thoroughly updated and expanded to reflect today’s classroom formats, whether online or face-to-face, or in large ­lectures or small groups. Chapter 6 outlines the critical incident questionnaire and gives a case study illustration of its use. Chapter 10 looks at the particular contributions that the literature of critical reflection can make to the reflective effort.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Houle Award for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education, he is the author of numerous books on teaching, including The Skillful Teacher(2015), Teaching for Critical Thinking(2011), and The Discussion Book(with Stephen Preskill) (2016), all from Jossey-Bass. This is the second Brookfield book that I have read, after starting with his revised edition of The Skillful Teacher (2015). Most appealing is Brookfield's openness to how the various techniques may be individually tailored by educators to fit unique situations. Houle Award for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education, he is the author of numerous books on teaching, including The Skillful Teacher (2015), Teaching for Critical Thinking (2011), and The Discussion Book (with Stephen Preskill) (2016), all from Jossey-Bass.

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Chapter 4 continues the discussion of the autobiographies and describes a number of practical approaches for doing autobiographical reflection. One particular dimension of this book that has served me well as a teacher is the Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ). It earned rave reviews after its initial publication, and several friends recommended it highly to me years ago.

In his own personal voice Stephen Brookfield draws from over 45 years of experience to illustrate the clear benefits of critical reflection. Stephen Brookfield—the award-wining educator and bestselling author—explains how to confront the contradictions involved in creating democratic classrooms by using critical reflection as a tool for ongoing personal and professional development. Educators with the courage to challenge their own assumptions in an effort to improve learning are the invaluable role models our students need.

Filled with practical tools and expert insight, this volume helps facilitate a journey of constructive self-critique. Chapter 3 establishes the importance for critical reflection of teachers analyzing their own autobiographies as learners. Having someone who conveys such similar challenges as my own was quite helpful, both in terms of knowing that my concerns are common, but also by providing practical ways to reflect in different ways and take actions to develop my teaching even further. Brookfield demonstrates a kind of transparently rarely conveyed in our sharing about becoming more effective in our teaching.In addition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated and expanded to align with today's classrooms, whether online or face-to-face, in large lecture formats or small groups.