Empowering students: using reflective practice to improve pedagogy

This work provides an example for improving classroom engagement and student performance. The majority of instructor ratings systems are conducted at the end of an academic term. In this case, faster and more accurate results were necessary in order to salvage a poor first half of the semester. Finding none of available methods suitable for her intentions, the author utilized reflective practice to guide the redesign of a college course mid-semester. The action taken included the sharing of personal values, true care regarding student success, and validation of input given by students. Results are presented as favorable via increased test scores and class participation. A call for others to utilize similar methods in course development is made.