Reflective Teaching

Teaching as an intricate activity necessitates qualified teachers. Teachers are considered the key features for the success in any educational system. As Campbell (2000) mentions, teacher is one of the prominent features in the process of language teaching and learning. Possibly one of the most imperative aspects of the teaching process is assessment procedures since many studies revealed that the use of assessment to promote learning in the classroom improved student achievements (Earl& Katz, 2006). Therefore, evaluation of students’ progress is considered as a key part of teachers’ job (Brumfit & Johnson, 1979). While it is vital for English teachers to be aware of different methods of assessing students, many of the teachers adhere to traditional

Richards and Lockhart (1996) note that a reflective approach to teaching is "one in which teachers and student teachers gather data about teaching, observe their manners, beliefs, theories and teaching practices, and utilize the information achieved as a foundation for critical reflection about teaching"(p.1). It is an approach to teaching and to teacher education which is based on the statement that teachers can improve their understanding of teaching and the quality of their own teaching by reflecting critically on their teaching experiences. A reflective teacher is as one who assesses the origins, principles and consequences of work in classroom. As a result of these focused discussions a teacher is able to better understand practice and be able to take steps to develop practice (Rose, 2007). As Griffiths (2000) clarifies, reflection-in-action occurs when “professionals are faced with a circumstances which they experience as distinctive or containing a constituent of surprise. Rather than applying theory or past experience in a direct way, professionals draw on their repertoire of examples to reframe the situation and find innovative solutions”(p. 542). Reflection-on-action, on the other hand, is according to

"The report, then, urged for reflecting on the relationship between thought and action as far as the teachers are concerned" (quoted in Borg, 2006, p. 7). As a result, the researchers began to think on and look for teachers ' idea as one of the features affecting their teaching behaviour.

Literature also reveals that reflective teaching has been studied in relation with critical thinking. Some investigators consider that the foundation of reflective teaching and thinking critically originated from critical thinking (Cornford, 2002; Hillier, 2005). Van Manen (1991; cited in El-Dib, 2007, p. 25) describes reflection as “the procedure by which teachers engage in aspects of critical thinking such as careful deliberation and analysis, making choices, and reaching decisions about a course of action associated with