Reflective Teaching in Higher Education: the “small shifts” that quietly change everything

If you’ve ever left a lecture thinking “That didn’t land the way I hoped” (or “That went surprisingly well - why?”), you’ve already stepped into reflective teaching. The question is whether reflection remains a private afterthought… or becomes a deliberate practice that improves teaching in real time and shapes what we do next.

In Advancing pedagogical excellence through reflective teaching practice and adaptation, Dr Yetunde Kolajo explores reflective teaching practice (RTP) in a first-year chemistry context at a New Zealand university, asking a deceptively simple question: How do lecturers’ teaching philosophies shape what they actually do to reflect and adapt their teaching?