Professional growth becomes more useful when reflection is connected to evidence and followed by a small experiment. Use this journal weekly, after an important lesson, or at the end of a learning cycle.

1. Notice — What happened?

Choose one teaching, facilitation or relationship moment worth examining.

Describe what happened without immediately judging it as good or bad.

Ask yourself: What did learners do, say or avoid doing that caught my attention?

2. Identify what worked

Name one choice you made that supported learning, participation, clarity, safety or engagement.

• What did I do?

• What learner response suggests it helped?

• Would I repeat it in a similar context?

3. Explore the tension

Choose one part that felt difficult, uncertain or less effective than you hoped.

Ask yourself: Was the challenge related to task design, explanation, learner readiness, questioning, behaviour, timing, relationships, assessment or my own assumptions?

4. Examine your interpretation

Separate what you observed from the story you told yourself about it.

Try: Replace “They were not interested” with an observable description such as “Only three learners responded and several began side conversations during the explanation.”

5. Look for a pattern

Consider whether this is a one-time event or something you have noticed repeatedly.

Ask yourself: Where else have I seen this pattern in my practice?

6. Choose one growth priority

Avoid trying to improve everything at once. Select one skill, behaviour or practice that would make the greatest difference.

Examples include questioning, formative assessment, learner voice, feedback, classroom routines, differentiation, facilitation or relationship-building.

7. Design a small experiment

Decide what you will try differently next time.

Try: “In my next lesson, I will give learners 60 seconds of individual thinking before asking for whole-class responses.”

8. Decide what evidence to collect

Choose one simple source of evidence.

• Learner work

• Participation pattern

• Exit reflection

• Observation notes

• Feedback from a colleague

• Your own post-session notes

9. Review the experiment

After trying it, write:

• What changed?

• What did not change?

• What surprised me?

• What will I keep, adapt or stop?

Try this today

Choose one recent lesson and write only three lines: what I noticed, what I learned, what I will try next.

LQ Reflection: Professional growth is less about proving that a lesson went well and more about becoming increasingly able to notice, learn and adapt.