Reflection on Practice
Reflection grows powerful when it moves from general impressions to a specific teaching decision, observable evidence, and a manageable experiment.
The official Element
Element 6A: Teachers continuously examine and evaluate their own practice to intentionally use new understandings and perspectives as opportunities for professional growth and effectiveness.
What this Element asks of an educator
Reflection grows powerful when it moves from general impressions to a specific teaching decision, observable evidence, and a manageable experiment.
Read together, these indicators ask educators to make reflection on practice visible in planning, teaching, student experience, and follow-through. The aim is not to display every indicator in every lesson, but to understand the full range of the Element and select a focused practice to develop with evidence.
Official Example Indicators—and an SDLA reading
The Commission presents Example Indicators as illustrations rather than a comprehensive or required checklist. Their sequence shows the breadth of this Element and gives teachers, mentors, and coaches a shared language for focused development.
Reflect on and analyze their teaching practice and their…
Official indicator: Reflect on and analyze their teaching practice and their own social–emotional competencies and how these teacher capacities contribute to each student’s learning and well-being.
Develop and deepen the skills necessary to sustain ongoing…
Official indicator: Develop and deepen the skills necessary to sustain ongoing reflection and self- awareness of strengths and areas for growth.
Analyze their instructional successes and dilemmas to create next…
Official indicator: Analyze their instructional successes and dilemmas to create next steps.
Examine their personal attitudes and biases to understand how…
Official indicator: Examine their personal attitudes and biases to understand how these influence equitable and culturally responsive and sustaining student learning and performance outcomes.
Reflect on their personal code of ethics
Official indicator: Reflect on their personal code of ethics, which guides how they teach historically and persistently underserved students.
Developing the practice
Name a precise growth problem
Turn a broad aspiration into one observable practice, an action, and evidence to revisit.
Learn with other people
Use students, families, colleagues, specialists, mentors, and community partners as sources of knowledge and feedback.
Protect trust and sustainability
Attend to ethics, equity, legal responsibilities, professional boundaries, follow-through, and personal well-being.
Evidence worth noticing
- a focused professional goal connected to student experience
- reflection records showing a decision, action, evidence, and revision
- collaboration artifacts documenting roles, feedback, and follow-through
- an ethical, equity, or workload decision with its reasoning and observed effect
Evidence caution: No single artifact proves accomplished practice. Interpret evidence in context, center student experience and learning, use multiple sources, and avoid collecting identifiable information that is not necessary.
A pinch of data integration and digital learning
Digital systems can organize information, improve access, coordinate work, or shorten a feedback loop. They are valuable only when the educator can explain the human decision they support, the information they require, and how privacy, accessibility, equity, and professional responsibility are protected.
Academic Coach job description
See how a coaching role can create conditions for disciplined, evidence-informed reflection.
Questions for reflection and coaching
- Where is reflection on practice already visible in my practice, and what evidence supports that judgment?
- Which students experience the current approach differently from the way I intend?
- Which official indicator names the most important next area for growth?
- What is one affordable, manageable adjustment I can test, and what will I look for afterward?
- Whose perspective—student, family, colleague, specialist, or community partner—would improve the next decision?
Continuum of Teaching Practice: Element 6A
This Element-specific continuum describes how practice develops from Emerging through Innovating. Compare the teacher-practice descriptions with the related evidence in students’ experience, then identify a current strength and a purposeful next step.
How to understand and use this continuum for professional growth
- Begin at Emerging and read across. Practices described at earlier levels carry forward even when they are not repeated.
- Use evidence gathered over time to identify the description that most closely reflects current practice.
- A teacher may be at different levels in different Elements, regardless of years in the profession.
- Changes in students, content, grade level, school, or responsibilities may appropriately shift practice in either direction.
- Use the continuum for reflection and goal setting, not as a stand-alone observation or evaluation instrument.
Select a level to expand it. Select it again to return to the full comparison.
Teacher practice
The teacher understands the importance of reflection on teaching practice and their social-emotional competencies and is developing skills for ongoing reflection.
Teacher practice
The teacher reflects on practice and competencies, identifying strengths and areas for growth.
The teacher considers their impact on student learning.
Teacher practice
The teacher consistently reflects on practice, social-emotional competencies, and impact on each student's learning and well-being.
The teacher analyzes successes and challenges to determine next steps.
The teacher examines personal attitudes and biases.
Teacher practice
The teacher engages in ongoing, in-depth reflection to improve practice and effectiveness.
The teacher carefully examines how their biases influence student outcomes.
The teacher reflects on personal ethics related to underserved students.
Teacher practice
The teacher models highly effective, consistent reflective practice, supports colleagues in developing reflective skills, leads efforts to examine and address biases, and exemplifies a strong personal code of ethics to guide equitable teaching.
Source and attribution: Continuum language reproduced from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Continuum of Teaching Practice (2025), aligned with the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (2024). This publication by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing is not copyright. It may be reproduced in the public interest, but proper attribution is requested.