We Ask Students to Reflect. But Who Helps Teachers Do the Same?

 

Part 1:

As educators, we're constantly asking students to be metacognitive.

"What strategies did you use?" "Why did you make that choice?" "What would you do differently next time?"

We know that reflection deepens learning. We build it into our lessons, our assessments, our feedback cycles.

But here's what I've been thinking about: Who's asking teachers those same questions?

And more importantly—in a way that's truly personal, non-evaluative, and focused on growth rather than judgment?

The Challenge We Don't Talk About Enough

Teacher reflection is hard. Not because we don't value it, but because it requires time, space, and the right conditions.

Reflecting with a colleague can feel vulnerable—especially about lessons that didn't go well. Reflecting alone can feel isolating—we don't always know what questions to ask ourselves. Formal evaluation cycles are valuable but inherently high-stakes.

What if there was a middle ground? A way to process our teaching that felt safe, personal, and genuinely helpful?

That question led me to experiment with AI as a reflective thought partner for my staff.

The Setup

Out of 20 teachers in my building, only four had previously used AI as anything more than a content generator. Most had never experienced AI as a conversational partner—something that could ask follow-up questions, probe for specifics, help them think through complexity.

As we work to build teacher understanding and capacity around AI, I'm acutely aware that everyone is starting from a different place. Different comfort levels. Different prior experiences. Different levels of skepticism or curiosity.

So I designed a simple activity: an AI-powered reflection tool that would guide teachers through thinking about their practice.

The goal wasn't to evaluate them. It was to give them the same metacognitive experience we're constantly asking students to have.

Why This Matters Now

AI is becoming increasingly pervasive in education. Our students are using it. Parents are asking about it. Districts are developing policies around it.

But before we can help students use AI responsibly and effectively, we need to understand it ourselves. Not just what it can do, but what it does well, what it struggles with, and how it actually feels to interact with it as a learning tool.

This wasn't just about reflection. It was about experiential learning with a technology that's rapidly changing our profession.

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Coming in Part 2: What happened when teachers actually used it—the successes, the failures, and what it revealed about AI as an educational tool.