Cao, L: Exploring Professors‘ Thinking Through Post-ClassRef

The topic of teacher reflection has gained substantial attention in the education literature. Yet, teachers‘ reflective processes have not been well understood. This study explored characteristics of professors‘ post-class reflection. Eight professors--representing two levels of teaching experience, teaching a lecture or seminar undergraduate class in humanities or engineering--participated in this case study. Interviews, classroom observations, and instructional plans and materials comprised the data sources. Findings show that professors‘ post-class reflection became a routine: it happened at different points of time, mostly right after the class, and as a continuous process. Their reflection involved a mixture of having intuitive feelings about the class as well as thinking logically about how the class unfolded. Based on the results, a conceptual framework is proposed that describes professors‘ post-class reflection as interrelated with rational and non-rational information processing. The study contributes to a better understanding of the complex process of teacher thinking and informs the of faculty development interventions that aim at promoting reflective practice.