A practical guide to the essential practice that builds better teachers. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher is the landmark guide to critical reflection, providing expert insight and practical tools to facilitate a journey of constructive self-critique. Stephen Brookfield shows how you can uncover and assess your assumptions about practice by viewing them through the lens of your students' eyes, your colleagues' perceptions, relevant theory and research, and your own personal experience. Practicing critical reflection will help you… Align your teaching with desired student outcomes See your practice from new perspectives Engage learners via multiple teaching formats Understand and manage classroom power dynamics Model critical thinking for your students Manage the complex rhythms of diverse classrooms This fully revised second edition features a wealth of new material, including new chapters on critical reflection in the context of social media, teaching race and racism, leadership in a critically reflective key, and team teaching as critical reflection. In addition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated and expanded to align with today's classrooms, whether online or face-to-face, in large lecture formats or small groups. In his own personal voice Stephen Brookfield draws from over 45 years of experience to illustrate the clear benefits of critical reflection. Assumptions guide practice and only when we base our actions on accurate assumptions will we achieve the results we want. Educators with the courage to challenge their own assumptions in an effort to improve learning are the invaluable role models our students need. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher provides the foundational information and practical tools that help teachers reach their true potential.

Incorporated in 1673, the town of Brookfield was part of the original Quaboag Plantation land grant of 1660 and is situated at a crossroads of the Boston Post Road that connected New York and Boston. Brookfield grew from a farming community to an industrial town, with early factories producing shoes, boots, bricks, and paper. When the factories were in full swing in 1880, Brookfield was one of the wealthiest and most populated towns in the area. The town has since returned to a quiet state, and today residents and visitors enjoy the pastoral atmosphere while remembering some of Brookfield's more noteworthy characters: Bathsheba Spooner, who was found guilty after a sensationalized 18th-century trial of conspiring to murder her husband; author Mary Jane Holmes, whose books about daily life sold more than two million copies; and Borden Company's bovine mascot, Elsie the Cow, who was raised on Elm Hill Farm and made her way to Hollywood.

During the early 1700s, Brookfield was first colonized in an area occupied by the Pootatuck Indians. Hat, shear, and comb factories arose along the Still River, enticing settlers, who built farms, churches, and inns. In 1752, land was taken from New Milford, Newtown, and Danbury to form the Parish of Newbury. By 1788, the town was incorporated as Brookfield in honor of the area's first ordained pastor, Rev. Thomas Brooks. The town quickly outgrew its horse-and-buggy paths and one-room schoolhouses. In 1927, Candlewood Lake was born out of area farmland, flooded to form the largest man-made lake in Connecticut. Brookfield depicts the settlement of the area and highlights notable natives, including Lucia Ruggles Holman, the first American woman to circumnavigate the globe, and Sarah Jane Campbell, P.T. Barnum's famous fat lady.

Рreceded by an account of old Quabaug, Indian and English occupation, 1647-1676 Brookfield records, 1686-1783.

Originally a part of Quaboag Plantation, the town of West Brookfield became independent by incorporating in 1848. Early industries included brickyards and factories for bookbinding and the manufacture of boots, hats, corsets, and condensed milk. The community's earliest days were also committed to education as rural school districts were established, boasting original school buildings that were able to be used through the 1950s. Over the years, many notable residents emerged, including Judge Jedediah Foster, who assisted in drafting the Massachusetts Constitution, and famous suffragist Lucy Stone. Brothers Daniel and Ebenezer Merriam established a printing house and bookstore in West Parish Brookfield. Today, residents and visitors enjoy West Brookfield's most popular attractions: the Rock House Reservation features 196 acres of boulders and stone outcrops and the 315-acre Lake Wickaboag is the scene of winter and summer activities, from icehouses to a nationally recognized water-ski club. The Quaboag Historical Society was founded in 1895 and 120 years later is still a vital part of the community.