From burnout to balance: a teacher's journey back to the classroom

Abstract

This project used self-reflection to investigate my experience with teacher burnout. What began as an effort to explore effective teaching practices for new teachers, quickly evolved into a critical examination of self. Through the use of the self-study research approach, reflection became a powerful tool in determining the ways in which my beliefs about teaching conflicted with my actual practices. In an attempt to align theory with practice, a literature review helped to reveal specific causes of burnout as well as solutions for overcoming it. While the final project includes a series of strategies to address my teaching challenges, larger self-realizations emerged throughout the research process. The overarching theme, however, became the uniqueness of the teaching experience. Rather than attempting to generalize my experience as true for all teachers, the final project illustrated how a teacher can use reflective practice to identify their own areas of meaningful professional development.