equipping virtual classes with reflective tools

In the new virtual millennium, language teachers are required to acquire different dimensions of knowledge, and they need some practical tools to become effective virtual teachers (zeichner & liston, 2014; fat’hi, ghaslani, & parsa, 2015; safari & rashidi, 2015). hence, the developing of new material with the aim of increasing teachers’ knowledge of qualities and competencies of reflective practitioners and reflective tools in addition to enhancing students’ learning via utilizing reflective tools seemed vital. to this end, 41 student teachers and english language teachers from shahid bahonar teacher training center and the ministry of education were interviewed, and their opinions regarding reflective practice and reflective tools were analyzed. later on, based on the participants’ perceptions of reflective tools and reflective practice, we developed a course material with the following sections. in the first section, we elaborated on what is meant by the qualities and competencies of reflective teachers according to pollard’s (2002) reflection facets. these fundamental facets of reflection are the followings: social contexts, values and identity, relationships, learning processes, curriculum and planning, teaching, and assessment. in the second part of the content, reflective tools that teachers believed to be more practical to use have been introduced thoroughly. finally, in the last section, we chose some lessons from each grade and presented lesson studies for them to portray how student teachers and english language teachers can use a reflective tool in their virtual classrooms. to exemplify, lesson 6, my house, was selected from grade 6. then, the authors created a lesson plan, sketched in a table, with detailed steps of context, study, activation, and freer practice. during each task, some hints are also provided about the ways english teachers can integrate reflection into their virtual classes. therefore, we strongly believe that the distribution of this material would maximize teachers’ capabilities to conduct their virtual classes successfully.