Academics' (university teachers', lecturers') professional awareness of teaching is based upon conscious learning, on systematic and constant analysis of own experience, i.e. reflection. The ability to reflect is a precondition for professional growth and the deductions made as a result of reflection serve as the basis for making plans and changes. Reflective thinking means that one should have a dialogue with oneself or with others; it also requires purposeful actions as well as the generation and testing of new approaches. It is essential to become aware of one's personal practical knowledge - understandings of learning and teaching - on the basis of which one can plan further teaching activities. The reflection process needs special conditions: time and space for reflection, the facilitators of reflection, the curricular or institutional environment, an emotionally supportive environment, broader theoretical viewpoint, and reflection skills (Moon 2002).University teachers expect their students to develop as future professionals, to start to think and act as professionals. University lecturers can better facilitate and encourage their students to reflect on their learning and practice if they have personal experience of different practical activities and reflection exercises. Reflection skills are important for meaningful teaching and for professional development of academic staff.The course Learning and Teaching at University designed at Tallinn Pedagogical University pays much attention to supporting university lecturers' reflection processes. The course offers academic staff a number of opportunities to perceive various methods and strategies (such as narrative, case study, free writing, letter to the teacher, personal letter, learning diary, portfolio, discussions, sketching, etc.) to analyse personal teaching activities. Reflection is based on experiential knowledge of self - examining one's own practice. We give meanings to our experiences through the reflection-process. Personal intuitive awareness needs to be made explicit - verbalisation is part of the creative development of understanding. The presentation discusses possibilities that different reflection exercises offer to university teachers for the analysis of own teaching activities and their effect upon teachers' professional growth.Analysis of the feedback given by academic staff on the educational course enables to draw the following conclusions: the training course has enabled to create a theoretical background system necessary for meaningful teaching; to focus on teaching experience and to analyse university teachers' work with colleagues; to select the most suitable methods and strategies to analyse personal experience. The educational course has also offered the opportunity to articulate one's understandings and teaching experience thus increasing participants' confidence in and satisfaction with their work.