Using Reflection in Learning - Essay Example

?Facilitating Learning and Teaching Introduction Reflection is internationally used to facilitate learning in nursing education (Nielsen et al., 2007). Reflection is one way in which we can learn from our incidence and previous experience (Kuiper & Pesut, 2004). It is recognized in nursing education as an essential tool to enhance students to link their learned theory with the practice. Reflection means taking our incidence and previous experience as an establishment point to learn from. We can reach to a different understanding and take an action as a result by looking at them in a purposeful way using the reflective process (Taylor, 2006). Reflection is a way in which professionals can bridge the theory-practice gap, based on the potential of reflection to uncover knowledge in and on action (Schon, 1983 cited in Taylor, 2006). (Taylor, 2006) in his book defined reflection in more broad way, Reflection is the throwing back of thoughts and memories, in cognitive acts such as thinking, contemplation, meditation and any other form of attentive consideration, in order to make sense of them, and to make contextually appropriate changes if they are required. When we use reflection it enable us to explore what is beyond the line of vision and to look around and find out what is behind. Reflection in nursing education allows students to express their learning which occurred in the clinical placement (Kuiper & Pesut, 2004). The reflection can confirm and correct actions. Doing that equips you translate strategies successfully in the new situations and continue development. Also when problems exist it enables you to avoid using the previous solutions in the new similar situations and try another new ways of actions (Jones, 2010:11) Reflection is divided in to two types, reflection in action and reflection on action, identified by Donald Schon (1983) Cited by Jasper (2003). Reflection in action is the way that people think and theorise about practice while they are doing it. It is an automatic activity occurs during situation in the practice in every day practice. Reflection on action involves us in consciously exploring experience and thinking about practice after it has occurred to discover the knowledge used in the situation. This occurs through analysis, interpretation, and the recombination of information about the experience so that the new perspectives are found about that what has happened. It is an active process that changes the experience to knowledge by thinking, analyzing and describing the situation. In this paper work I am going to reflect on a lecture given by me for midwives’ students and will use reflection on action through following Gibbs reflection framework (Rolf et al,2001:18 & Jasper 2003:6). This reflection framework model is developed by Graham Gibbs in 1998. It consists of six stages that guide you through the process of reflection by asking a set of question divided in the cycle stages. The stages are description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan (Jasper, 2003:78). Description Meeting with the lecturer was made two week before the lecture day, which gave enough time to read, plan and prepare for the lecture. The lecture subject and the time were discussed between me and the module lecturer. The topic was about kidney and urine formation, covering anatomy and pathophysiology. It was the last session on a Friday and the students are eager to go home and start their weekend; I arrived one hour before the session, to meet the lecturer and to show here the material, the case studies related to the subject and the multiple choice questions. After that we discussed the session plan and she suggested to amend one multiple choice question and it was done. We arrived in the class room and the lecturer introduced me and my colleague and informed the student that we are going to give today’s lectures. My colleague started her lecture that was about body fluids. I sat on the side to take some notes that will be useful to include in my session. After my colleague finished her lecture the students went for five minutes break and I took the time to prepare my PowerPoint presentation and arrange the handouts and question papers. In formal teaching it is necessary to physically prepare the classroom the specific lesson. When the student came back I introduced myself, the lecture subject and the objectives for the session. The introduction to the lecture is highly important and oftentimes best accompanied by a motivational element (Quinn 2002). The lecture handouts were distributed for the students. The session commenced, and my voice was bit low to start but then it improved as I proceeded throughout. The good preparation of the session, my experience, the use of PowerPoint and the diagrams and animations used enhanced my ability to deliver the information and lead the discussion with the students in a relaxed way. This was reflected by good student participation and interaction throughout the session. The lesson plan enabled me to manage the session time and to give the information in the correct order. After the lecture is summarized and allowed time for the students to ask question related to the lecture. Following that, I started discussing the case studies. There were five case studies and the students were very active in their participation and showed a very good knowledge grasped from the lecture. The multiple-choice questions were then distributed to the students. Time was given for them to answer it individually and then we discussed the answers together and they showed good participation. Feelings On the day of my class session I was anxious and worry about my session and how I am going to perform in it. I is my first session for me and they are all a new group to me that I do not know any of them, how they are going to react to me and my teaching, are they going to accept me. When we entered the class the teacher introduced me and the reason why I am there and this reduced some of my stress. Teacher did mentioned to me earlier, it is Friday the last session and the student may not all be there. There were four students who were absent, but the student said that it is Friday and they wish to finish early and I saw some of them having their bags ready to go home for the weekend after the class. This had put some more stress on me and how I am going to run the session. During the session I involved the students in the discussion and asked some question to make students more active in the session. The good preparation and connecting this session with the previous anatomy, pathophysiology and nursing lectures on the urinary system the students taken in the module enhanced my class management and reflected on the active student participation in the class. Time went very fast and could finish the session on the time without any delay and the students gave very good comments about the session. Evaluation I have prepared for my session by reviewing the session title and objectives. I had also revised the module time table to find out what the students been given earlier in the course. I did a lot of reading in the subject to meet all the objectives and to properly plan the session. That has enabled me to deliver the information in a good order and linked it with the previous anatomy, pathophysiology and nursing sessions. The material was prepared on a power point and I used some animation to give a better explanation on the waste product secretion and reabsorption process in the kidney. I made sure to introduce myself to the student at the beginning of the session even the mentor did so when we entered the classroom. During the session I was able to manage the class and students were involved actively in the discussions and participated very well in the case studies and the multiple choice questions till the end of the session. What did not go well is that I was little anxious been observed and evaluated by my mentor, and worried from the students reaction and acceptance to me. This affected me when I started and my voice was not loud enough but then improved. It may be because this is my first teaching lecture here in Cardiff and the student were all new to me and this is the first contact with them. The language is another factor as English is a second language to me and I am not familiar with the accent the student speaks. This was the last session on Friday and the student were eager to finish and go early, it was felt as some students were with their travel bag to go home for the weekend. All this made me reduce the number of questions during the discussions without missing the main points of the session and fulfilling all the objectives so the class session will not take long time. Analysis Analysis is the key component in Gibbs Reflective cycle, which involves making a sense and understanding from a situation like giving a classroom lecture. I decided to reflect on the preparation of the lecture session. Lecture methods are the most frequently utilized strategies within adult education, particularly for nursing education (Bligh, 1998) cited in (Clynes, 2009). Notably, lectures are ineffective for certain topics, most notably high level thought, as they are not always able to favourably alter students’ attitudes. The number of the students was 38 students therefore lecture is a suitable method to convey the information to a large number of candidates. The lecture is particularly useful as a means of conveying information to a large array of students (Nicholls 2002).There was a good time notice given to me to prepare the lecture. That enabled me to go through the student’s module time table, have the session title and objectives. Books and articles related to the subject were gathered, as it was my contention that sound lectures are the result of organization and preparation. Curzon (2004) further indicated that such preparation contributes to an increase in student attention. Where (John, 2007) in his study debated that the traditional didactic lecture has an important role when used with other strategies and it enhance student opportunity for a better reflection and dialogue even though it has been criticised for failing to facilitate the interaction and participation of students. Looking at the available information, the lecture subject, objectives, students academic level (post basic midwifes), their number and the available recourses I prepared a lesson plan for this lecture. The other important matters considered while preparing the lesson plan were the teaching strategies, the main areas to be included in the lecture and also the time of the day the lecture will take place which was the last lesson of Friday. Lectures during the morning demonstrated high levels of memory retention that late afternoon lectures, with research Quinn (2007) indicating a 20% drop in efficiency. In terms of preparation Curzon (2004) has demonstrated that three of the major factors in preparation involved the students, subject, and resources. The efforts on preparing the lecture and the lesson plan made me gain enough knowledge about the subject that enhanced my ability to manage the class in an acceptable manner. Sustained and unchanging low-level activity such as listening to a lecture lowers concentration, while at the same time requiring concentrated effort to follow lecture content (Biggs, 1999). The attention span of students under these conditions can only be maintained for 10–15 min, after which time learning drops off rapidly (Bligh, 1998). Therefore the teaching materials were prepared on powerpoint slides, diagrams and moving animation in some of the difficult areas of the lesson were used to give better understanding to the processes happen in the kidney along with discussion, explanations and the handouts given to students Low activity level during lectures lowers concentration and requires concerted effort on the part of the students to follow lecture content (Biggs, 1999). Student attention span during these periods remains for only brief periods, before dropping off quickly (Bligh, 1998). Microsoft Powerpoint allows the instructor to produce highly sophisticated presentations. The organisation of the information in the lesson material, following the lesson plan and linking that with the previous knowledge student have helped to engage the student in that active participation. Teaching in nursing and midwifery includes facilitating learning through planned interventions. Still, there are many situations that requires impromptu instructor intervention (Quinn 2007) Good student participation and involvement was seen all over the lecture period regardless what has emerged, that it was the last session and student wants to leave early from the classroom but I felt that I was able to manage the session and this is what was mentioned by the mentor. For this lecture I have used the Constructivism learning theory and that is because the lecture was about anatomy and physiology of the kidney and urine formation. After the lecture subject was assigned I have collected the group previous timetable to go through it and find what the student had taken in this module. This helped me to make an idea of what is the students’ knowledge about the subject, where they are now and what is their experience. I related that to my knowledge and the lecture objectives and started collecting the references for to construct the lecture based on that. I recognize that through the constructivist approach consistently high academic performance standards can be achieved (Travis & Lord, 2004). Active group learning environments have also been shows to aid in the development of higher thinking (Burrowes, 2003). This research knowledge is essential to my teacher outlook. What did not go well in this lecture is that my voice was not loud enough to reach the back of the classroom at the beginning of the session. My experience in the academic teaching is not long, I was teaching undergraduate students in Oman and this time the students are post basic midwives and the English is their mother tongue language. When I started the session by introducing myself then preceded in the lecture my voice was not loud enough, perhaps there were feelings of anxiety and nervousness, because this is my first teaching session here in Cardiff. According to Quinn (2007) indicated that teacher interest and enthusiasm and non-verbal communications are highly valued by students. Young (2002) indicated this is a challenge among new teachers. Olsen and Sorcinelli (1992) Cited in Young (2002) are too restrictive in their subject matter approaches and only after experience exhibit more impromptu styles concerned with students’ interests, skills, and abilities. Lenze and Dinham (1999) Cited in Young (2002) also note that teachers must improve their student repertoire. Throughout the session period my voice loudness became better and increased. During the lecture I ensured that there was no barrier between me and the students by standing on the students’ side of the lectern and by moving in the class to be closed to the student during the discussions. The lecture was very interesting to me and student active participation made it very enthusiastic and there were good respond from both me as a lecturer and from the students. Evidence suggests that interest and enthusiasm are teacher characteristics that are particularly valued by students, and these can be indicated by emphasis and tone of voice, and also by non-verbal signals Quinn (2007). Where Young (2002) mentioned in his study that a new teacher may be unresponsive and fail to attend to reading students' faces and not connect with students. Olsen and Sorcinelli (1992) Cited in Young (2002) reported that new teachers are unlikely to pursue tangents or welcome questions in class. However, as new teachers develop confidence in their ability to lecture, they increasingly concern themselves with students' interests, skills, and abilities. Lenze and Dinham (1999) Cited in Young (2002) also noted that new teachers initially have limited repertoires for interacting with students to understand what students already know.The students in the classroom all were mature students doing their postgraduate speciality in Midwifery and this is the first time to meet them, therefore I could not address them by their names during the session. The use of forenames between the teacher and learners can increase the feeling of identity for the learners to help to reduce barriers to communication Quinn (2007). Feeling of nervousness and anxiety I have gone through in the lecture especially at the beginning were accepted feelings the novice teacher may experience and this is found in some studies in this field. Lecturing to a large group intimidates many individuals. Generally, the opening lecture is the most challenging in terms of anxiety and thus reduces performance levels (Quinn 2007). New educators face challenges from teaching, but also balancing personal responsibilities (Siler & Kleiner, 2001). In addition, technological changes pose challenges (Lewallen, Crane, Letvak, Jones, & Hu, 2003). Lambson (2010) conducted a qualitative study that argued that the experienced teachers and the facilitator played in this community of practice of literacy teachers. In this study the more experienced teachers scaffolded the learning and development of the novices. Anibas et al (2009) analyzed novice TAS in baccalaureate nursing programs and concluded with five categorical distinctions: feelings, preparation for role and expectations, resources, challenges, and mentorship. A variety of feelings were expressed by the participants. Research studies in this matter are very few and it was hard to find many articles that explored it in depth, and this is supported by some authors. Still, very little research has supported study groups in regards to teacher development (Long et al., 2006; Meyer & Achinstein, 1998) cited in Lambson (2010). Anibas et al (2009) indicated no studies existed where Teaching Academic Staff (TAS) in terms of novice mentorship was examined. Kuiper, R.A., & Pesut, D.J. (2004). Promoting cognitive and metacognitive reflective reasoning skills in nursing practice: Self regulated learning theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 45, 381-391. Lewallen, L. P., Crane, P. B., Letvak, S., Jones, E., & Hu, J. (2003). An innovative strategy to enhance new faculty success. Nursing Education Perspectives, 24, 257–260. Siler, B., & Kleiner, C. (2001). Novice faculty: Encountering expectations in academia. Journal of Nursing Education, 40, 397–403. Solem, M., & Foote, K. (2004). Concerns, attitudes, and abilities of early-career geography faculty. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 94, 889–912. Anibas. M., Brenner G. H., & Zorn. C. (2009) Experiences described by novice teaching academic staff in baccalaureate nursing education: a focus on mentoring. Journal of Professional Nursing, 25, 4, 211–217. Lambson. D. (2010) Novice teachers learning through participation in a teacher study group. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 1660-1668 Bastable S (2008) Nurse as Educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. (3rd ed.) London: Jones and Bartlett Publishers Oermann M, Gaberson K (2006) Evaluation and Testing in nursing Education. (2nd ed.). USA: Springer Publishing Company. Nicklin P, Kenworthy N (2000) Teaching and assessing in Nursing Practice: An Experiential Approach. (3rd ed.) London: Bailliere Tindall. Quinn F, Hughes S (2007) Quinn's Principles and Practice of Nurse Education. (5th .ed.). UK: Nelson Thornes. Kapborg I, Fischbein S (2002) Using a model to evaluate nursing education and professional practice. Nursing and Health Sciences. (4), 25–31 John, C. (2009), Becoming a reflective practitioner, 3rd edn, Blackwell Publishing, London. Peters, M. 2000, "Does constructivist epistemology have a place in nurse education?", Journal of Nursing Education, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 166. Tenenbaum, G., Naidu, S., Jegede, O. & Austin, J. 2001, "Constructivist pedagogy in conventional on-campus and distance learning practice: an exploratory investigation", Learning and Instruction, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 87-111. Travis, H. & Lord, T. 2004, "Traditional and Constructivist Teaching Techniques", Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 12. Burrowes, P.A. 2003, "Lord's constructivist model put to a test", The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 65, No. 7, pp. 491. The assignment is a reflection on a lecture given to a student in the collage, evaluated by my mentor and I am reflecting two points 1. What went well and it is the lecture preparation. 2. What did not go well, as a novice teacher with little experience, the voice was not loud enough and feeling of nervousness and anxiety I need editing and paraphrasing to the done work mainly the things in red. Advantages or reasons for using Gibbs reflection model Action plan according to Gibbs reflection model Conclusion The total ward count is 4000 wards Harvard style references for the references in the assignment You can cut down from introduction, description, feeling or evaluation to reduce the number for the action plan and conclusion. Read More