Theories of Reflective Practice - Article Example

Theories of reflective practice Introduction This paper will compare and contrast the theories of reflective practice and explore how this approach to learning can enable development as a professional practitioner. Information will be drawn from historical, educational, healthcare and personal development theories. Reflection has been focused on by teacher education programs as an important aspect of teacher preparation in the last two decades (Griffin, 2003; Yost & Sentner, 2000). The terms 'reflection' and 'reflective practice' despite the fact that they are widely cited in professional literature, remain ill-defined. As Smyth (1992:285) argues: 'reflection can mean different things to different people'it is used as a sort of covering term to signify something desirable or good 'people have their own (usually undisclosed) interpretation or result of what reflection is all about, and they are used as the basis for trumpeting the virtues of reflection. 'thinking about thinking' was how Dewey (1933) first described reflection, he advocated that teachers should examine the underlying rationale for their choices. Reflection took on a wider meaning in the early 1980's when the term 'reflective practice' was coined by Schon (1983) he argued that professionals face unique and complex circumstances in their everyday practice, and such are unsolvable alone by technical rational approaches. Professionals become aware of their implicit knowledge base and learn from their experience. This he suggested is reflective practice, and it serves as an important learning strategy. Kolb (1984) was able to relate the significance reflection had in learning to experiential learning. The experiential learner moved from a level of concrete experience to a level of abstract conceptualization of it, further action leading to further experience, is then based on it this he suggested was enabled by reflection. Types of reflection Two types of reflection were identified by Schon (1987): reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Reflection-in-action this occurs when there is a reflect on behavior as it happens by the person, this optimizes the person's immediate actions. On the other hand, reflection-on-action is reflection that occurs after the event has taken place, thereby giving the person the opportunity to describe, review, analyze and evaluate the situation, in order to improved practice in the future as a result of insight gained. The term recollective was used by Van Manen (1991) as reflection which he compares with Schon's reflection-on-action. Moreover, he describes an anticipatory reflection (reflection before an event) that 'helps people to approach situations in an organized, decision-making, (1991:101) reflection-in-action cannot take place because we usually do not have the time or opportunity to reflect. Reflective practice Conceptualizations focuses primarily on reflection-on-action (or recollective reflection) in teacher education literature. Three key stages in the reflective processes are identified generally by this literature. The realization that, in a given situation, the knowledge that one was applying was not sufficient in itself to explain what was happening. Is the first stage of inner discomfort (Boyd and Fales, 1983) or surprise (Schon, 1991). A critical analysis of the situation is involved in the second stage. This may include generation of new knowledge, examination of knowledge and feelings. A new perspective on the situation is involved in the final stage of development. Benefits of reflective practice Becoming increasingly popular in higher education is a reflective practice course, more especially in professional qualifications programs. Stewart et al (2000) suggest that reflective practitioner is the learning outcome every student in higher education should desire because it is equipped with skills of lifelong learning. The ability of students to identify their own learning needs and take responsibility for continuing their professional education and critique their practice (Clarke et al, 1996; Stewart et al, 2000; Griffin, 2003) is the outcome of professionals' reflective practice. Most times the reflective practice is put forward as a strategy that helps to remediate the theory-practice debate, there is no evidence to indicate if reflective practitioners are in essence more effective than their non-reflective colleagues (Stewart et al, 2000). A constant theme in teacher education literature is the importance of reflective abilities in preservice teachers (Yost et al, 2000; Parkay, 2000). The tendency to model their practice on their own K-12 educational experiences by new teachers is highlighted by the literature, thereby leading to deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes. For these attitudes to be adequately challenged and examined in light of current research and practice, it has been argued that effective reflective and critical thinking must be developed (Griffin, 2003; Brownlee et al, 2001; Zeichner, 1999). The knowledge as well as the skills acquired in their teacher training program may be easily and quickly obliterated without critical reflective skills Posner (2000) argues. Comparison Unless specific and definite processes are in place to encourage this to occur, actual reflection on an activity will hardly become explicit because of the fact that reflection tends to remain private. Griffin (2003) was able to identify a number of key factors that must and should be taken into consideration to promote reflection in teacher education programs, drawing on a comprehensive review of the literature. The understanding that Reflection is developmental in nature must be reflected by the selection of instructional methods. Throughout the period of a teacher education program, supervised field experiences are of necessity because (1) In authentic settings learning occurs and (2) Allowing students to actively engage in reflective thinking are real and immediate concerns that arise in authentic settings. The development of sound decision-making which is an integral part of the cycle of reflection is promoted by internalized frameworks. Serving as a springboard from which students can and are able to move from the specific to the general as well as assist in developing the habit of reflection is writing, and it serves as a critical lever of learning. Reflection can be enhanced by guided mentoring of the writing process; and Reflective skills are enriched, expanded by sharing reflections. Fund et al (2002) argue that in todays busy and demanding world of teachers' reflection is very unlikely to develop as professional practice work, he suggests that at the very beginning of teacher training a reflective approach should as a matter of fact be fostered. This point of view is supported by Wellard et al (1996 :1079) who made available to beginning students a literature on reflective journaling and instigated course features that is designed to give students 'space, time and safety with reflective processes'. Is a kind of 'how to do it' material. In addition, a 'critical friend' scenario is involved, is a situation where students reflected with a student partner. Teachers need to provide students with enough space for them to be able to undertake such a task Wellard et al argue that this has to be done for students to be able face the challenges of reflection,. Likewise, Smith (1996) is of the opinion that if any attempt is made to facilitate reflective abilities in teacher education programs, then it must be organized in a deliberate and explicit program of sequenced activities that lie at the core of the teacher education program. The practicum has been supported by most of the teacher education literature as an avenue for reflection fostering. Log book entries, debriefing sessions, reflective journals, written diaries, clinical supervision and case histories are all reflective activities. These activities normally relate to field experience or one subject. In a three year teacher education program, across all disciplines Woodward's model (1998) in one journal made use integrated reflections. Capable of providing a powerful means for connecting teaching beliefs is the exploration and reflection of Critical Incidents or dilemmas on one hand; with actual teaching practice on the other hand (Tillema and Kremer-Hayon, 2005). The proficiency of using Critical Incidents to increase the capacity of preservice teachers was examined by Griffin (2003) in order to develop reflective and critical thinking skills. She argues as a result going beyond a detailed description of an event, a Critical Incident provides a deeper level of reflection. She was able to discover through her study that concrete thinkers look beyond themselves and the immediate situation to larger, contextual issues as result of writing critical incidents. Instead of assuming some or all of the responsibilities, about one third or thereabout of the preservice teacher education students in her study discussed how initially they had blamed, another person, or some other factors for the dilemmas in their incidents. She suggests that open-mindedness, responsibility and wholeheartedness are reflected by these comments- three attributes of reflective individuals outlined by Dewey (1933). Contrast The inclusion of reflective activities in teacher education programs is supported by the literature; it cautions that deep reflection will not necessarily come about by these activities. That many written reports were 'far from reflection and indeed (were) merely diary entries describing an event or activity' (Woodward, 1998:417). This was found out by an examination of reflective journals from an Australian teacher education program that encouraged reflective practices. Likewise, Hatton and Smith (1995) instances of critical reflection in only a few students teachers in their final year was found by an analysis undertaken of a written work of pre-service teachers and Promoting reflection. The demand for too high a level of reflection in order to be categorized as critical was suggested by Fund and her colleagues (2002) as due to the lack of critical reflection found in Hatton and Smith's study. In order to find an appropriate tool to assess reflective ability in practical teaching, they had to analyze a series of written reflections submitted by student teachers. A more sensitive graduation of reflection was provided by their resultant four category model and more instances of the highest level of reflection was enabled by it: Description - it is of necessity that description is included in the framework in order to ensure that any change in the ability to reflect is evaluated; although it does not demonstrate a high level of reflection. Personal opinion - rather than relying on evidence from literature, emphasizes is laid on the student's standpoint. Linking - it has to do with linking to previous literature or knowledge; Critical bridging - this might include decisions about how to behave or act in the future, based on arguing the issue as it entails broader critical reference to and deliberation upon a certain issue that are driven by reflection.. Negative aspects of reflection (Cotton, 2001). Cameron and Mitchell (1993) identified situations that one can call a perception of teacher dominance, is a situation where students felt compelled to write what they thought the teacher 'wants', failure of the journals to go beyond the 'logged experience' as a result of antagonism and resistance of writing journals by students. Some students adopted a minimalist approach, as discovered by Wellard and her colleagues (1996) this involves writing fictional accounts of idealized practice, or writing very small entries to meet the standard requirement for a pass. Reflection has the propensity to lead to anxiety and has the potential for psychological harm, some authors so claim (Hulatt, 1995; Rich and Parker, 1995). Cotton (2001) and Hargreaves (1997) are of the opinion that raising serious moral and ethical questions in relation to ownership of information is the use of private information in reflections; there should be respect for autonomy, confidentiality and trust in professional relationships, and requirements for informed consent. Conclusion Liable to causing tensions for both student and tutor is assessing reflective abilities (Wellard, 1996; Stewart et al, 2000). Woodward (1998) are of the opinion that in a reflective journal, there is preclusion in using it to compare students with each other, as a result of the diversity of learning that is displayed, and as such a journal should be grading only pass or fail. Reflection cannot and should not be assessed some writers have claimed. (Sumison et al, 1996). Assessment strongly influences students' learning, as Stewart and Richardson (2000) if reflective activities are not assessed, it may suggest to students that there is no value whatsoever attached to reflection. They argue that in order to promote reflection for practice: ' There should be focus on the process of reflection in trying to engender reflective skills in our students, and as such there is need to move away from assessment by faculty. Small work group should be developed; there should be participation by students, and they are expected to engage in reflective dialogues and through introducing the self-assessment of tasks that are fundamental to the concept of autonomy and self-determination (2000:379). Woodward (2002) suggests that the most important aspect of resolving this dilemma is to negotiate with students and staff so they have some ownership in the process. Woodward's (2002) an insight into the account of her experience of implementing reflective journals across disciplines and over a three year Bachelor of Teaching program at the University of Western Sydney. For all subjects, the students had one journal this is to encourage and enhance integration across the program, to help and assist the students in establishing links across the subjects and to prevent journals from erupting from individual subjects as a the myriad. for reflective processes to be developed in these preservice teachers so that at the end of the day should they become 'truly reflective', a double entry journal was developed, here a description of notes/ quotations etc were entered on the left hand side of the journal, while on the right hand side reflections and planned action on these experiences were entered. Some description/ observation/ notes that were reflected on and then proposed action recorded were the main issue involving reflective journals. It was very imperative that the action was stated as it gave added purpose to the reflection and at the same time to ensure the entries in the journal were not driven by these care had to be taken. A reflection summary sheet was completed by all students by the end of each semester. In preparation for their portfolios and the final subject of the program, these sheets were included in their personal file. There was difficulty in making decisions whether the journals should receive a grade or not. There was a realization that the content and the purpose of reflection could be changed by both, many discussions arose with the final result being that the journals were ungraded in first and sixth semester but graded in all other semesters References Bruce Saulnier, Bruce White, Wendy Ceccucci, Nita Brooks () Learning Communities in Information Systems Education: Developing the Reflective Practitioner. Information Systems Management. Quinnipiac University. Retrieved from http://www.isedj.org/isecon/2006/2322/ISECON.2006.Saulnier.ppt Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing; a guide to teaching and learning methods Jasper, M. (2003) Beginning reflective practice Johns, C. (2004) Becoming a reflective practitioner Johns, C. (2002) Guided reflection: advancing practice Kolb, David. (1981). "Learning Styles and Disciplinary Differences." in A. W. Chickering and Associates, The Modern American College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Moon, Jennifer. (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. New York: Routledge. Perl, Sandra (1994) "Composing Texts, Composing Lives. Harvard Educational Review. 64. 427-449 Moon, J. (1999) reflection in learning and professional development Rogers, C. (1951) Client centered therapy Richards, J. & C. Lockhart (1994) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms, CUP, London. Retrieved from http://www.sou.edu/summerlanguageinstitute/actionresearch.doc Schon, D. (1984). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books. Schon, D. (1987). Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Schon, Donald A. (1991) The Reflective Turn: Case studies in and on educational practice. New York: Teachers College Press Read More