· Web viewMastering clutch control, for example, is a deliberate and conscious practice of trying, sometimes failing, trying again, and becoming confident, until it is an unconscious

Chapter The reflective teacher

Reflection is central to learning for both teachers and students. If teachers regard

themselves as reflective practitioners, with all that the concept entails, they are more

likely to help students develop as reflective learners. Although we are concerned

here mainly with reflective practice for teachers, many of you will be introducing your

students, particularly those on professional courses such as nursing and social work,

to reflection in theory and practice. You might also want to consider the ideas in this

chapter in relation to student learning (Chapter 2) and students’ employability and

personal development (Chapter ?). This chapter begins by considering the main

focus of our reflection as teachers - how can I be a better teacher?

What makes a good teacher?

The old maxim ‘good teachers are born not made’ still seems to exert influence, as

evidenced by the recent suggestions that teachers in schools and colleges do not

have to be trained and qualified, they only need to be subject experts. Whilst there

may be those who exhibit ‘natural’ confidence and an ability to inspire and motivate

groups of people, they are not necessarily good teachers. They might struggle to

© Pete Scales May 2015 www.peter-scales.org.uk

QAA Quality Code Chapter B3

Indicator 3

Learning and teaching practices are informed by reflection, evaluation of

professional practice, and subject-specific and educational scholarship. (2015:

13)

plan classes and to use a range of methods; they may be unfamiliar with even

simple technologies; may have very little understanding of how students learn and

the implications of this for their teaching. A great physicist or a great psychologist will

not automatically be a great teacher.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement (Boyer 1990) affirms

that if academics are required to continually research, extend and improve their

discipline knowledge they should also continually develop their pedagogical

knowledge, skills and understanding. As Boyer (1990:23) suggested, teaching is not

“… a routine function, tacked on, something almost anyone can do.” More

importantly, training and development for teachers and lecturers is not ‘remedial’, it is

not about ‘fixing problems’ with teachers’ performance. Pedagogical training and

development is vital to improving students’ learning and achievement. In their

research into the efficacy of professional development in schools and colleges,

Thompson and Wiliam (2007:2) state:

“We were led to teacher professional development as the fundamental lever

for improving student learning by a growing body of research on the

influences on student learning, which shows that teacher quality trumps

virtually all other influences on student achievement.”

As suggested earlier, subject expertise and research are fundamental requirements

for HE teachers, but are not sufficient in themselves to make a good, or even

effective, teacher. What then, are the qualities or attributes of a good teacher? Su

and Wood (2012: 143) suggest that “Great teachers have an extra ‘something’ which

is in some ways beyond words; it alludes measurement and, therefore, lists of

qualities are inadequate.” Similarly, Harris (1998), writing of the research tradition


based on the notion of ‘teacher artistry’ states that, “Within this research tradition

there is the central recognition that teaching involves creativity and is carried out in a

highly personalised way.” However, given the proviso is that good teaching is, to a

great extent, personal and unquantifiable some guidelines from research may be

useful for the novice lecturer.

A synthesis of the research by Ramsden, et al (1995) suggests good teachers

display these qualities. They,

are good learners in that they reflect on their teaching and they continue to

engage in professional development activities;

are enthusiastic about their discipline and are able to convey this to their

students;

are metacognitive about their teaching and therefore plan, monitor, evaluate

and adapt their teaching in response to their students and the learning

context;

use approaches that promote deep learning and problem solving strategies;

use their knowledge to help learners construct their own knowledge and

understanding;

have clearly defined goals, assess student learning appropriately and provide

meaningful feedback;

encourage lifelong independent learning;

challenge and support their students and are aware of and responsive to their

students’ needs


In their analysis of university undergraduate students’ perceptions of what makes a

good university lecturer, Su and Wood (2012: 147) propose the following

characteristics:

being authoritative and expert in knowledge and skills

being able to apply knowledge to real-life scenarios

being a good communicator

being good at using educational technologies

having a sense of humour

being able to interact with students

being passionate and inspiring being supportive

being able to facilitate students independent learning

being approachable

being able to provide timely feedback

being a reflective practitioner

This last point is the most important. Teachers will only improve if they reflect on

their teaching and on their own learning. They learn lessons every time they teach by

reflecting on and evaluating what they do with the intention of continual

improvement.

Reflective practice

What is reflection?

Common parlance has it that a definition of madness is repeatedly carrying out the

same action but expecting a different result. We all have experiences but we only


learn from them if we reflect on them and draw lessons for change. The learning

aspect of reflection is concisely stated by Boud, et al (1985: 19):

“Reflection is an important human activity in which people recapture their

experience, think about it, mull it over and evaluate it. It is this working with

experience that is important in learning.”

Some may argue that reflection doesn’t need any complex theory or special practice;

it just means thinking about things. Thinking about the structure of the universe or

why you disagreed with your partner last night might be regarded as reflection;

others might regard it as mere idleness and self-indulgence. We may spend time

thinking about what we do and how it affects others, but we don’t always take it a

step further and reflect on our actions and make plans to do things differently. In a

professional setting, however, reflection is:

deliberate

purposeful

structured

about linking theory and practice

to do with learning

about development and change

Moon (2005: 1) suggests that reflection is:

“… a form of mental processing that we use to fulfil a purpose or to achieve

some anticipated outcome. It is applied to gain a better understanding of

relatively complicated or unstructured ideas and is largely based on the

reprocessing of knowledge, understanding and, possibly, emotions that we

already possess.”


The journey from beginner to expert

In his book ‘Outliers’ Malcolm Gladwell (2009) popularised the notion that it takes

10000 hours to make an expert. The ‘10000 hours rule’ was, it seems, originally

proposed by Ericsson, et al (1993) in a paper entitled ‘The role of deliberate practice

in the acquisition of expert performance’. The title is important because it emphases

the ‘deliberate’ nature of practice; ‘acquisition’ suggests, even though some talent or

natural ability may be important, expert performance, whether in sport or teaching, is

acquired through practice and, furthermore, deliberate practice underpinned by

reflection.

The process of reflection helps us to navigate and monitor our own professional

development from raw beginner to expert. Reynolds (1965: 69) asserted “Learning to

deal with new experience involves paying attention to it.” She proposed a model of

learning and teaching in social work beginning from the ‘stage of acute

consciousness’ to mastery and uses the example of learning to drive as an

illustration. Mastering clutch control, for example, is a deliberate and conscious

practice of trying, sometimes failing, trying again, and becoming confident, until it is

an unconscious process. Our teaching careers may follow a similar path. Early

attempts at planning the timing of activities or the use of a particular technology can

be difficult, even scary, but eventually become second nature. Fig 8.1 shows a

simple adaptation of Reynolds’ model.

INSERT Fig 8.1

Another, uncredited model, suggests a movement through the stages of:


Unconscious incompetence – in which we are unaware of what we can’t do or

don’t know

Conscious incompetence – in which we become aware of our development

needs and start to do something about them

Conscious competence – where we are using our new skills and knowledge,

but watching and monitoring ourselves

Unconscious competence – the skills become naturalised. This is similar to

Reynolds’ notion of ‘second nature’

Many of our skills, our knowledge and competences will become, like driving a car,

second nature. There is a danger, however, that ‘second nature’ can become

complacency, leading to the feeling that there is nothing more that we can learn and

that we have reached our full potential. Success in teaching requires us always to

challenge and develop our practice by regular reflection, review and informed

practice.

Berliner (2001) outlines the stages of teacher development as proceeding from the

Novice – the raw recruit who is learning the basics and is relatively inflexible – to the

Expert, who, like a Grand Prix driver or a professional footballer, is completely at one

with their art, performing effortlessly and naturally. Experience and length of service

do not, however, necessarily make an expert; experience needs reflection if we are

to become expert teachers. Rollett (2001) describes what it means to be an expert

teacher and is worth quoting at length:


‘…. Experts rely on a large repertoire of strategies and skills that they can

call on automatically, leaving them free to deal with unique or unexpected

events…. The wealth of knowledge and routines that they employ, in fact,

is so automatic that they often do not realise why they preferred a certain

plan of action over another. However, when questioned, they are able to

reconstruct the reasons for their decisions and behaviour.’ (Rollett, 2001)

Rather than understanding reflection as change, Biggs and Tang (2007: 43) propose

‘transformative reflection’ as a better term. To use a mirror metaphor, they suggest,

reflection simply shows us as we are, whereas, “Transformative reflection is rather

like the mirror in Snow White; it tells you what you might become.” This echoes

Barnett’s belief that higher education should be a process of transformation, not

reproduction, and that “the learning society is founded on continuous change”.

(Barnett, 1994:175) This notion would seem to apply to teachers as well as to

students.


Criticisms of reflective practice

Reflective practice is ubiquitous. It has permeated most areas of education and

professional development and become virtually mandatory in some professions. It is

right, therefore, that we should cast a sceptical eye over the field of reflective

practice and remind ourselves of its basic purpose – improvement. Whilst

emphasising the purpose and value of reflection and arguing for a “common-sense

framework of reflective practice”, Rushton and Suter (2012:2) caution against “… the

pursuit of a holy grail of reflective practice that can be taken as a cure-all for

improving all teaching and learning.”

In the field of nursing and nurse education, for example, reflection and reflective

practice are central to learning and professional development. Greenwood (1998:3)

suggests the efficacy of reflection should not be taken for granted. She says “the

world of nursing seems to have gone ‘reflection-mad’ in that its embrace of reflection

and reflective practice appears a little unbalanced.” Whilst far from rejecting

reflection completely, Greenwood makes several critical points. Firstly, she suggests

there is evidence that nurses need time for reflection and, more importantly, training

in how to do it because it is a “highly sophisticated intellectual skill.” Secondly, a

consequence of this lack of understanding and training in reflection can lead to

‘single loop learning’ rather than a ‘double loop learning’. These concepts were

developed by Argyris and Schön (1974), a key principle being that learning revolves

around the detection and correction of error. If error is encountered a different

strategy is sought for and applied. In single loop learning, however, the new strategy

is sought within the ‘governing variables’ such as the personal mental models and


habits of the individual and the structural, procedural and cultural aspects of the

organisation. The problem with such single loop learning Greenwood suggests “is

that it could result in nurses doing wrong or inappropriate things perfectly.” (1998:3)

Whereas single loop learning tends to reinforce routines, double loop learning is

more risky and requires creativity. Rather than following the rules, double loop

learning demands that we consider changing the governing variables and, hence,

the actions. The difficulty, of course, for individual teachers is that even though, as a

result of reflection, they may become aware of the constraints of the governing

variables they may be unable, or perhaps not allowed, to change them. Double loop

learning is likely to require a learning organisation, one which focuses on “generative

learning which is about creating well as adaptive learning, which is about coping.”

(Senge 1996: 289)

At a more basic level, reflection and reflective practice can become simply routines

undertaken without enthusiasm from or benefit to the individual simply because they

are required by the organisation or deemed to be a desirable professional attribute.

Too often reflective practice is tied to the requirements of accreditation, recognition

and regulation. Reflection is a process, not an end itself. Individuals will develop their

methods of reflecting and recording the reflections through journals, portfolios, blogs

and other means but the production of these artefacts is not the purpose of reflective

practice. If these practices and methods do not lead to learning and improvement

then they are pointless.


Theoretical perspectivesThis section provides an overview of a range of theoretical perspectives from some

key thinkers whose work has influenced the development of reflective practice.

John Dewey

John Dewey (1859-1952) was a leading educational philosopher of the late 19 th and

early 20th century whose ideas, particularly the notion of ‘reflective intelligence’ are

still influential. Dewey believed that traditional education in his native America was

rigid, static and inadequate for the needs of a changing society and rapidly

developing industrial economy. What was required was a system of education that

questioned traditional methods and habits, encouraged a problem solving approach

and emphasised the individual’s lived experience as the beginning of learning. Key

to Dewey’s philosophy was the development of thinking, particularly, reflective

thinking. In How We Think, he states:

“Thought affords the sole method of escape from purely impulsive or purely

routine action. A being without capacity for thought is moved only by instincts

and appetites, as these are called forth by outward conditions and the inner

state of the organism. A being thus moved is as it were pushed from behind.”

(Dewey 1933:15)

In other words, such people are not in control. They are dragged along by events,

unable to understand or change them. To use more recent terminology, such a

person is merely reactive, rather than active or proactive. We must, as Dewey says,

move from routine action to reflective action which is characterised by ongoing

reflection and development.


For Dewey, reflection is a rational and purposeful act which proceeds from a state of

doubt or perplexity. When we are faced with difficulties and uncertainties in practice,

when things don’t go according to plan or don’t fit with theory, we may feel powerless

and unable to resolve the situation. For Dewey, these are key moments for learning;

we can reflect on these problems to solve perplexity and learn from it. However,

simply encountering perplexity or doubt and drawing on a solution from personal

experience may not be reflective. There may be a lack of critical thinking or a simple

falling back on old methods. Reflective practice requires a willingness to endure the

doubt and to search for new solution, for “to be genuinely thoughtful, we must be

willing to sustain and protract the state of doubt which is the stimulus to thorough

enquiry.” (Dewey 1933:15)

Donald Schön

Donald Schön was concerned with reflection in the context of understanding and

developing professional practice. Where Dewey writes of the learning opportunities

inherent in “perplexity, confusion and doubt”, Schön states that the reflective

practitioner “allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a

situation which he finds uncertain or unique” (Schön 1983: 68). The key elements of

Schön’s work which are relevant here are:

technical rationalism

knowing-in-action

reflection-in-action

reflection-on-action


Technical rationalism

Schön suggested that much professional education tends to be academic and

theory-based and, as such, presumes that only logical, scientific explanations of

reality have value. However, in practice - for example, in teaching, nursing or social

work - this technical rationalism may be inadequate when seeking solutions to

complex, practical problems. Teachers may have acquired theoretical knowledge of

pedagogy, but while this might frame their classroom practice as it should be, it

might not explain it as it actually is. Insistence on the primacy of technical rationalism

is a ‘this is what the theory says, so this is how it’s done’ approach.

Knowing-in-action

Schön’s research was, to a large extent, set in the context of ‘minor’ professions

such as nursing, social work and teaching “which have long grappled with aspects of

their practice that could not be easily reduced to fixed and testable scientific theory”

(Redmond, 2006:31). These ‘minor’ professions contrast with the ‘learned’

professions, such as medicine and law, in which technical rationalist procedures

might be more rigidly followed.

Schön characterised the ‘learning’ professions as inhabiting the ‘high ground’, whilst

those in the minor professions work in the ‘swampy lowlands of practice’ where real

problems are encountered. ‘In the swamp’ practitioners develop their knowledge

through encountering and solving unexpected, complex problems. They learn to

‘think on their feet’ and be creative in response to the contingency of real practice.

Thus, these workers develop, through their artistry, a stock of skills, knowledge and


understanding, the ‘know-how’ that underpins their professional practice. This tacit

knowledge, Schön’s ‘knowing-in-action, is so embedded in the individual and their

activity that it becomes ‘second nature’ and ‘unconscious competence’. For Schön,

reflective practice means making this tacit knowledge explicit through the processes

of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.

Reflection-in-action

At a simple level this can be understood as ‘thinking about it while you doing it’. In

practice, during a teaching session the teacher will be monitoring and reflecting on

their performance. When problems or surprises arise they can draw on their stock of

tacit knowledge and bring it out into the open to attempt to resolve them.

Reflection-on-action

This might be understood as ‘thinking about it after you’ve done it’ and involves a

retrospective examination of the situation. This provides time for a more in-depth

analysis and evaluation of the actions and implications for future practice. The value

of reflection-in-action can be enhanced by the use of a journal or some other method

of ‘fixing’ and recording events to allow discussion with colleagues and mentors, as

well as researching ideas and theorising new approaches. For trainees in the

professions these reflections provide valuable information for discussion and

analysis in group tutorials and opportunities to ‘test out’ theory in the ‘swampy

lowlands’ of their work placements.


Experiential learning - David Kolb and Graham Gibbs

Both Kolb (1984) and Gibbs (1988) begin from experiential learning or, more simply,

‘learning by doing’ (Gibbs 1988). Experiential learning, according to Saddington

(1992:44) is “a learning process in which experience is reflected upon and translated

into concepts which in turn become guidelines for new experiences.” Both Kolb’s and

Gibbs’ models are iterative in that learning is understood as a repeating process

based on cycles of activity.

Kolb model has four elements: concrete experience; reflective observation; abstract

conceptualisation; active experimentation.

Concrete experience

This is self-explanatory - it simply means having the experience. A specific example

might be a teacher using the case study method for the first time.

Reflective observation

The teacher reflects on the experience and begins to make an evaluation of it,

particularly any gaps between theory and the reality. If the use of the case study had

not been as successful as she expected it might be because example, the task was

clearly explained; the case study lacked sufficient detail or the students didn’t find it

relevant. These ideas move, almost imperceptibly, to the next stage


Abstract conceptualisation

Following reflection, new ideas or theories will be developed for trial and evaluation.

The teacher theorises of the case study approach should be proceeded by

introducing the students to a previous, worked, example to demonstrate its utility and

to clarify procedures.

Active experimentation

The new ideas are tested in practice, evaluated and then the cycle of improvement

continues by returning to concrete experience. As Kolb states, “knowledge is

continuously derived from and tested out in the experiences of the learner.”

(1984:27)

Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle has six stages, including ‘feelings’ and makes explicit

the need for conclusions and action plans. This is the model:

FIGURE

Mezirow - transformative learning

The idea of transformative learning has developed mainly from the work of Jack

Mezirow, whereby a dilemma can lead to reflection and transformation of ourselves

not only as teachers but also as human beings. The key idea in Mezirow’s work

(1991) is ‘meaning perspectives’ which are the habits of mind, beliefs and values and


attitudes which act as perceptual filters through which we organise and understand

reality. Meaning perceptions are “… the structure of assumptions that constitutes a

frame of reference for interpreting the meaning of experience.” (Mezirow et al 1990:

xvi) Mezirow is clear that critical reflection and transformative learning are really only

possible in adulthood when we are, hopefully, more prepared to question our

assumptions and the ways in which we understand reality. Because our meaning

perspectives, our ‘habits of mind’ (Mezirow 1991) are often formed during childhood

and socialisation they can be difficult even to recognise, let alone to challenge and

change. For Taylor (1998) “… Transformative learning attempts to explain how our

expectations, framed within cultural assumptions and presuppositions, directly

influence the meaning we derive from our experiences.” Put simply, what we already

know and believe will affect our perceptions of any new experiences.

Because learning is about making connections and creating models of

understanding, it might be valuable at this point to consider some similarities

between Mezirow’s ideas and Senge’s (1992) five ‘disciplines’ of a learning

organisation, particularly the construction of ‘mental models’. Mental models appear

similar to Mezirow’s habits of mind. They are our conceptions of how we do things or

how things should be done. In a learning organisation each individual should be

attuned to change. This involves challenging, and changing, our mental models. As

Martin, writing about universities as learning organisations (1999:59), says:

“Mental models are the prejudices and assumptions which inform our everyday

thinking and doing. They are the things which get in the way of us working

positively together and learning from experiences. Our commitment to mental


models means that we are often not tuned to learning, but to defensiveness and

appearing rational in advocating our existing positions.”

Martin acknowledges that changing our mental models makes us feel vulnerable and

is “challenging and courageous.” However if learning organisations intend to

continually learn and adapt, then so must each individual within it. We might also

notice similarities with Argyris and Schon’s concept of ‘double loop’ learning which

involves the recognition of, and changing, the ‘governing variables’, a concept which

echoes both ‘mental models’ and ‘meaning perspectives’.

Brookfield

Stephen Brookfield believes that all critical learning and reflective practice involves

‘hunting assumptions.’ He explains that “… Assumptions are the taken-for-granted

beliefs about the world and our place within it that seem so obvious to us as to not

need stating explicitly.” (1995: 2). Assumptions, in this context, seem very similar to

‘mental models’ or ‘meaning perspectives’. Brookfield proposes three kinds of

assumption:

Paradigmatic assumptions

These are the most deeply embedded and the hardest to uncover. Indeed, they may

be so central to our worldview that we regard them not as assumptions, but as

reality. For example, a university teacher might assume that all students are, or

should be the same; the same as they themselves were as students. The ‘reality’ of


a student for them is someone who is: motivated; loves the subject; is prepared for

academic study, and accepts their role is to receive transmitted knowledge.

Prescriptive assumptions

These assumptions are about what we think should happen or how things should be

in a particular situation. They grow out of our paradigmatic assumptions, so for the

teacher described above there may be an assumption that students will prefer a

standard, formal lecture and will take their own notes based on it without prompting.

Causal assumptions

These concern what we perceive to be the relationship between cause and effect.

The teacher in our example might assume that students given a reading, will read it.

More fundamentally, he might assume that what he teaches is automatically learned

by the students. If these things don’t happen, it may simply reinforce his

paradigmatic and prescriptive assumptions about what students are and how they

should be. Questioning our paradigmatic assumptions might begin by challenging

our causal assumptions, perhaps as a consequence of a ‘critical incident’.

To aid reflection and assumption hunting Brookfield proposes four critical lenses.

These are:

1. Our autobiographies as students and teachers.


This is the lens of self-reflection and the start point of all our reflective activity. If we

are able to reflect on our experiences as teachers and learners we might become

more aware of our own paradigmatic assumptions. Without reflection there is a

danger that we will teach solely, or mainly in the ways we ourselves were taught. So

if your preferred way of learning was through didactic, teacher centred lectures, then

this approach might seem to you to be the most natural, indeed may be

paradigmatic. On reflection, our example teacher might begin to recall that these

ways of learning did not always suit him best and that many fellow students were

successful in other ways and because of other methods of teaching and learning.

2. Our students’ eyes

Reflecting on our own autobiographies may help us to become more empathetic

when we try to consider the ways in which our students experience teaching.

Feedback questionnaires and module evaluations can give us an indication of how

students feel about their experience, but these tend to be superficial and the agenda

is set for them by the questions we choose to ask. Brookfield (2005 reference) in

CPD book) states that, “Of all the pedagogic tasks teachers face, getting inside

students heads is one of the trickiest. It is also one of the most crucial.”

3. Our colleagues’ perspectives

Peer observation can be an anxious and challenging experience but also one of the

most valuable. It can illuminate areas for improvement which we might otherwise be

unaware of.


4. Theoretical literature

Engaging with pedagogical literature is central to our professional development and

to our scholarship of teaching and learning. Books and journals can provide us with

many different perspectives on teaching and learning which we can experiment with,

evaluate and adapt for our own practice. This does not mean adopting somebody

else’s ‘best practice’. What works in one context won’t necessarily work in another: a

truly reflective teacher, like an artist, is open to many influences but always works

out what is best for them and their students.

Reflection - why do it?

Reflection is not an end in itself; it is a process and an activity that teachers

undertake for themselves and for the benefit of their students. Reflection works best

when it is a voluntary activity willingly undertaken by individuals rather than an

expectation or a requirement placed on them. The basis of all reflection is a

willingness to undertake the process and value it as a means of development and

improvement. For Moon (1999:36) reflection is used “with the sense of saying

something not so much about what a person does as what they are.” Reflection can

be difficult, even threatening because it forces us to be honest with ourselves and

recognise not only our successes but also areas where we need to improve.


The reflective journal

If you’re going to reflect you will need to record your reflections in a way that you can

return to, add to, revise and learn from. The act of writing is the most important

element of the process. Writing helps you to get the jumble of thoughts out of your

head and ‘fix’ them for contemplation at leisure, as diarists do. Writing will help you

to learn, as Crème and Lea (2008:193) suggest “… Writing and learning are part of

the same thing. Whenever you write you make new knowledge for yourself.”

Journals are produced to be used, not stored. Smith (reference) writes of ‘harvesting’

one’s journal, a metaphor that can be usefully extended to include the notion of

preparing the ground for reflection, tending the crop and harvesting it for mental

nutrition. Another metaphor is of reflection as ‘cognitive housekeeping’ (Moon

reference) in which mental clutter is tidied up, sorted out and clarified.

The vehicle for recording reflections is entirely an individual choice. They are most

likely to be written in a notebook or a loose-leaf file or using a device such as

PebblePad, Evernote or Microsoft OneNote which allow links between documents,

external links and the insertion of video, audio and images. These devices have the

added advantage of allowing the sharing of reflections and even reflecting

collaboratively. Given the easy availability of voice-activated software you can talk to

your journal, rather than write, to produce documents.


Writing your journal

Writing is a very effective way to make sense of experience - to organise, evaluate

and learn from it. You should get into the habit of writing about classes and lectures

as soon as possible to keep the event fresh. If you write lesson plans or have lecture

notes, include a reflection box at the end to record your immediate thoughts and note

any critical incidents for analysis (Tripp 1993). These rapid responses will be a

valuable resource for planning future sessions and provide a form of reflection-on-

action (Schön 1983) When you start writing, don’t spend too much time thinking

about it, be free, spontaneous and informal. This early writing may simply be the raw

material from which you construct more elaborate reflections later. There is no need

for the impersonal, academic style, indeed some of the best journals are quirky and

idiosyncratic.

Simply describing an event, or feeling is of little value, but it is a start. To the

description (what happened) you need to add analysis (how, why), evaluation (how

effective was it?) and conclusions (suggestions for future practice). Driscoll and Teh

(2001), working in nursing and clinical practice, provide a simple but useful

framework based on three questions (examples of their ‘trigger’ questions are given

under each heading):

What? Description of the event

What happened?

What did I see/ do?

So what? Analysis of the event


How did I feel at the time?

What were the effects of I did (or did not do)?

Now what? Proposed actions following the event

What are the implications of what I have described and

analysed?

How can I modify my practice?

Gibbs’ reflective cycle (see above) develops a more detailed set of trigger questions:

Description: What happened? Don’t make judgements yet or try to draw

conclusions; simply describe.

Feelings: What were your reactions and feelings? Again, don’t move on to

analysing these yet.

Evaluation: What was good or bad about the experience? Make value

judgements.

Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? Bring in ideas from

outside the experience to help you. What was really going on? Were different

people’s experiences similar or different in important ways?

Conclusions (general): What can be concluded, in a general sense, from

these experiences and the analyses you have undertaken?

Conclusions (specific): What can be concluded about your own specific,

unique personal situation or way of working?


Personal action plans: What are you going to do differently in this type of

situation next time? What steps are you going to take on the basis of what you

have learned?

(Gibbs 1998: 49)

‘Synthetic’ reflection

Cottrell (2003:78) proposes the notion of ‘synthetic’ reflection as a way of bringing

together a whole range of reflections to see links and connections and to develop an

understanding of the ‘bigger picture’. Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives (ref.)

states that, in the cognitive domain, synthesis is the highest level of activity and

implies the creation or realisation of something new. Synthetic reflection can be

really creative and combine learning, information, ideas and speculation from many

sources. Such sources might include: your reflective Journal; jottings from a

notebook; excerpts from lesson plans; items from your research journals; notes from

conferences, meetings and professional development sessions, and notes taken is

from texts. As Mills (1959:199) suggests “merely to name an item of experience

often invites you to explain it: the mere taking of a note from a book is often a prod to

reflection.”

‘Intellectual craftsmanship’ – C. Wright Mills

In his classic sociology text ‘The Sociological Imagination’, C. Wright Mills (1959)

explains the essence of the sociological imagination as being able ‘think ourselves

away’ from routines and familiar ways of doing things and to imagine and enact


alternative approaches. In an appendix to the text Mills emphasises the importance

of students, and by extension teachers, developing their ‘intellectual craftsmanship

close’. Although he writes as a social scientist his suggestions have resonance for all

teachers and encourage us to reflect not just for improvement but also for the work

of being an academic. He urges us, “… to capture our experience and sort it out;

only in this way can you hope to use it to guide and test your reflection, and in the

process shape yourself as an intellectual craftsman.” (1959:196). In order to facilitate

this reflection and craftsmanship we must, Mills says, keep a file or journal. He

particularly recommends the use of a journal as an essential research tool, not just

for specific ongoing work but also as a seedbed for future research ideas. By writing

a journal and regularly expanding, rearranging and synthesising we can produce a

stream of ideas for research and scholarly activity as well as experimenting with and

developing our skills as writers.

From reflection to action research

As we have made clear, reflective practice is a key element in the improvement of

teaching and learning. Shön’s notions of reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action

encourage us to experiment with ideas in practice. Action research is a systematic

and focused form of reflection and experimentation specifically planned and

implemented with a view to improvement in a particular context. McNiff and

Whitehead (2006:7) make an explicit link between reflection and action research:

“Action research is a form of enquiry that enables practitioners everywhere to

investigate and evaluate their work. They ask, “What am I doing? What do I

need to improve? How do I improve it?” There are accounts of practice show


how they are trying to improve their own learning and influence the learning of

others.”

We can see a clear connection here to Boyer’s (1990) call for the development of a

scholarship of teaching and learning. In short, lecturers should be ‘enquiring

lectures’. This is the subject of the next chapter.


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· Web viewMastering clutch control, for example, is a deliberate and conscious practice of trying, sometimes failing, trying again, and becoming confident, until it is an unconscious