Vol. 13 No. 2 (2016)
Published:
1 October 2016
Articles
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Towards a theory of the Ecology of Reflection: Reflective practice for experiential learning in higher education
Reflective practice is widely adopted across the field of experience-based learning subjects in higher education, including practicums, work-integrated learning, internships, service learning and community participation. This adoption of
Reflective practice is widely adopted across the field of experience-based learning subjects in higher education, including practicums, work-integrated learning, internships, service learning and community participation. This adoption of reflective practice implies that it supports student learning through experience. When reviewing the evidence for the role of reflection for learning, it became evident that not only was there no clear agreement about the definition of reflection, there has been little theoretical development in this area. An integrated participatory action research and ecological approach was adopted to build a theory about the ecology of reflection for learning through experience. Through this process the assumptions, or truths that are taken for granted, that underpin the new theory were declared and substantiated. Key concepts and the principle tenets of the theory were then identified and defined, leading to an overview of the ecologies of the learner, the learning context and the experiential learning context.
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A song and a dance: Being inclusive and creative in practicing and documenting reflection for learning
As the number of students engaging in higher education increases, so too does their diversity. Additionally, there is growing pressure on universities to better prepare graduates for the varied paths they will pursue beyond study. In
As the number of students engaging in higher education increases, so too does their diversity. Additionally, there is growing pressure on universities to better prepare graduates for the varied paths they will pursue beyond study. In responding to these conditions it is important to develop pedagogical approaches that are both inclusive and engaging. One adaptation needed is in relation to the practice and documentation of reflection for learning. Reflection is widely practiced across higher education, and is favoured by the Work-Integrated Learning field for the ways it helps students make sense of their learning. The ongoing reliance on journals for practising and documenting reflection has several benefits; however, a diverse student body, engaging with diverse learning experiences, is likely to benefit from being offered diverse, flexible ways of engaging with reflective practice. Informed by student and practitioner reflective data gathered at an Australian university, this conceptual paper accepts the challenge to “disrupt” (deFreitas 2007) the text and “move beyond the diary” (Harvey et al. 2012) to present an argument for the value and role of alternative modes of reflection, spanning arts-based, embodied, mindful and technological approaches. Underpinning this advocacy of diverse mediums for reflection are the principles of inclusivity and universal design.
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Synergies in critical reflective practice and science: Science as reflection and reflection as science
The conceptions of reflective practice in education have their roots at least partly in the work of Dewey, who describes reflection as “the active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the
The conceptions of reflective practice in education have their roots at least partly in the work of Dewey, who describes reflection as “the active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends” (Dewey 1933, p.9). This conception of reflection has carried on into more-focused efforts to describe critical reflection as a tool for improving professional practice (where academic and educational practice is the particular interest of this study); “… some puzzling or troubling or interesting phenomenon” allows the practitioner to access “the understandings which have been implicit in his action, understandings which he surfaces, criticizes, restructures, and embodies in further action” (Schön 1983, p. 50). Both of these descriptions embody a central idea of critical reflective practice: that the examination of practice involves the divination (in a rational, critical sense) of order and perhaps meaning from the facts at hand (which, in turn, are brought to light by the events that occur as the results of implementation of theory). As part of a lecture series, Gottlieb defined science as “an intellectual activity carried out by humans to understand the structure and functions of the world in which they live” (Gottlieb 1997). While science and critical reflective practice attempt to build models about different parts of our world – the natural world and the world of professional (educational) practice respectively – both embody certain underlying aims and methodologies. Indeed, it is striking that in these definitions the simple replacement of the terminology of reflective practice with the terminology of science (or vice versa) leads to a perfectly comprehensible definition of either. It is this confluence that this paper studies, building from two separate foundations, critical reflective practice and science. Via their models and exemplars of their “models-in-practice” – action research and the scientific method – the paper forms a bridge between two empirical practices. We contend that the ability to do this is no accident, but stems from a deeper substrate that they have in common: empirical epistemology, as expressed in post-enlightenment models of the development of reliable knowledge.
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Developing psychological literacy: is there a role for reflective practice?
Psychological literacy is an umbrella term that is widely used to describe the attributes or capabilities of psychology graduate (Cranney & Dunn 2011). This article explores some of the complexities inherent in the learning and teaching of
Psychological literacy is an umbrella term that is widely used to describe the attributes or capabilities of psychology graduate (Cranney & Dunn 2011). This article explores some of the complexities inherent in the learning and teaching of psychological literacy by exploring challenges to the development of self-awareness and cultural competence, and posits a role for reflective practice. Evidence for the contribution of reflective practice to the development and application of psychological literacy is offered. The challenges of introducing reflective practice into the psychology curriculum are then discussed, with insights from the literature and a small trial offered to support academics in introducing reflective practice into the higher-education psychology curriculum.
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Reflection in Medical Education
This paper offers a medical-education perspective that I will hope complement other disciplinary perspectives in examining the value of reflection for learning in tertiary education. The paper outlines some of the theoretical strands of
This paper offers a medical-education perspective that I will hope complement other disciplinary perspectives in examining the value of reflection for learning in tertiary education. The paper outlines some of the theoretical strands of reflective practice facilitated in a unique course subject for professionalism and patient safety, within the new spiral curriculum at Leeds University School of Medicine. The material presented in this paper outlines some of what is delivered during the medical students’ interactive sessions; this material is continually modified based on feedback from both students and learning facilitators. The paper discusses why both students and clinicians need to reflect, some of the theoretical dimensions and models and examples from the Leeds context of how reflective competence can be progressively developed over the course of an undergraduate program. The focus of the final section suggests directions for reflective practice in the future, where reflexivity takes the form of more collective endeavours requiring some change in culture and perceptions of professional identity. The paper concludes with the proposition that collaborative forms of reflection need to include more involvement of patients, interprofessional communities of practice and the use of learning from other disciplines; all of these require different levels of thinking and different ways of working.
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Reflection for learning, learning for reflection: Developing Indigenous competencies in higher education
Reflection is an essential part of students’ critically reflective development within experiential-learning contexts; it is arguably even more important when working cross-culturally. This paper reports from a national, arts-based
Reflection is an essential part of students’ critically reflective development within experiential-learning contexts; it is arguably even more important when working cross-culturally. This paper reports from a national, arts-based service-learning project in which students in creative arts, media and journalism, and pre-service teachers worked with Aboriginal people in urban and rural areas of Australia. The paper uses Ryan and Ryan’s (2010) 4Rs model of reflective thinking for reflective learning and assessment in higher education to ascertain the effectiveness of the project work toward engendering a reflective mindset. The paper discusses how students learned to engage in critical self-monitoring as they attended to their learning experiences, and it describes how they “wrote” their experiences and shaped their professional identities as they developed and refined the philosophy that related to their developing careers. Examples taken from the narratives of students, community partners and academic team members illustrate the principal finding, which is that through a process of guided reflection, students learned to reflect in three stages: a preliminary drawing out of existing attitudes and expectations; a midway focus on learning from and relating to past experiences; and a final focus on reciprocal learning, change and future practice. The three stages were apparent regardless of program duration. Thus, program phase rather than academic year level emerged as the most important consideration when designing the supports that promote and scaffold reflection.
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CreActive Accounting Education: Visioning Future-Oriented Accounting Programs through a Reflective Unlearning of Current Practice