But what makes reflection meaningful and pushes us further in our practice rather than just a quick glance back into our day?
Findlay (2008, p10) states 'Done well and effectively, reflective practice can be an enormously powerful tool to examine and transform practice." A question and a complication from this statement arises: what is effective reflection and how can it be managed by busy teachers for a real and meaningful, transformative effect?
What I enjoyed and one of the main understandings I got from Findlay's (2008) paper was that one size doesn't fit all. How, and when, and why teachers reflect, and for what purpose and outcome, can all vary. As with most things, choosing and selecting the type of reflective model that best suits you at the time is what will be of most benefit. Being exposed to a range of models and identifying the benefits and drawbacks of each type of model could empower teachers to increase the complexity and depth of thinking they participate in. Thanks to Craig Lineham for finding this link about a range of reflective models.
Another thing I found useful when thinking about reflective practice was the challenge involved in reflection; personal challenge that makes us identify our own biases and assumptions; challenge in going deeper and not just skimming the surface of our understanding; and challenge towards incorporating reflection actively in our practice in a way that works for each individual.
So in critically evaluating my reflective practice, I completed a quick survey (based on the following questions) to get the brain juices flowing.
How often do you reflect on your practice at the following levels? (Rapid, repair, review, research, re-theorising and reformulating).
The second question of the survey is adapted from Zeichner and Liston’s (cited in Finlay, 2008, p.4) five levels of reflection:
- Rapid reflection - immediate, ongoing and automatic action by the teacher.
- Repair – in which a thoughtful teacher makes decisions to alter their behaviour in response to students’ cues.
- Review – when a teacher thinks about, discusses or writes about some element of their teaching.
- Research – when a teacher engages in more systematic and sustained thinking over time, perhaps by collecting data or reading research.
- Retheorizing and reformulating – the process by which a teacher critically examines their own practice and theories in the light of academic theories.”
I think, like with teacher inquiry, research and sustained thinking over time needs to have a clear focus or avenue of inquiry. What patterns keep occurring, what data can be produced? Actively working and finding a way to record and pursue reflective ideas can be challenging. Working through Mindlab and being 'made' to reflect and compare my reflections with current theory etc will be helpful towards achieving those higher levels of reflection and purposeful investigation into practice. Hopefully, this will become a habitual part of what I do...
How often do you reflect on your practice in the following ways? (conversation, journaling, tweeting etc)
I am probably more of an informal reflector. I personally get more from having conversations with colleagues or confidants about issues or things I am reflecting on and enjoy having someone provide prompting questions etc to make me think on a deeper level. From this, I can also identify that I am somewhat passive in my reflections; waiting for someone to prompt or question me is not challenging myself to ask those uncomfortable questions. I also don't particularly enjoy being asked uncomfortable questions and am not a person who can answer more probing questions straight away- I need time to process.I like to think and mull over ideas. In some ways I can be avoidant towards some trickier questions. So to make my reflections transformative and meaningful I probably need to ask and face those harder confronting questions.
I look forward to seeing the strategies and other ways teachers delve into the deeper levels of reflective practice.
References:
Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content/Finlay-%282008%29-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf
Gross, S. (2003). It Sort of Makes you Stop and Think.[Cartoon]. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.art.com/products/p15063312757-sa-i6845266/sam-gross-it-sort-of-makes-you-stop-and-think-doesn-t-it-new-yorker-cartoon.htm
MindLab (2017). Evaluate your Reflective Practice – July 2017. Available from:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSee9-DSqP0CG293TIgL5lq7H3c2Nbh5QyBrejnfWg1M0FAGsA/viewanalytics
[Reflective Practice Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://facilitationcourse.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/reflective-practice-collaboration-and-stakeholder-communication-4-638-1.jpg
Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content/Finlay-%282008%29-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf
Gross, S. (2003). It Sort of Makes you Stop and Think.[Cartoon]. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.art.com/products/p15063312757-sa-i6845266/sam-gross-it-sort-of-makes-you-stop-and-think-doesn-t-it-new-yorker-cartoon.htm
MindLab (2017). Evaluate your Reflective Practice – July 2017. Available from:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSee9-DSqP0CG293TIgL5lq7H3c2Nbh5QyBrejnfWg1M0FAGsA/viewanalytics
[Reflective Practice Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://facilitationcourse.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/reflective-practice-collaboration-and-stakeholder-communication-4-638-1.jpg
Theresa. I am with you in that I tend to be an informal and innate reflector. I guess that comes from experience. It is also an instinctive thing to do. When the stakes are higher (like your example of inquiry), we reflect more deeply because there is more riding on it. It is a shame we do not have the time built into our day to reflect rather than being reactive to situations as they arise. Wouldn't it be nice to have that time?
ReplyDeleteHi Craig- time to reflect and to honestly reflect is something we really don't have the luxury of, is it? Our curriculum is so jam-packed already giving teachers time allowances for reflection would not be viable would it- but what a great idea!I think if educational organisations valued it reflective practice on a deeper level- time would be made for teachers to actively pursue it- we would have to teach until 5pm - but.... interesting ideas.
DeleteI believe there is a place for that informal reflection with colleagues. We can get too tied up into writing things down but as teachers become more experienced their reflections become intuitive and instinctive (as Craig said). If Teaching as Inquiry is becoming widely used within schools (in a wide variety of ways) and we all value its effectiveness then it is a shame that we don't get given these extra release hours (other than CRT) to look deeper into problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with you Simon. It would be interesting to see how teachers would use that time and if there would have to be an overwhelming paper trail of evidence to back that up. I think that's when reflection loses it real purpose and function; it becomes mandated and 'just another thing we have to do'. I read a blog post from a teacher who's school had to reflect- in a variety of ways on what ever was the school focus etc. I would personally find that tedious and uninspiring. But maybe that school gets great results from it?
DeleteWould you as a principal ever think about a mandatory reflection time for staff- ie twenty minutes at the start of a staff meeting? Interested to hear your thoughts.