Critical analysis and evaluation refocuses your thinking on your existing knowledge and helps generate your actions, behaviour, treatments and learning needs.
(chartered society of Physiotherapy, 2014)
The above words present a definition of the terminology "reflective practice" and how it functions. Reflective practice is a key component of 'Experiential Learning', which is, in it's simplest form, learning by doing. In Kolb's words:
Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. (1984 p38)
'Reflective Practice' is valued in many professions,such as nursing and teaching and much has been written in support of it.
Questions have also been raised about the interpretation of 'reflective practice' by individuals and about the benefits of it in certain professions.
I will look at some of the different viewpoints surrounding 'reflective practice'. In order to do this it is also necessary to look at some of the key concepts and principals of 'experiential learning'.
Kolb developed the learning cycle below for experiential learning, based upon the principles of Piaget, Lewin and others:
There are four stages in Kolb's learning cycle and these are:
- Concrete Experience- the process of doing something or having an experience
- Reflective Observation - thinking about and reviewing the experience
- Abstract Conceptualism- discovering what you have learnt from the experience
- Active Experimentation- implementing changes based on what you have learnt to see if they work
This model is used by many in experiential learning as a tool for reflective practice. There are those who are of the opinion that Kolb's cycle does not go far enough.Vince Russ, for example, was of the opinion that Kolb’s model for experiential learning did not take into account the here and now or reflection after the Active Experimentation phase of the cycle. I would agree that Kolb’s cycle doesn't really embrace Schon’s concept of reflection -in - action because it only allows for a thought process after an event has happened and makes no provision for any "on the spot" deliberation.
I would argue that it does deal with reflection after Active Experimentation, however, because the very nature of a cycle is that it repeats, so I interpret this as meaning that, once the change has been implicated, that change becomes the new Concrete Experience. You are reflecting after the event so, in my opinion Kolb does address "reflection -on-action."
Beard and Wilson are of the opinion that Kolb's cycle does not address the wider implications of the affects of social, historical and cultural influences upon the individual's thought process.They also maintain that you can't separate the above processes in the way that Kolb's cycle attempts to do, because the thought process is complex and that learning is a form of argumentation in which thinking, reflection, experience and action are all integral to the same process. (Beard, Wilson, 2002)
The idea that learning doesn't conform to any set pattern is central to Howard Gardner's view of 'multiple intelligences'. This is the concept that we are intellectually different and therefore we all learn in different ways. He categorised theses different notions of intelligence as follows:
- Spatial
- Verbal-linguistic
- Logical-mathematical
- Bodily-Kinaesthetic
- Musical
- Interpersonal – understanding people and relationships
- Intrapersonal – relates to one’s emotional life as a means to understand
oneself and others.
He maintained that people could be a combination of any, or all of, the above and that the type of intellect you possessed would influence the way in which you learned. He introduced the concept of 'multiple lenses' as a way of looking at the different ways of learning. (Gardner, 2005)
Kottcamp likens 'reflection-in-action' to being 'online' and 'reflection-on-action' to being 'offline'. He was of the opinion that it was much harder to reflect on something while it was happening than it was to give it a more considered view at a later date.
There are many who would disagree with Kottcamp's view that 'reflection-on-action' is easier than 'reflection-on-action'. Dance teachers and choreographers, for example, often find it easier to implement changes to choreography as they go along. This might be because they can see that their initial idea is not working on their pupils, or it might be because they have had a new inspiration during the lesson and want to explore it.
Many in performing arts might find 'reflection-in-action' easier because they are used to adopting 'on the spot'. I emphasis the word 'might' because, like Gardner, I agree with the concept of multiple intelligence leading to different ways of learning; we all think and act in different ways.
Moon is of the belief that all experience is learning. She refers to 'internal and external experience'. She states that:
External experience is the material of learning when we are learning about something outside of ourselves. It is the object, idea, the concept, the image- whatever it is that the larger wants to assimilate. In contrast, the internal experience is the experience that the learner brings to the learning situation from her current, cognitive structure. (2004)
She discusses the idea that we learn through a combination of both 'internal and external' experience.
By way of example, I will relate this to my own experience of teaching dance.
When a dance student learns how to do a new dance movement she draws upon the knowledge of the movement that is imparted to her via her teacher and possibly also watches others who have mastered the movement as an additional point of reference.She also calls upon her own tacit knowledge of dance technique, and 'muscle memory' of similar movements, in order for her to learn what the new movement is and how to execute it.
'Muscle memory' is, according to Twyla Tharp :
the notion that after diligent practice and repetition of certain physical movements, your body will remember these moves years, even decades after you cease doing them. (Tharpe, 2006 p.64)
This 'muscle memory' that a dancer possesses is part of her 'internal experience'.The 'external experience' is the actual physical doing of the new movement and all that it encompasses at the time.
Moon maintains that the 'internal experience' has a more profound influence on our thought pattern than the 'external experience', because the 'internal experience' has become embedded within us over time. We put preconceived notions onto new experiences because of past events associated in some way with those new experiences.
Those 'internal experiences' can have positive or negative affects upon our 'external experiences'.
Take the case of a dance student, for example, who has had great difficulty learning a movement in the past and been distressed by the experience; if she recognises elements of that movement within a new one, she may well become anxious and put up barriers against learning the new movement, because she thinks she is going to experience those same difficulties again. In this case she would be letting her 'internal experience' affect her 'external experience'.
Twyla Tharp, in her book 'The Creative Habit' talks about this tacit knowledge that we all possess in relation to her own work as a choreographer.
She relies upon 'muscle memory' to convey her choreography to her dancers. She puts forward the notion that knowledge can be conveyed in a non-verbal way.In dance it is often better just to do the movement and let the body take over, rather than trying to explain the movement, as there is a danger of thinking too much about it and over complicating it or losing the essence of the movement altogether.
She does, however also state that it is important to reflect upon your work and make notes, in some way, of any changes you decide to implement.
There tends to be an assumption by many that reflection always leads to results.
Moon talks about :
learning from the meaningful representation of learning (2004 p91)
Boud and Walker however state that:
There are no reflective activities which are guaranteed to lead to learning, and conversely there are no learning activities guaranteed to lead to reflection. (1998 p191)
If this is the case then this begs the question: is there any point in reflective practice? John Dewey says that there are:
certain subprocesses which are in every reflective operation. These are: (a) a state of perplexity, hesitation, doubt; and (b) an act of search or investigation directed toward bringing to light further facts which serve to corroborate or to nullify the suggested belief.(Dewey,1933)
Is there then perhaps the chance that these feelings of perplexity, hesitation and doubt could became all consuming and result in actually perpetuating a mental state of depression rather than creating one of enlightenment?
Bolton states that:
knowing what to reflect upon out of the whole of one’s professional experience is not a clear process. The more it is focused upon, the more the truly important issues become elusive ( 2010, p 8).
Is it possible that, rather than promoting clarity of thought, reflection can have the opposite effect and lead to further confusion?
Boud and Walker also state that:
Reflective activities may lead students to focus on personal distress, oppressive features of the learning environment, the programme of study, resources provided, assessment practices and so on. There is no way that these can be barred, and facilitators of reflection need to be aware that any activity can tap into such issues. (Boud et al, 1998)
This suggests that there is indeed a chance of reflective practice leading to negative outcomes in some instances.
Many have questioned the value of reflective practice saying that the evidence of it's results are difficult to prove. James Atherton, in his lecture 'The Limits of ''Reflection"' says 'reflection is more valued in 'softer' and often more 'feminine' occupations. He maintains that it is more widely used, and therefore more valued, in the Arts than the Sciences.
He says that, in education, there is a danger of giving 'reflection' more importance than established knowledge. He is of the opinion that many students don't know how to write reflectively, because they don't really understand what is being asked of them. He says that some teachers try to teach 'reflection' by giving their students a list rather like a recipe that they can follow and states that 'reflection cannot be taught'.
Boud and Walker refer to this notion of 'recipes' for reflection as:
a tension between guidance which leads to the problems of recipe-following and a lack of structure which can lead to a loss of focus. (1998 p191)
They also state that:
If we learn from our emotions, then there is value in experiencing negative and painful emotions as well as positive ones. Following this train of thought: if a situation arises through reflective practice which prompts confusion or distress, the person can learn something just by having experienced these emotions, even if all that they deduce is that it is not an experience they wish to repeat.
This would seem to imply that there is value to 'reflective practice', but that the value is hard to measure because it is pertinent to each individual. We have no way of 'getting inside someone's head' to quantify the depth of their experiential learning.
Knowledge acquired through 'reflective practice' can be tested, to some degree, by asking for supporting evidence of that learning, but the full extent of it can never be measured. This is due to the fact that 'reflection' is fluid - what we think one day might change the next day according to some extra knowledge we acquire, some external influence, or indeed according to the mood we are in and how this affects our judgement.
It can be seen that 'reflective practice' can be viewed in different ways. I have reached the conclusion that there is no right or wrong way to look at it, just different perspectives to consider.
My own perspective is that I value any form of learning, experiential or otherwise. I am constantly seeking ways to enrich both my professional and personal development and the 'reflective process' enables me consider ways in which I may do this. To me therefore, 'reflective practice' is valuable. In the words of Gillie Bolton:
Reflective practice is a state of mind,an on-going attitude to life and work, the pearl grit in the oyster of practice and education (2014)
Bibliography
Atherton, J (2012) The Limits of "Reflection" (online)
Beard W, Wilson J, P (2006) Experiential Learning: A Best Practice Handbook for Educators and Trainers (2nd edition), London: Kogan Page
Bolton,G. (2010) Reflective Practice, Writing and Professional Development (Third Edition), London: Sage.
Bolton, G (2014) Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development (fourth edition), London:Sage
Boud, D, Walker D Studies in Higher Education Jun98, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p191.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (2014) What is Reflective Practice and how do I do it? (online)
Dewey, John (1933) How we Think, 2007 reprint, Champaign: Standard Publications, Inc.
Gardner, Howard (1983) Frames of Mind the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, New York: Basic Books.
Kolb, D,A. (1984) Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Kottcamp, R. B. (1990) Means for Facilitating Reflection. Education and Urban Society, 22, 182-203.
Moon, J,A (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, Falmer
Tharp and Reiter (2006) The Creative Habit, New York, Simon and Schuster.
He says that, in education, there is a danger of giving 'reflection' more importance than established knowledge. He is of the opinion that many students don't know how to write reflectively, because they don't really understand what is being asked of them. He says that some teachers try to teach 'reflection' by giving their students a list rather like a recipe that they can follow and states that 'reflection cannot be taught'.
Boud and Walker refer to this notion of 'recipes' for reflection as:
a tension between guidance which leads to the problems of recipe-following and a lack of structure which can lead to a loss of focus. (1998 p191)
They also state that:
Because emotions and feelings are often downplayed in educational settings, it is common for reflection to be treated as if it were an intellectual exercise--a simple matter of thinking rigorously. However, reflection is not solely a cognitive process: emotions are central to all learning.
This would seem to imply that there is value to 'reflective practice', but that the value is hard to measure because it is pertinent to each individual. We have no way of 'getting inside someone's head' to quantify the depth of their experiential learning.
Knowledge acquired through 'reflective practice' can be tested, to some degree, by asking for supporting evidence of that learning, but the full extent of it can never be measured. This is due to the fact that 'reflection' is fluid - what we think one day might change the next day according to some extra knowledge we acquire, some external influence, or indeed according to the mood we are in and how this affects our judgement.
It can be seen that 'reflective practice' can be viewed in different ways. I have reached the conclusion that there is no right or wrong way to look at it, just different perspectives to consider.
My own perspective is that I value any form of learning, experiential or otherwise. I am constantly seeking ways to enrich both my professional and personal development and the 'reflective process' enables me consider ways in which I may do this. To me therefore, 'reflective practice' is valuable. In the words of Gillie Bolton:
Reflective practice is a state of mind,an on-going attitude to life and work, the pearl grit in the oyster of practice and education (2014)
Atherton, J (2012) The Limits of "Reflection" (online)
Beard W, Wilson J, P (2006) Experiential Learning: A Best Practice Handbook for Educators and Trainers (2nd edition), London: Kogan Page
Bolton,G. (2010) Reflective Practice, Writing and Professional Development (Third Edition), London: Sage.
Bolton, G (2014) Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development (fourth edition), London:Sage
Boud, D, Walker D Studies in Higher Education Jun98, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p191.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (2014) What is Reflective Practice and how do I do it? (online)
Dewey, John (1933) How we Think, 2007 reprint, Champaign: Standard Publications, Inc.
Gardner, Howard (1983) Frames of Mind the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, New York: Basic Books.
Kolb, D,A. (1984) Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Kottcamp, R. B. (1990) Means for Facilitating Reflection. Education and Urban Society, 22, 182-203.
Moon, J,A (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, Falmer
Tharp and Reiter (2006) The Creative Habit, New York, Simon and Schuster.
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