Reflecting on Reflective Practice

Activity 3: Reflecting on Reflective Practice

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After reading Finlay’s (2008) article ‘Reflecting on Reflective Practice’, a few interesting points were brought to my attention. Although the term ‘reflective practice’ can often be found describing teachers in action, there isn’t a clear single definition of what it is and how it should be done. Finlay offers different understandings of reflective practice with ideas ranging from deep thinking to critical dialogue with other professionals.

Despite all this, Finlay gives a general definition of reflective practice as ‘the process of learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice’ (p. 1). My personal opinion is that every individual is different and therefore may reflect differently on different aspects of the same experience, depending on their perspective of the experience and what aspect they might be reflecting on. So this complication in defining reflective practice in action can be seen as understandable, even expected, and therefore very difficult to create a single definition to fit everyone. 

Today I intend to explore the 2 questions:

1. What point(s) in the article captivated my attention and in which way?
2. What reflective model do I find most suitable to use and why?

1). You’ve got my attention!

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Schon (1983) identified two types of reflection, reflection-on-action (thinking after the event) and reflection-in-action (thinking during the event). Schon argues that because of the complexity of professional practice, professionals need to practice both reflection-on-action as well as in-action to revise, modify and refine their expertise. This idea really simplified my understanding of reflection, especially as a PRT. I am constantly reflecting during and after teaching (implicitly and explicitly) but never had the correct terminology to describe it while documenting my progress or observation reports. Further more, Finlay explains how ‘Schon believed that as professionals become more expert in their practice, they developed the skill of being able to monitor and adapt their practice simultaneously, perhaps even intuitively.’ (p. 4). However novice practitioners, lacking the ability to make decisions on their feet and improvise, tend to stick to rules and procedures, making decisions mechanically. Schon suggests novices to ‘step back and, from a distance, take time to think through situations’ (p. 4). As a novice myself, it is clear why this point has captivated my attention. It made me reflect on my reflective practice- whether I reflect both in and on action, and whether I do step back and take the time to make careful decisions. Although I understand the purpose and benefits of Schon’s statement, I also agree with Ekebergh’s (2006) argument that ‘it is not possible to distance oneself from the lived situation to reflect in the moment’ (p. 5), at least not for a high level of reflective thinking.

2) Reflective Model- The most suitable

Retrieved from https://teachsource.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/jay-and-johnson-on-reflection.pdf

The reflective model that I found most suitable to use as a beginning teacher is Jay and Johnson’s (2002) model (table above). The reason for this is because it provides a range of reflective questions which provide starting points and act as prompts to elicit deep reflective thinking. It is an effective tool that encourages and supports a wide audience, not only beginning teachers. The three dimensions of reflection identified are well intertwined and its ability to recognise alternative views, perspectives and research allows for a wide audience to adapt and use. Perhaps another big reason why this model stood out to me is because I use a similar model in my own classroom through questions like these to support and guide my students when teaching deep reflection- and it works. 

‘Let us not forget that the model is a tool, not a mirror’ 

(Gordon, 1984, p. 243, as quoted in Finlay, 2008, p. 7).

I consider Jay and Johnson’s model most suitable to use because, as Gordon points out, it is a tool which can be adapted to best accommodate one’s reflective process. It should be used as a helping tool rather than a set of rules to follow.

To conclude, Finlay’s article has brought to light some interesting points on reflecting on reflective practice. Despite the multiple and contradictory understandings of reflective practice, it is clear that reflection is a defining feature in development and growth as a life-long learner.

Reference:

·      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

·      Jay, K., & Johnson, K. (2002). Capturing Complexity: a typology of reflective practice for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(3), 73-85. Retrieved from https://teachsource.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/jay-and-johnson-on-reflection.pdf