The Purpose Of Reflective Practice

The Purpose of Reﬂective
Practice SID: 0816909

Thursday, March 5, 2009

What is ‘Reﬂective Practice’?


What is ‘Reﬂective Practice’?

“Reﬂective practice is an approach that enables
professionals to understand how they use their
knowledge in practical situations and how they
combine action and learning in a more effective
way.” -Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Open Courseware


What I perceive reﬂective practice to be is the
process of analysing a given scenario or
practice and coming to a decision on how to
then go onto improve that scenario, based on
the strengths and weaknesses that were
perceived from the evaluation.



How do we perform
reﬂective practice?


There are many approaches to how we might
be able to perform the act of reflection based
on our practices. The first model I have chosen
to look at is by Donald Schön. In 1983, he
published a book entitled ‘The Reflective
Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action’
which was the first major publication to
address the idea. He based his studies on the
following model...


Governing Action
Consequences
Variable Strategy

Single-loop learning
Double-loop learning

Schön (1983)


Governing Action
Consequences
Variable Strategy



Governing Action
Consequences
Variable Strategy


This model approaches reflection in the sense
of detection and correction of error (Argyris
and Schön. 1978) in the present tense. This
approach is defined as ‘reflection in action’
which means to reflect as you do, in the
present tense. It also incorporates elements of
‘reflection on action’ with regards to the
Double-loop learning cycle.

How I Perceive the Model

Planning Plan to Action Result

Reﬂection in Action
Reﬂection on Action


Practice

Reflection
Time

RIA
Reflection in Action means to reflect in the
present tense. Schön referred to this
process as ‘on the hoof’.


Practice Reflection

Time

ROA
Reflection on Action means to reflect in
the past tense. This means to reflect after
the practice has occurred.


The second model I will look at is by
Greenaway. This model is a little more simple
in its approach to reﬂection than Schön, but
could also be perceived as a clearer path to
achieving reﬂective practice. Greenaway
based his thesis on the title of ‘Powerful
Learning Experiences in Management Learning
and Development’ in 1995.


Plan

Review Do

Greenaway (1995)


Plan

Review Do


Plan

Review Do

Reﬂection in Greenaways model is an example
of ROA, happening after the practice in the
past tense. As opposed to Schön’s model,
Greenaway’s is a single closed cyclical loop.


RIA

Practice ROA

Time


Of all the models I have looked at, I can see
that all of them are categorized as either RIA
or ROA. But, how do they differ and compare
when applied to a scenario?

RIA

Practice ROA

Time


Scenario: Reflective Pedagogy

How does the art of
being a teacher
benefit from
reflective practice?


In my experience of teaching, I have found
that both RIA and ROA are applied. Using a
combination of t he two allows me to
encompass the beneﬁts of both RIA and ROA
to build an accumulative pool of reﬂection.

RIA

Practice ROA

Time


In my experience of teaching, I have found
that both RIA and ROA are applied. Using a
combination of t he two allows me to
encompass the benefits of both RIA and ROA
to build an accumulative pool of reflection.

RIA
Refl
e ctio
n
Practice ROA

Time


How the Models Apply


Governing Action
Consequences
Variable Strategy


Plan

Review Do


Lesson planning Im plement ation of
based on an overall objectives t hrough
Learning
scheme of work and teaching and
objectives. activities.

How engaged the students are
How the lesson went overall,
were objectives fully satisﬁed?


Learning


Based on the original model by Schön, this is
how I perceive the model to ﬁt within the
process of teaching. This model clearly deﬁnes
the milestones of practices towards the
outcome of learning and then provides both
ROA and RIA to then improve these based on
an evaluation.

Learning


Plan

Review Do


Lesson
Plan

Lesson Lesson
Evaluation Delivery


Based on the original model by Greenaway,
this is how I perceive the model to ﬁt within the
process of teaching. This model is very
simplistic and could well be perceived as an
underlying framework to then be built upon for
reﬂective practice in pedagogy.

Lesson
Plan

Lesson Lesson
Evaluation Delivery


Learning


Lesson
Plan

Lesson Lesson
Evaluation Delivery


So how do the two models
compare in the scenario?


Schön Greenaway
Pros Cons Pros Cons

Single / double Rigid, little room Rigid, little room
Single loop only
for adaptability for adaptability
loop

ROA / RIA Does not take into Does not take into
ROA only
account emotions account emotions
inclusive

Achieves Achieves
Development may No account of RIA,
over-complicate crucial in pedagogy
reﬂection reﬂection
Little room for external
Variables based Capacity to be
factors within the
on outcome developed model itself


Conclusions


Conclusions
From looking at a range of both RIA and ROA
reflective cycles, reflective practice in general
and when applied to pedagogy, I can see that
it is a vital component of any practice to
perform reflection. It allows us to build as
practitioners to develop our practices. I also
have found that the cycles are not rigid in their
stages and can be modified or altered to fit a
scenario if necessary.


RIA and ROA have been the most interesting
things for me to look at and I feel that I have
really taken away something from looking at
these two things. I would like to look and
develop my ideas about these to see how they
further contrast and how they may compliment
each other in a different set of scenarios and
the merits and de-merits of the two.


How I shared my Ideas


How I shared my Ideas
I found it useful to
share my initial ideas
in the community to
‘get the ball rolling’
with my conceptions
on the subject, also to
throw option for
dialogue with peers
on the subject.


What others think?


What others think?
Of all resources I
have used to come to
my conclusion on
‘reﬂective practice’
posts as such on the
right from the
community have
been vital to my
understanding of the
subject.


Thank you for watching

This presentation and music is released
under the open license of Creative Commons


The Purpose Of Reflective Practice

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