Activity 3 - Reflecting on reflective practice response.

Activity 3: Responses to Finlay’s (2008)’s article
Read the article “Reflecting on reflective practice” by Lynda Finlay (2008). Create a blog post that discusses your responses to the article and evaluate your reflective practice. You can use the following as provocations or come up with your own.

• What is/are the points in the article that captivate your attention? In which way?
• What reflective model(s) do you find most suitable to use? Explain why?

Finlay (2008) defines reflective practice as “learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice (Boud et al 1985;  Mezirow, 1981). This definition resonated with me. Over this year my practice has changed from that typical in a traditional classroom to a more independent learning environment. This has meant I had to be aware of my own practice and critically evaluate on a daily basis to identify what is working, what is not and how can I change the structure to improve it.

Another area that interested me was the discussion around the multiple meanings of reflective practice. There are a great range of ideas within the teachers I know, from the thinking approach to real critical reflection using current educational readings to alter their classroom practice. My concern is that many do not see reflective practice as a productive use of time.

Schon (1983) discussed two types of reflection, reflection in action and reflection on action. Personally the majority of my reflection is reflection-in-action, the down side is trying to remember changes I think of within the busy classroom environment so I can implement them later. I tend to use the reflection-on-action for larger changes in the class which tend to be longer term.

It was very interesting reading about the development of adaptive practice as you become more experienced in the classroom. I have become aware that in my role as a tutor teacher new teachers do require lots more thinking time to come to terms with new situations.

The next point that captured my interest was the idea of reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity being on a continuum with critical reflection occurring somewhere in between reflection and reflexivity. The continuing breakdown into

·      Introspection – solitary self dialogue probing personal meanings and emotions.

·      Intersubjective reflection – focussing on the relational context, on the emergent, negotiated nature of practice encounters.

·      Mutual collaboration – Mentor and student or members of a team seeking to solve problems collaboratively.

·      Social Critique – Focussing on the wider discursive, social and political context.

·      Ironic Deconstruction – I liked the term but really struggled to understand what it actually meant in reality.

The first three I could relate to, especially the mutual collaboration. With the implementation of independent learning in the senior classes I have worked closely with other teachers and it has led to the development of a number of ideas that help develop our new way of teaching. The collaboration has led to the development of varying levels of independent learning groups within the class.

Reflective Model I find Suitable

Perhaps the post potent comment from Finlay was in her summary of the modelling reflective practice process where she states “Different models are needed, at different levels, for different individuals, disciplines and organisations, to use in different contexts” (10). In essence, of all the models no one suits all! 

Personally I liked the Jay & Johnson (2002) model. It is simple to understand and has many prompts for triggering reflection. The intertwining of the model, the inclusion of research in the comparative view to redefine understandings are all ways that I would like my practice to work. The critical dimension would be the area I would possibly struggle with, identifying implications from alternative perspectives, the larger picture viewpoints.

Personally I liked the Jay & Johnson (2002) model as seen below. It is simple to understand and has many prompts for triggering reflection. The main points I took from this reading were that reflection is not an easy thing to do well.

It needs to be done with a clear purpose and valid reason where the reflector can see some benefit.

To be a critically reflective person is very difficult, to reflect badly is very easy.

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  References

  
  

  Boud D, Keogh R & Walker D (1985) Reflection: turning experience into learning. Kogan Page, London.

  
  

  Finlay, L. (2008) Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content...

  Jay, J.K. and Johnson, K.L. (2002) Capturing complexity: a typology of reflective practice for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 73-85.


  Mezirow, J. (1981). A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Education, 32, 3 24.

  
  

  Shon, D. A., (1983). The reflective practioner. How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.