Reflective practice in the transition phase from university student to novice graduate: implications for teaching reflective practice

Reflective practice is widely taught within higher education and is regarded as beneficial to developing graduates' ability to practise effectively within professional environments. In spite of widespread acceptance of the merits of reflective practice, a comprehensive understanding of teaching reflective practice remains incomplete and contested. This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore physiotherapy students' experiences and perceptions of learning reflective practice in order to critically and meaningfully inform current teaching practice. The findings identified that students and graduates conceptualised reflective practice in terms of the challenges they faced in the concrete tasks of daily novice practice. They used methods of reflection that were embedded in the context of their daily practice with particular emphasis on using social and collective opportunities for reflection. The preferred methods of reflective practice used by students and graduates contrasted with traditional approaches to teaching reflective practice. This study supports rethinking approaches for teaching reflective practice to incorporate approaches that are embedded within real and daily practice experiences.     

Reflective practicum in higher education: the influence of the learning environment on the quality of learning

Sustaining students in becoming reflective practitioners is considered as a valued outcome of higher education. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of the learning environment conditions inspired by Schön’s theory of reflective practicum, by discussing a case study of a master’s degree class. The learning environment was designed to sustain reflective practice and meaningful engagement through professional practice simulation, problem-based learning and reflective writing. Unlike much of the research into reflective learning, the quality of learning was evaluated by assessing the use of reflective practice in students’ weekly journaling, rather than measuring students’ satisfaction or perceptions of effectiveness. Two hundred and six journal entries of 23 students were assessed and used in a quantitative analysis based on a linear mixed-effects model. Findings indicated that the reflective practicum has an incremental effect on students’ reflective practices and that reflective practice is dynamic and sensitive to specific learning environment conditions. In conclusion, students’ co-responsibility of the learning environment allowed by the professional practice simulation appears to foster meaningful and reflective learning. Conversely, conditions that stimulate only cognitive engagement have little impact or even inhibit reflective practices. Practical implications of the use of reflective journal are discussed.     

Needs Assessments: An Integrated Assignment in Civic Service

An undergraduate social work program developed a service‐learning experience in partnership with a local United Way organization to complete a community needs assessment project. The experience integrated the curricula of a social work research methods course and a generalist‐macro practice course with the principles and actions of experiential and service‐ learning, evidence based practice, and civic responsibility. This integrated curricula project yielded practical, “real world” outcomes for the local community and learning outcomes for the students. Needs assessments conducted by social students resulted in particular groups of community citizens receiving targeted services from agencies receiving funding from United Way. Evidence obtained from the students who participated in this experience indicates that two important learning outcomes were achieved; a heightened awareness of the local community's resource system and a sense of connection to the local community, along with the enhancement of students ‘self‐esteem and increased self‐confidence in their abilities.     

Higher education in recessionary times: a UK colloquium

Reflective practice in practice settings can enhance practice knowledge, self-assessment and lifelong learning, develop future practice capability and professional identity, and critically appraise practice traditions rather than reproduce them. The inherent power imbalance between student and educator runs the risk for the reflective practice potential not being realised. This study explored final year physiotherapy students' perceptions of clinical educators as teachers of reflection and what role students assigned themselves in learning reflective practice. We found that only assertive students enforced reflection. Others waited for their educators to guide them and some were openly discouraged to reflect. As long as educators neglect the opportunity to deeply explore reflective practice moments with students, opportunities for students to develop autonomy and responsibility may continue to be missed or, at worst, inappropriately developed. Key dilemmas of teaching reflective practice are discussed including its implicit and tacit nature and non-conducive work environments.     

Changes in Students' Use of Lifelong Learning Skills During a Problem‐based Learning Project

ABSTRACT In a climate of continual change and innovation, lifelong learning is a critical professional development objective which has a direct impact on organizations' effectiveness and ability to compete and innovate. To help learners continually upgrade their skills and knowledge so they can effectively address emerging organizational and professional needs and opportunities, educators must prepare learners for their professions using teaching methodologies that develop learners' capacity for and disposition toward lifelong learning. Problem‐based learning (PBL) is one such method. PBL uses professional problems of practice as a starting point, stimulus, and focus for student activity, and one of PBL's stated educational outcomes is students' use of lifelong learning skills. This study examined the changes in students' use of lifelong learning skills while participating in a PBL project. Twenty‐six undergraduate university computer science students completed a 15‐week C++ programming course. Using guided reflective journal responses as process data, students were observed to increase their application of lifelong learning skills during their PBL experience. Design and research recommendations are shared.     

Discipline‐based academic development through a tripartite partnership

Abstract

This paper describes a discipline‐based academic development project based upon a tripartite relationship between departmental staff, work‐based practitioners and the central academic development unit which took place over one academic year within the Department of Physiotherapy, Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh. The purpose of the project was to discuss and debate the concept of the ‘reflective practitioner’, to develop strategies for enabling undergraduate students to be reflective, and to devise a framework for assessment of reflective practice in clinical work‐based learning. The outcomes of the project, most important of which was a change in the learning experience for students, demonstrate that academic development can be valuable and productive when undertaken as a partnership and placed in a disciplinary context. The authors identify key elements important to the success of the academic development process which should be applicable in similar situations and which could serve as guidelines for the planning and delivery of staff development through similar kinds of partnerships.     

Encouraging teacher development through embedding reflective practice in assessment

Learning to become a teacher is a developmental process, part of which is learning to become a reflective practitioner. The authors have implemented a structured approach to developing the habits of critical reflection, the purpose of which is to guide their university students (who are pre-service teachers) to progress through the stages of teacher development and to facilitate self-motivated professional growth. Their attempts to incorporate into these pre-service teachers' learning the ‘practice’ part of reflective practice have included the development of different kinds of practical and applied tasks. In turn, their attempts to incorporate the ‘reflective’ part of reflective practice have involved the embedding in assessment activities of different scaffolds for metacognitive reflection. Their innovative processes of embedding reflection in assessment have been guided by Dewey's and Schön's views of reflection, their own views of the teacher education process, and Brookfield's conception of ‘critical lenses’ which can be used as a scaffold to structure professional growth and development.     

Learning through action: Parallel learning processes in children and adults

Experiential learning has become an essential part of many educational settings from infancy through adulthood. While the effectiveness of active learning has been evaluated in youth and adult settings, few known studies have compared the learning processes of children and adults within the same project. This article contrasts the active learning processes of children and adults by chronicling a service learning project in the United States in which 19 university students implemented an anti-bias curriculum with 112 young children. Findings are interpreted in relation to David Kolb's model of experiential learning. Implications for classroom practice and theory are discussed.     

ePortfolios and Reflective Practice for Food Science Students

The study investigated students’ perceptions and attitudes toward the use of ePortfolios for reflective practice as a learning and teaching strategy. A mixed‐method approach was applied to the study in a first‐year food science unit, at a regional Australian university. Data were generated via 3 sources, in order to provide the evidential basis for the investigation, including: a mixed method survey, access to student's exam results, and students’ ePortfolio reflections. The findings identified 3 key positive aspects. First, a variety of assessment methods was key to enhancing the overall learning of 1st‐year food science students. Second, ePortfolio reflective writing can be a key aspect for improved student engagement. Finally, structured ePortfolio sessions can help food science students consolidate knowledge, while also allowing them to encounter new ideas related to food science theory and develop technical knowledge. However, technological issues with using an ePortoflio can cloud the value of the reflective task for some students. Recommendations are made for how to better support and implement reflective practice using ePortfolios to enhance the learning of food science students.     

Humanities in Gross Anatomy Project: A novel humanistic learning tool at Des Moines University

Gross anatomy affords physical therapy students an opportunity to discover human morphology by intimately studying the dead. Moreover, it also exposes future physical therapists to the humanistic aspects of the profession. In 2007, anatomy faculty decided to socialize students to the humanities with a new course requirement: Humanities in Gross Anatomy Project (HuGA) Project. At the end of the course, students, either individually or as a group, submitted a project that described how they had been personally touched by the donor's gift and how the gift contributed to their professional growth and education. The submission could be in the form of a narrative, poem, song, video, etc. All students met the three grading criteria that were established; thus taking the first step in socializing themselves to the humanistic domain of their professional education. In summary, the HuGA project is a novel educational tool that formally provided physical therapy students with humanistic learning opportunities in a gross anatomy course and appeared to facilitate reflective learning. The utilization of reflection as it relates to clinical decision making and patient interaction is critical for physical therapy practice. Anat Sci Educ 3: 94–96, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Enabling the journey from experienced practitioner to para‐professional: using reflective dialogue in action learning triads

This article explores whether using reflective dialogue in action learning sets on a foundation degree (FD) in educational support can develop the capacity for reflective practice of the students. Developing a reflective stance in relation to professional practice is a central theme of the programme, which is reinforced by the work‐based learning module providing a space for reflective dialogue and the inclusion of an employer's perspective for establishing links between university and work. By adopting a case‐study approach, this study focuses on 24 female students who work as teaching assistants or higher level teaching assistants (TAs/HLTAs) in state primary and secondary schools, and reports findings from their and their tutors' perspectives. In view of the rapidly changing educational landscape, apparent in the implementation and development of Integrated Children's Services, the Schools Remodelling Agenda and Workforce Agreement are in effect one policy. Such a programme is essential in creating appropriate opportunities for the continuing professional development of the new workforce. Given the non‐traditional background of the majority of the students and the perceived ambiguity surrounding their roles as teaching assistants within schools, such a programme poses considerable challenges to higher education institutions in terms of appropriateness of content and mode of delivery.     

Analyzing service-learning reflections through Fink's taxonomy

Reflection is an increasingly essential component of experience-based learning in higher education to encourage students to draw connections between theoretical and practical knowledge and experiences. This qualitative study examines the reflections of undergraduate students in a service-learning course for secondary English teacher candidates. The authors use Fink's taxonomy of significant learning as a lens through which to examine the learning within and critical natures of students’ reflections. Findings from this study suggest that to consider and extend students’ academic content knowledge and to move students toward new and critical understandings of their service work, reflections should direct students toward more explicit considerations of academic course content over a period of time. To help students write critical reflections that achieve both academic and personal growth learning goals, the authors recommend explicitly teaching the reflective mode, introducing students to Fink's taxonomy, and instructing students to include course content in their reflections.     

Working with uncertainty to support the teaching of critical reflection

This paper explores the cumulative reflections of lecturers examining their tacit assumptions of teaching practice. Despite extensive literature on the educational value of reflection, there is less visible research on teachers assessing their own reflective thinking. This longitudinal interpretive study uses Larrivee's assessment framework with a purposive sample of UK business students. Findings reveal insights for teaching reflection; acknowledging the discomfort of reflexive practice encourages learners to experiment with knowledge interpretation. The students' struggle to engage in reflection resonated with lecturers' parallel difficulties. The teaching approach balances deliberate structure with uncertain outcomes to trigger fresh interpretation of developmental theory and workplace relevance. Practice implications for lecturers are that harnessing uncertainty can provoke deeper insights that enable students to direct their learning and develop reflective skills. This case study offers a practical assessment example to enrich reflexive teaching, with scope to compare and replicate in different disciplinary settings.     

Assessing the unassessable: making learning visible in undergraduates’ experiences of scientific research

We suggest that academics involved in the provision of research experiences to undergraduate science students may benefit by reconceptualising these experiences as work-based learning. In particular, drawing on the widespread use of reflective practice in work-based learning allows for a more effective focus on process-related learning. We describe an empirical study involving the implementation of reflective blogs in which science students responded to prompt questions designed to focus their attention on how their project was progressing, the process of research and their own learning. The blogs reveal examples of students engaging in independent thinking, creative thinking and developing a sense of themselves as scientists, all qualities valued by supervisors. They also show how these combine as ‘wicked competences’ that allow students to address the complex problems and uncertainties of research. We identify characteristic patterns of reflection that indicate the exercise of such competences and suggest that these could be used as explicit evidence by academics making judgements for assessment purposes.     

Exploring an experiential learning project through Kolb's Learning Theory using a qualitative research method

Experiential learning pedagogy is taking a lead in the development of graduate attributes and educational aims as these are of prime importance for society. This paper shows a community service experiential project conducted in China. The project enabled students to serve the affected community in a post-earthquake area by applying their knowledge and skills. This paper documented the students’ learning process from their project goals, pre-trip preparations, work progress, obstacles encountered to the final results and reflections. Using the data gathered from a focus group interview approach, the four components of Kolb's learning cycle, the concrete experience, reflection observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation, have been shown to transform and internalise student's learning experience, achieving a variety of learning outcomes. The author will also explore how this community service type of experiential learning in the engineering discipline allowed students to experience deep learning and develop their graduate attributes.     

Collaborative journalling as a professional development tool

Drawing on a research project which focused on the role reflective learning tools have in bringing about change to practice, this paper describes how nine practitioners from four different professions enhanced their professional practice by contributing to a collaborative journal. An analysis of the journal revealed four key themes: practice‐related learning, professional philosophies, personal learning and growth, and reflective practices. It was also apparent that contributors used the journal for five specific purposes: to connect with one another, pose questions, discuss ideas, share stories and advance understanding. This article outlines the collaborative journalling process used in this project and demonstrates how this reflective learning tool can lead to professional development gains.     

Service Learning Pedagogies to Promote Student Learning in Occupational Therapy Education

The centrality of service learning in the development of students’ professional practice has received worldwide attention. Exposure to appropriately designed service learning experience determines the acquisition of graduate attributes. This article addresses a study in which the key question was: What methods and strategies do students and their clinical supervisors find beneficial in improving their learning experiences during service learning placements? Drawing on the views and experiences of a group of final year occupational therapy (OT) students and their supervisors, the initial focus is on concepts in learning relevant to service learning and professional development, including Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD), the capability approach and collaborative and peer assisted learning. This is followed by an overview of the methodology and an analysis of the students’ and clinical supervisors’ experiences during service learning. The discussion focuses on the implications of the study findings for practice within a service learning context to enhance the alignment of institutional practices with students’ needs.     

Pedagogical applications of Vlogs: An investigation into ESP learners' perceptions

This study set out to examine the implementation of a video blog (vlog) project in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course that aimed to increase students' opportunities to use the target language. Specifically, it explored students' perceptions towards vlogs and analysed the advantages and disadvantages of vlogs as identified by the students. Data sources included an attitude survey, an open‐ended questionnaire, student interviews, written peer feedback, video clips in vlogs and reflective journals. The results indicated that firstly, the students favourably perceived the vlog project because vlogs not only helped them organise and reflect on their learning products, but also allowed them to archive their learning processes. Second, they reported a number of advantages associated with vlogging, such as visual representation, relief from time constraints, self‐evaluation, professional development, wider audience, peer learning and technical capability. Third, in the opinion of the students, the challenges compromising the effectiveness of the vlog project involved technical difficulties, affective interferences, weak linkage to real‐time communication and time issues. In light of these findings, the researcher proposes two pedagogical implications for ESP instructional practices.     

Using Interactive Journal Writing as a Strategy for Professional Growth

In recent years journal writing as a tool for reflective practice has gained prominence in teacher education programs. This paper reports the investigation of journal writing as a means for student teachers and university to better understand the process of learning to teach. The aims of the study were to examine how journals are used; to explore what students learn and what university teachers learn; and to identify which strategies work best. Survey and interview data were collected from the student authors of the journals. Analysis of the data contributed to our understanding of the process of interactive journal writing and the strategies we used as university teachers. Students used the journals in a number of ways. They used the journals to get direction on practice and planning, as a tool for analysis, as an emotion release, and as a way of 'sorting things out'. Students identified a number of strategies used by the university teachers as journal respondents which contributed to students' learning about teaching. This research focused our attention on interactive journal writing as a strategy that has the potential to promote reflective practice.     

Developing critical reflection as a part of teaching training and teaching practice

Academics in universities can no longer teach in the ways that have been appropriate in the past. The paradigm has shifted from the dissemination of knowledge to a focus on the students and how to facilitate the best learning outcomes for them. This paper proposes that critical reflection is at the heart of being an effective teacher. It invites teachers to evaluate their own philosophies about teaching and to be critically reflective of their own practice. It is suggested that teachers need to learn how to be reflective practitioners through both self-evaluation and the use of collaborative strategies. It is no longer appropriate to focus solely on the 'what', but also on the 'how' and 'why'.