Balancing between analysis and reflection: lessons learnt from an action research study

1. Balancing between analysis and reflection: lessons learnt from an action research study  SSRE 2013 Dr Panos Vlachopoulos Dr Anne Wheeler Centre for Learning Innovation and Professional Practice Aston University, Birmingham, UK.

2. The focus of our work: reflective practice REFLECTION

3. What do we know about reflection? • Reflective practice is still considered to be essential to effective learning and development (Kreber, 2011; Mälkki & Lindblom-Ylänne, 2012) • Reflective practice is a complex, rigorous, intellectual and emotional enterprise that takes time to do well (Moon, 1999; Cowan, 2006). • Reflection and understanding of its benefits is far from being a self-evident or automatic process (Boud & Walker, 1998; Kreber, 2004; Mälkki & Lindblom-Ylänne, 2012) • The literature of reflective practice provides diverse interpretations of the processes involved with becoming a ‘reflective practitioner’ (Rose, 2013)

4. Two diverse interpretations... • Reflection as an analytical thinking process looking for patterns and following well –established structures. • It usually leads to widely accepted generalisations of the reflective question under scrutiny. • A more personalistic approach to reflection where analytical thinking is constantly informed by meaningful self-questioning of issues that matter to an individual, even if answers to these questions are not for a wider generalisation.

5. Our question: can analytical thinking and reflection work together to empower learners achieve higher order thinking? It’s a vital question in academic and professional development, given that many academic development programmes have reflective practice as an integral part of their programme, usually asking their participants to develop reflective portfolios to evidence their transformation from surface to deep transformative learning

6. Our research • Analysis of reflective assignments of two cohorts ( C1 no=12, C2 no=18) in our PGCPP Programme over a period of two academic years. • C1 was given an introduction to reflection session with models of reflection (e.g. Kolb’s experiential learning) explained with illustrative examples. Based on the first cycle findings we changed the approach. • C2 was given developed and negotiated assessment criteria and the opportunity to reflect with a study buddy online asking questions. • Use of content and limited discourse analysis techniques to code all reflective account into 4 main categories based on how participants reflected: reporting an experience, reflecting on an experience, generalising from experience and planning an action from experience.

7. Findings from Cohort 1

8. Key finding: not many participants put the necessary effort to plan an action based on the previous stages of their reflection

9. Findings from Cohort 2

11. Starting with Bloom …

12. Where now: a roadmap to reflective practice

13. The Roadmap to Reflective Thinking facilitates reflective questioning in a way that move individuals beyond their cognitive comfort zone into the metacognitive domain. • It’s criss-cross approach provides learners with the necessary question prompts to move even for a short period of time outside of the analytical thinking into the reflective domain and then return to an analysis of a higher order. • In so doing the learners do not feel that reflection is a distraction to their analysis but a necessary supplement to it.

14. Think of the below sequence of questions in any learning context: • What features of that learning experience should I be thinking about ? • Why should I go on considering it? • How should I choose which of these options to take forward? Which is the best option for me, at this moment? • How well have I chosen my options? Where is the evidence? • How differently could I do this? • Now, what is really emerging from my reflection, which I can plan in my future action?

15. Questions? Thank you