Reflection as a Pedagogical Practice: Making Experience Educational

1. Reflection as aPedagogical Practice:Making Experience Educational David Thornton Moore New York University University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

2. The Value-Added Problem Students learn just by having the experience Students learn just by studying the phenomenon, idea or skill in class The issue is what reflection adds to these Why not leave well enough alone? Why not throw students out into the world at the beginning of the semester and reel them back in at the end? What can we do to make the process better? University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

3. Agenda • What is reflection? • How does it happen?: the process • What conditions make it possible? • What does it do?: the outcomes • What makes it difficult?: the challenges • What practices make it better?: the methods University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

4. What Is Reflection? • When you ask students to “reflect,” what are you asking them to do? • Varied terms: • Reflection-in/on-action (Schon) • Metacognitive thinking (Fogarty) • Critical reflection (Mezirow) • Reflective thinking (Dewey) • Mindfulness (Langer) University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

5. Conceptions of Reflection • Dewey (1910): “the active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends” • Schön (1983): reflective practice is “a continual interweaving of thinking and doing” • Ash and Clayton (2009): “an evidence-based examination of the sources of and gaps in knowledge and practice, with the intent to improve both” University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

6. More Conceptions • Phronesis: process of going beyond theory (epistemé) and beyond technique (techné) to practical reasoning; asking not just “what” and “how” but “why” and “for whom”? • Critique: Freire’s notion of conscientization, of exploring why things are the way they are and not some other way, of connecting experience to larger questions of social order, power, justice University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

7. Elements of Reflection • Cognitive, intellectual • Affective, emotional • Social, relational, political, ethical • Active engagement University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

8. The Process: What Happens? • Identify a problem, decide to act on it • Gather information: search for empirical data and relevant theories • Form hypotheses, examine assumptions and perspectives • Collect and process more information, ideas • Form a plan of action, act University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

9. Conditions Making It Possible • A real problem, challenge, perplexity • Individual readiness • Willingness, openmindedness • Preparation, capacity • Sense of safety • Contextual support • Performance demands • Autonomy for learner • Access and connection to others • Feedback, processing University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

10. Consequences and Outcomes • New understandings and insights • Academic/theoretical knowledge • Professional and practical knowledge • Greater effectiveness: academic, professional, civic, personal • Transformation of meaning schemes and perspectives University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

11. Evidence for Importance of Reflection • Eyler and Giles (1999): Large national study of impacts of service-learning on student attitudes and behaviors • Found reflection to be one of the key process variables: that is, the extent and intensity of reflection constituted a major predictor of learning outcomes • Hatcher and Bringle (1995): reflection improves understanding of course content and discipline, work/service experience, self-understanding, values University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

12. Basic Principle • Reflection is a crucial element of the process of learning from experience. The experience alone is not sufficient for educational purposes. • “When it is well designed, reflection promotes significant learning, including problem-solving skills, higher-order reasoning, integrative thinking, goal clarification, openness to new ideas, ability to adopt new perspectives, and systemic thinking” (From Ash and Clayton, p. 27). University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

13. Formulating General Goals • Identify spacious categories of knowledge and skill that the student should take from the experience/reflection process • For example, in a work-related internship • Skills building • Professional development • Knowledge of the industry • For example, in a service-learning project • Personal growth • Academic enhancement • Civic learning University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

14. Turning Goals into Objectives • Express the goals in terms of associated learning objectives related to their experience • Might use Bloom’s Taxonomy, e.g.: • Knowledge: identify, define, order • Comprehension: explain, describe, restate • Application: apply, solve, choose • Analysis: analyze, compare, contrast • Synthesis: synthesize, develop, propose • Evaluation: assess, judge, critique University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

15. Profession-Specific Objectives • Understand the 5 P’s of marketing • Be able to assess a situation in terms of the code of ethics in journalism • Demonstrate the skills required for treating lower back pain University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

16. Exercise 1: Goals for Reflection • Purpose: What are you trying to achieve by means of reflection that your students would not get simply by means of traditional reading or lectures, or from the raw experience? • Process: • Individuals: write out some goals that address that question; use whatever terms and formats you prefer; • Plenary: reports, discussions • Are there differences or similarities across professions? University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

17. General Goals for WIL • Career exploration, preparation, entry • Application and practice of school-derived theories, concepts and skills • Personal and/or professional development • New modes of thought: critical thinking, bricolage, praxis, phronesis • Promoting community development, social change, justice University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

18. Challenges of WIL Pedagogy • Student resistance • Preference for learning practical skills • Lack of experience with the process • Concern about judgment, grades • Inappropriate school contexts • Tradition of students as recipients of knowledge • Culture of intellectualization, abstraction University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

19. Challenges: 2 • The translation/integration issue • The transfer of learning problem • The integration problem • The politics problem University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

20. Learning In School and Out University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

21. Transfer of Learning Problem • General point: knowledge acquired in one setting is not always transferable to another setting • Issue: under what conditions is it most likely to transfer? (cf. Moore, 2013) • Thorough and diverse practice • Explicit abstraction • Active self-monitoring • Arousing mindfulness • Cultural compatibility University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

22. The Politics Problem: Choices • Conservative: teach professional knowledge and skills; ensure that students get good jobs • See True, “InternQube”; cf. Bourdieu on reproduction • Liberal: teach knowledge/skills, but raise issues of fairness, access, social improvement • cf. Sullivan and Rosin, Sweitzer and King • Radical: teach knowledge/skills, but also practice critical pedagogy, enabling students to critique systems of power and domination and act toward fundamental change • cf. Kincheloe, Giroux, hooks, Simon University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

23. Principles of Effective Reflection • Regular, frequent and iterative: students know it’s coming and that it’s continuous • Rigorous: intentional, analytical, specific, evidence-based • Integrated with course content, disciplinary knowledge: explicitly explores praxis, examines overlaps, interactions, contradictions University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

24. Principles: 2 • Open to alternative perspectives, theories • Developmental: understands and accommodates the different phases or forms of the learner’s experience • Cf. Sweitzer & King: stages of the internship • Balances challenge and support • Assessable and assessed (esp. formatively) University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

25. Reflection Strategies and Devices:Overview • Prefield activities • Learning contracts • Journals • Guided assignments • Concurrent seminars University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

26. Reflection Activity MatrixEyler, Giles & Schmiede, 1996. A Practitioner’s Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning • Dimension 1: Kinds of activities • What: Reading, writing, discussing, doing • With whom: Alone, with classmates, with partners at site • Dimension 2: Kinds of goals or purposes • Academic: understanding concepts, reframing, etc. • Professional: skill-building, understanding organizations and industries, wrestling with ethical issues, etc. • Personal: understanding self, building teamwork skills, etc. • Civic/social: affecting organizations, communities; understanding issues, developing strategies • Dimension 3: Timing • Before, during, or after the experience University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

27. Constructing a Reflection MapAn Example from Service-Learning From: Eyler, J. (2001). Creating your reflection map. In M. Canada (Ed.) Service-learning: Practical advice and models. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass New Directions for Higher Education Series # 114, 35-43 University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

28. Pre-field Activity • What it is: work done to encourage students to think about their upcoming activities before they happen • What it does: • Helps students identify, examine, and critique preexisting assumptions, values, expectations, skills and knowledge; clarify the baseline • Gets students up to speed on various skills and knowledge that will strengthen their engagement with the experience • Forms: • Pre-field seminars, discussions, workshops, trainings • Application requirements: reading/writing assignments: e.g., “hopes and fears” essay University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

29. Learning Contract • What it is: a document produced by the student in consultation with the school and the setting that stipulates • What the student will do: the job; hours, etc.; what the setting will provide: supervision, space, etc. • What the student will learn: academic, professional, personal civic/social goals • What it does: • Establishes agreement and accountability among three parties about the nature and conduct of the experience • Encourages the student to think rigorously about what she’s getting into, what she expects, what she wants to learn • Forms: some examples of learning contract University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

30. The Journal • What it is: a written record of the experience in which the student, to varying extents • Describes and interprets the experience • Describes her reactions to it and learning from it • Analyzes events, phenomena, processes, relationships, organizational structures, practices, and dynamics, larger social, political and ethical issues; connects those analyses to academic and professional ideas • What it does • Organizes, expresses, and elaborates student’s experience • Metacognitive function: provides opportunity for student to think about thinking, learning, doing • Fosters critical thinking and transfer of learning University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

31. The Journal: Some Types • Log: straightforward record of activities • Unstructured: informal, idiosyncratic reflection about learning (knowledge, skill, personal growth, career development) • Key phrase: identification and explanation of key terms overheard at setting • Double entry: (a) record of observations and reactions; (b) effort to connect to academic ideas • Critical incident: unpack a specific event for meaning • Self-ethnography: journal as anthropological field notes (straight observations -> first-cut interpretations and explanations -> deeper analyses) University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

32. Guided Assignments (1) • What they are: various kinds of special directions given to the student by the instructor, whether individually or in a class • What they do: focus student’s attention on aspects of the experience that she might not otherwise see from the worker perspective • Examples: • Interview a sample of coworkers about X • Produce a training manual for your position • Construct an organization chart or process flow chart • Write a proposal for a new system for doing Y University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

33. Guided Assignments (2) • Design a simulation showing how the setting works • Produce an artistic representationof the issues faced in the setting: dance, video, theater, etc. • Organize a presentationin which student offers ideas to members of the organization or community • Sponsor a community meeting in which student facilitates discussion among residents about an issue University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

34. Concurrent Seminar • What it is: a regularly-meeting class in which students explore, analyze, and critique their field experiences during the period when they are in the field • What it does: • Offers a group of students the chance to share experiences and ideas • Connects the experience explicitly to academic and professional theories and practices • Examples: • Service-learning courses • Cooperative education seminars • Field study classes • Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

35. Exercise 2: Planning Reflection • Phase 1: Set up small groups: • Prefield • journals and assignments • concurrent seminar • Phase 2: Groups work on developing plans (15 mins) • Phase 3: Groups report plans to plenary (10 mins) University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

36. Group Work • Identify Goals: what do you want your students to learn? • Design: what specific practices, methods, formats would you use to help them learn those things through that form of reflection? • What challenges and limitations do you face? • Next steps: what can you do to move this planning ahead at your school? University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

37. Final Plenary • Groups report out: goals, plans, challenges • Discussion of strengths and weaknesses, critiques and suggestions, questions and insights • Discuss action plans: what to do next University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014

38. Wrap-Up • Feedback on the workshop • Did you accomplish your personal and professional goals? • What are the loose ends, the gaps, the remaining challenges? Comments, questions? University of Newcastle, 7 October 2014