REFLECTIVE THINKINGSUNITA RAIPRINCIPALKV AJNI

What is reflection?

Reflection or “critical reflection”, refers to an activity or process in which an experience is recalled, considered, and evaluated, usually in relation to a broader purpose. It is a response to past experience and involves conscious recall and examination of the experience as a basis for evaluation and decision-making and as a source for planning and action.

Reflective thinking

Dialogue with oneself whereby a person calls forth experiences, beliefs, and perceptions” .

Risko, Roskos, and Vukelich (2002)

A series of logical rational steps based on the scientific method of defining, analyzing, and solving a problem.

Critical thinking & Reflective thinking Critical thinking involves a wide range of thinking skills leading toward desirable outcomes and reflective thinking focuses on the process of making judgments about what has happened. However, reflective thinking is most important in prompting learning during complex problem-solving situations because it provides students with an opportunity to step back and think about how they actually solve problems and how a particular set of problem solving strategies is appropriated for achieving their goal.

Why Reflect

Reflection can help you to: better understand your strengths and weaknesses identify and question your underlying values and beliefs acknowledge and challenge possible assumptions on

which you base your ideas, feelings and actions recognize areas of potential bias or discrimination acknowledge your fears, and identify possible inadequacies or areas for

improvement.

"Reflection leads to growth of the individual – morally, personally, psychologically, and emotionally, as well as cognitively".

Branch & Paranjape Reflection can lead to greater self-awareness, which

in turn is a first step to positive change – it is a necessary stage in identifying areas for improvement and growth in both personal and professional contexts. Taking time to reflect can help you identify approaches that have worked well, and in that way reinforce good practice."

Why is reflective thinking important?

Reflective thinking helps learners develop higher-order thinking skills by prompting learners to

a) relate new knowledge to prior understanding- Generalise and apply what you have learned from one situation to other situations

b) think in both abstract and conceptual terms.

c) Develop a questioning attitude and new perspectives

d) Identify areas for change and improvement

e) apply specific strategies in novel tasks- Respond effectively to new challenges

Developing your reflective insights

Stand back from the events and try to be objective Be critical of your own actions Think of alternative explanations of events Make use of evidence from a range of sources Recognise that your own point of view will change

with time Discuss with others to deepen your insight and

explore a range of perspectives

Reflective questions to ask yourself

Why did I respond in this way? What was I thinking and feeling - did this

influence me, and why? What else could I have done? What would I do in a similar situation?

Reflective teaching: Exploring our own classroom practice

Reflective teaching means looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking about if it works - a process of self-observation and self-evaluation.

Beginning the process of reflection

The first step is to gather information about what happens in the class. By collecting information about what goes on in our classroom, and by analysing and evaluating this information, we identify and explore our own practices and underlying beliefs. This may then lead to changes and improvements in our teaching.

Some different ways gathering information are:-a) Teacher diary / journal

b) Peer observation

c) Student feedback

d) Recording lessons- Video or audio recordings of lessons can provide very useful information for reflection.

Audio recordings can be useful for considering aspects of teacher talk.

How much do you talk? What about? Are instructions and explanations clear? How much time do you allocate to student

talk? How do you respond to student talk?

Video recordings can be useful in showing you aspects of your own behaviour.

Where do you stand? Who do you speak to? How do you come across to the students?

Once you have some information recorded about what goes on in your classroom, what

do you do?

Think Talk Read Ask

A cyclical process

Reflective teaching is a cyclical process, because once you start to implement changes, then the reflective and evaluative cycle begins again.

What are you doing? Why are you doing it? How effective is it? How are the students responding? How can you do it better?

Lawrence-Wilkes 'REFLECT' model of Reflective Practice

R Remember Look back, review

E Experience What happened? What was important?

F Focus Who, what, where, etc. Roles, responsibilities,

L Learn Question: why, reasons, perspectives,

feelings?

E Evaluate Causes, outcomes, strengths, weaknesses,

feelings

C Consider Assess options, need/possibilities for change?

Development needs? 'What if?' scenarios?

T Trial Integrate new ideas, experiment, take action,

make change. (Repeat cycle: Recall...)

Self Reflection

Few simple questions every teacher should ask after completing a lesson:1. Can I state one thing that the students took back with them after my lesson?2. Can I state one thing that I wanted to do but was not able to it because of insufficient time?3. Can I state one thing that I should not have done in this lesson?4. Can I state one thing that I think I did well?Answers to these questions will enable the teacher to do better in the future.

Characteristics of environments and activities that prompt and support reflective thinking in Learners

Provide enough wait-time for students to reflect when responding to inquiries.

Provide emotionally supportive environments in the classroom encouraging re-evaluation of conclusions.

Prompt reviews of the learning situation, what is known, what is not yet known, and what has been learned.

Prompt students' reflection by asking questions that seek reasons and evidence.

Provide some explanations to guide students' thought processes during explorations.

Provide a less-structured learning environment that prompts students to explore what they think is important.

Provide social-learning environments such as those inherent in peer-group works and small group activities to allow students to see other points of view.

Provide reflective journal to write down students' positions, give reasons to support what they think, show awareness of opposing positions and the weaknesses of their own positions.

Strategies to help students develop their ability to reflect on their own learning.

Teachers should develop strategies on specific problems to help students build an integrated understanding of the process of reflection.  

Study guides or advance organizer should be integrated into classroom materials to prompt students to reflect on their learning.

Questioning strategies should be used to prompt reflective thinking, specifically getting students to respond to why, how, and what specific decisions are made. 

Social learning environments should exist that prompt collaborative work with peers, teachers, and experts.

Learning experiences should be designed to include advice from teachers and co-learners. 

Classroom activities should be relevant to real-world situations and provide integrated experiences.

Classroom experiences should involve enjoyable, concrete, and physical learning activities to ensure proper attention.