Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Developing critically reflective practice by Thompson and Pascal - Coggle…
Developing critically reflective practice by Thompson and Pascal
Reflective practice
RP involves moving away from traditional approaches to learning, with their emphasis on ‘technical rationality’
Reflective practice is closely related to the idea of learning from experience
Reflective learning
incorporates both theoretical and practical themes and issues and seeks to integrate these. It seeks to move away from the traditional idea of classroom-based learning, being applied to practice as if there is a one-way relationship between theory and practice, between knowing and doing.
Active learning
seeks to validate the knowledge, skills and experience used in practice, and recognises these elements as valuable components in learning. Practitioners are seen as active participants in learning, rather than empty vessels to be filled by the ‘expert’ trainer.
Participative learning
: The ‘curriculum’ for learning is determined jointly rather than decided by the trai- ner or by an educational body
Challenging dogma
: Reflective learning provides a foundation for challenging dogma and prejudice
Mezirow believes that people are often held back by being trapped within a framework of meaning that restricts them - self-limiting understandings of the situations they find themselves in and their role within it. He sees
reflective practice
as having the potential to help emancipate people from such perspectives, to enable them to develop new, empowering meanings
The technical rationality
TR model also fails to recognise how understanding is developed from the integration of theory and practice, rather than the simple application of ‘scientific’ knowledge to the practice field (Kinsella, 2010)
Thompson’s (2010) notion of ‘theorising practice’ – that is, the process of beginning with practice and drawing on a professional knowledge (and value) base to make sense of it in order to be able to engage with the practice challenges involved. This is proposed as an alternative to technical rationality – that is, the process of beginning with theory and trying to ‘apply’ it to prac- tice.
Professional practice
PP is not a technical process of applying (scientifically derived) solutions to practice problems. More realistically, it is a matter of wrestling with the complexities of both theory and practice, using professional artistry to move forward as effectively as possible.
In place of the rigidity of technical rationality, reflective practice proposes a more fluid approach in which there is a greater emphasis on integrating theory and practice
Reflection-in-action
. This involves tacitly drawing on a knowledge base as we engage with practice tasks. It is a matter of ‘thinking on our feet’, but recognis- ing that this is not just random thought or so-called ‘common sense’. Our professional knowledge base has become so ingrained in most cases that when we reflect in action, we are often drawing on that knowledge base, perhaps without even realising that we are doing so.
Reflection-on-action
. This involves taking the opportunity to draw on the professional knowledge base more explicitly. This can be used to: (1) develop our understanding further; and (2) test and develop the knowledge base.
Reflection-for-action
refers to the process of planning, thinking ahead about what is to come, so that we can draw on our experience (and the profes- sional knowledge base implicit within it) in order to make the best use of the time resources available to us.
Reflective vs. reflexive
Reflective
refers to the process of thinking about the work we undertake – that is, we reflect on our actions either at the time (reflection-in-action) or at a suitable opportunity thereafter (reflection- on-action).
‘
Reflexive
’ relates to another meaning of the word reflection – that is, not simply to think, but to reflect as a mirror does. Reflexive practice is therefore a form of practice that looks back on itself, that is premised on self-analysis in order to make sure that: (1) the professional knowledge base is being used to the full; (2) our actions are consistent with the professional value base; and (3) there are opportunities for learning and development being generated.
Reflexivity
is a key part of making sure that reflective practice is critically reflective practice.
It is therefore important that theoretical approaches to reflective practice incorporate this pragmatic element of the use of
time
. Without this, there is a danger that reflective practice will remain at the level of a theoretical idea far removed from the busy realities of practice. Furthermore, without this space for reflection, there will be no scope for critically reflective practice.
Baldwin (2004) identifies managerialism as a major threat to reflective practice, in so far as an emphasis on management control (for example, through tar- get setting) at the expense of professional autonomy creates a working environment inimical to reflective learning.
it is important to recognise that the time implications also apply to the
wider organisation.
There is clearly a duty upon managers and other leaders to
develop and sustain working cultures and procedures that are supportive of critically reflective practice.
Issitt (2000) comments on the significance of the organisational context in stating that: ‘the time that is required for reflection is not available in the current market-orientated world of human service work’ (p. 126). However, our experience is that it is not so much a shortage of time per se in any objective sense, but rather a culture that does not prioritise reflection – in effect, a managerialist culture.
If we cannot question that the way we are doing things and thinking about things at present, it will not occur to us that they could be thought of or done differently.
important part of promoting creativity and preventing stagnation