Reflection in Higher Education Learning Essay

Personal development planning (PDP) can entail different types of reflection and reflective learning. Much have been written and said regarding reflection recently, but for a large number of, it remains a somewhat mysterious activity – or is it a capacity?

No matter what it is, if the titles of modules and courses, and references in QAA standard statements happen to be anything to pass by, we are using it extensively in various contexts in mastering and specialist development in higher education. This paper is intended to provide a background to reflection and reflective learning pertaining to the development of PDP within the degree sector. It will eventually provide a short guide to current thinking about representation, a discussion of its software in degree learning and several practical support for the use of reflective activities. Making a conception of reflection Like many issues in degree, the notion of reflection has encouraged the two a theoretical and an affordable literature.

Primary of this daily news is mostly on the functional uses of reflection nevertheless a brief exploration of theoretical strategies will locate the considering in an academics context but it will surely facilitate even more study in the topic where this is essential. The aim in this section is to produce a conceiving of reflection that takes account of the theory nevertheless that can be applied practically and usefully in formal and informal learning contexts. But we start from where we all are…..

Beginning with where all of us are……a common-sense view of reflection You cannot find any point in determining reflection in a manner that does not relate with the each day use of the word if further more confusion is usually not to always be created. ‘Reflection’ a word all of us use in everyday conversation. What might we all mean because of it? In common sense terms, reflection lies around the notion of learning.

All of us reflect on a thing in order to ponder over it in more detail (eg ‘Let me think about that for a moment’). Generally we reveal because we now have a purpose for reflecting – a goal to get to. Sometimes we find ourselves ‘being reflective’ and out of these ‘being reflective’, something ‘pops up’.

There have been no mindful purpose as a result – yet there is a valuable outcome and there could have been a unconscious purpose. Also, it is apparent that individuals reflect on points that are comparatively complicated. We do not reflect on a basic addition sum – or perhaps the route to the corner shop.

We reflect on points for which there isn’t an obvious or immediate answer. Often the second option will be started by or perhaps associated with a variety of thoughts and the experience of such reflection may be mental or religious. We return to issues relating to emotion and reflection afterwards. It would seem that reflection is thus a means of working away at what we know already.

All of us put into the reflection method knowledge that all of us already have (thoughts, ideas, emotions etc), we might add new details and then we all draw out of it something that accords with the purpose for which we all reflected. An easy definition of reflection might be: Representation is a form of mental control – such as a form of thinking – we use to fulfil a purpose or achieve a lot of anticipated outcome.

It is applied to relatively challenging or unstructured ideas for which in turn there is not an obvious solution and is also largely based upon the further more processing expertise and understanding and possibly feelings that we already possess (based on Moon 1999): Several theoretical ways to reflection Representation is theorised in several ways that it may seem that people a looking at range of human capacities rather than apparently one. To start with, we review quickly several of what might be known as the ‘classical’ approaches. John Dewey published on the educational implications of any range of human mental functions over the previous years of the twenty initial century.

His work was based on eager observation with the functioning more and expression on his own processes. Dewey’s involvement in his personal processes makes his writing particularly interesting in the current context. It appears that someplace in the middle a part of this century education researchers forgot that they can be people also with, among their finger-tips, an amazingly useful resource from which to master about individual functioning. The return to this kind of understanding could be seen to become an important benefit of the interest in reflection.

The legitimacy of ‘I’ and ‘my functioning’ is being re-established and the role of personal expansion planning will likely carry this kind of forward in the near future. Dewey noticed reflection as being a specialised kind of thinking. This individual described this as: ‘a kind of thinking that consists in turning a subject over in your brain and giving it serious thought’. His meaning of reflection is that it is: ‘Active, persistent and careful consideration of any perception or intended form of knowledge in the lumination of the reasons that support it, and additional conclusions that it leads…it includes a conscious and voluntary effort to determine belief upon a firm basis of evidence and rationality’ (Dewey, 1933).

Jurgen Habermas (1971) focused on the way humans method ideas and construct all of them into understanding. Reflection results in this process. Habermas talked about 3 kinds of know-how – instrumental expertise – in which we know ‘how’ or ‘that’ and the place that the concern of the ability is to figure out and therefore function within just, and control our human being environment. – knowledge that is involved with the presentation of man action and behaviour. We largely ‘interpret’ in the social sciences to be able to better the understanding of culture and man behaviour. – knowledge that is actually a way of working together with knowledge, acting on the initially two forms of knowledge.

This type of knowledge is usually developed through critical or perhaps evaluative modes of considering and qualified prospects towards the emancipation or change of personal, cultural or other situations. That concerns the quality of the basics on which all of us make judgements. There is several disagreement about the function of reflecting processes inside the development of a key component knowledge – given that the development of sophisticated scientific research can match this form of knowledge. Yet , it undoubtedly has an important role in the interpretation and comparisons of understanding in the second level and the essential and evaluative modes from the third.

David Kolb (1984) is well known for his development of the Kolb cycle – or routine of experiential learning. The cycle can be drawn in a number of ways applying different words and phrases that at times seem to impact its which means. It is represented below within a simplified method that it is not too far coming from Kolb’s words: The routine revolves with new learning undergoing energetic experimentation and ‘recycled’ through new experiencing. In this way the thing that was a routine becomes a spin out of control (Cowan 1998). Thus Kolb considered representation as a mental activity that includes a role in mastering from experience.

In the Kolb cycle, representation features being a development of the observation – and obviously it arises before an individual has learnt. Other folks would see reflection as part of learning and part of the finalizing of material currently learned, having a kind of cognitive ‘housekeeping role’ and generating new learning (Moon, 1999a). The notion of reflection as part of the way of learning something new seems to discord with the common-sense use of the term (above). There is also a massive literature on experiential learning, a lot of which is depending on the Kolb cycle, and far of which probably over makes simple what is an immensely intricate activity.

While the cycle does have has benefit, it may state more about how exactly we deal with the learning of others, than regarding the process of learning per se (ie. it is even more about the teaching process). Donald Bereits focused on reflection in professional knowledge and its particular development (1983, 1987). This individual suggested that there is a crisis in the professions relevant to a mis-understanding of the romantic relationship of theory to practice along with the kind of theory that a specialist uses to guide her practice.

The espoused theory – as learned in formal institutions and in professional training – is definitely not the idea that efficient professionals sooner or later use to guideline practice. They will build up a great expertise from their practice (theory-in-use) by being reflecting. Schon observed that the theory in use is often tacit.

Professionals are not automatically able to identify the basis where they action. A particular position of specialist development is always to make this ‘knowing-in-action’ explicit so that it can be the subject matter of additional reflection and conscious creation. Schon suggests that there are two types of relevant reflection. Reflection-on-action may be the reviewing that occurs after a celebration while reflection-in-action is area of the processing associated with an effective doctor while actually acting.

You will find doubts stated about the presence of a form of reflection that occurs when an individual is usually acting (eg Eraut, 1994) and sometimes Doch has been sporadic in his composing. However this individual has had great influence in stirring up debate within the nature of professional expertise and the role of representation in specialist education. Many others have discussed reflection, the majority of developing ideas from individuals mentioned above. Examples are Boud, Keogh and Walker, 85; Boud and Walker, 1998; Cowan, 1998, and Brockbank and McGill, 1998.

Much of the materials in this newspaper is derived from Celestial body overhead, 1999 which will takes a broader and sometimes more critical look at of expression and is targeted on its romantic relationship to learning. We thus have explained a common sense view of reflection and the ones of four powerfulk theorists nevertheless we could be reviewing four different human activities that happen to have similar name – reflection. May possibly there certainly be a common idea lurking presently there, or an explanation as to how a ideas could fit together?

Celestial body overhead (1999) suggests that the differences in approach are accounted for largely by different focuses – either on the process of expression, on the goal for it and also the outcomes of reflection – in effect, just how it is employed. Schon, for instance , is concerned regarding reflection as being a mechanism intended for professional and maybe personal development while Habermas is involved with its role in the building of theory. Kolb is exploring the position of expression in learning – setting a context for doing it, but referring relatively little to expression itself. Dewey is outstanding in taking a holistic look at of expression as a process – some that accord with the sound judgment definition over.

Before we pull these ideas right into a summarising version there is another stray aspect that a few, but not each of the approaches to reflection mention that is certainly the role of emotion in expression. Some theorists see the position of sentiment in reflection as incredibly significant and frequently neglected (eg. Boud, Keogh and Master, 1985). Yet , there are questions to be asked.

Is the emotional content of reflection often present and influential? We might seem to be capable to reflect on many ideas with out emotional happy to the representation. Then – are psychological effects the subject matter of the input and output of reflection (like other tips on which representation occurs), or perhaps do they will steer the process of reflection (acting as a sort of milieu by which reflection usually takes place). Could they participate in the process of reflection?

If they are part of the input and / or outcome – is it ‘knowledge of how I feel’ or perhaps is it the actual feeling that is part of the input and / or outcome? All of these seem to fit activities of representation and there is not any clear response in the literature. A relatively simple input – outcome model of reflection seems to summarise the variety of approaches to reflection in the books.

It discovers the approach of Dewey and the common sense definition as concerned with the input as well as the actual internal event of reflecting with others generally concerned with the outcomes of expression. In other words, that suggests that expression is a simple process but with intricate outcomes that relate to a number of areas of individual functioning. Fig 1 offers a summary of these ideas and a basis for the consideration of reflection in PDP.

Generally it switches into the definition pertaining to the process of reflection on page a couple of but recognises that there are several contexts for reflection that influence our understanding of their meaning. Fig 1 A great input as well as outcome model of reflection The relationship between expression and learning What is the partnership between representation and learning? Much has become written about equally reflection and learning and there seems to end up being an supposition that reflection is related to learning – but what is the marriage?

We check out it through this section (there is more details in Moon, 1999) Representation and the learner’s approach to learning One set of suggestions that appears to be significant to unravelling the partnership between learning and reflection within the process of learning seem to be the research on approaches to learning (Marton, Hounsell and Entwistle, 1997). This kind of research shows that there is a fundamental difference in success in learning between implementing a ‘deep’ approach and a ‘surface’ approach to a learning activity. A profound approach is where the goal of the student is to be familiar with meaning from the material.

She’s willing to combine it in to her existing body of previous suggestions, and understandings, reconsidering and altering her understandings if required. The new ideas are ‘filed’ thoroughly and included. In contrast, a surface strategy to learning can be where a novice is concerned to memorise the material for what it can be, not trying to understand this in relation to past ideas or perhaps other areas of understanding. It really is as if the newest ideas must be retained to get the moment, but not ‘filed’ for just about any lasting goal.

These ways to learning are certainly not ‘either or’ situations, although at two extremes of a entier and the same learner might want to learn in another way according to the job at hand. The conception of the continuum of approaches to learning allows us to hypothesise a hierarchy of stages of learning along the continuum that characterise surface and then progressively much deeper approaches to learning. This is a good device when we attempt to identify reflection along the way.

It is important to notice that we simply cannot actually see that learning features occurred, you observe only the outcomes of learning which can be called the ‘representation of learning’. The same part of learning could possibly be represented in various ways – writing, mouth account, graphical display etc and it is through the description with the representation of learning that we identify the stages of learning. The stages are as follows: Seeing, – minimal detailed form of learning – you cannot study something if you do not notice it at some level (which could possibly be unconscious). Manifestation is of the material is as memorised, modified just by the level to which it can be forgotten.

Producing sense – getting to know the fabric as logical – although only pertaining to itself. Facts may be installed together like a jigsaw however, not related to past understandings. Representation is logical reproduction, however, not related to various other ideas and never processed. Making meaning – the origins of profound approach – there is a perception of meaningfulness but there isn’t much evidence of going past the provided.

Representation is of ideas which have been integrated and well associated. There is the commencing of progress a holistic view. Working with that means – a sense now of going over and above the given, linking in other concepts.

There is the creation of interactions of new materials with other suggestions. Representation is usually reflective, very well structured and demonstrates the linking of fabric with other tips which may change as a result. Transformative learning – evidence the fact that new learning has changed current understandings in reflective processes.

Portrayal demonstrates strong restructuring of ideas and ability to assess the processes of reaching that learning. There are creative as well as idiosyncratic reactions. On the basis of the[desktop], There are in least 3 ways in which expression might be known as relating to learning. a) Representation has a position in the much deeper approaches to learning – the very last three phases described over, but not in surface approaches to learning (the first two stages); b) We study from representing learning – whenever we write an essay or perhaps explain a thing or bring a picture from it, we represent it to ourselves and learn from the re-processing (Eisner, 1991). This is a reflective procedure; c) We ‘upgrade’ learning.

For example , we could go back to suggestions learnt only to the level of ‘making sense’ (eg in the form of details – portions and pieces) and can reprocess those suggestions through expression, integrating them with current understandings (Vygotsky, 1978). This might end up being conceived like a kind of ‘chewing the cud’ exercise – or cognitive housekeeping (see earlier). These directives of listening to advice from reflection are generally exploited inside the patterns better education pedagogy.

In the case of the first (a), there is very much literature on the encouragement of students to consider a deep approach to learning (Marton ainsi que al, (1997). At the same time, there may be acknowledgement that nature of current higher education may inhibit these endeavors (lack of contact with college students, the ‘boxed’ nature of learning in a modular program etc). Specifically it is worth remembering that assessment is likely to drive student learning and if students (can) perceive that a deep approach is a manner in which to attain a learning task, they can be more likely to adopt such an procedure. In terms of learning from the rendering of learning (b), all of us ask students to reprocess their learning into works, examinations, reports and explanations in tutorials.

It is interesting to consider the effects of Eisner’s suggestion that individuals learn differently from diverse forms of manifestation. In different kinds of representation all of us exploit representation differently. We all probably usually do not fully enough exploit the representation of learning as a method of enhancing learning in current degree. A well functioning tutorial product is an example of a way by which we encourage students to up grade their learning (c).

A student lecture is not great ground for taking a profound approach to learning. It seems most likely that the make an attempt to get remarks down on conventional paper would impact the control involved in having a deep method of learning. Prep for and involvement within a tutorial is a opportunity for many students to reflect on and process their particular learning into a more important state – in other words, to ‘re-file’ this. Revision intended for examinations is yet another opportunity for review of previous learning such that understanding is deepened (Entwistle and Entwistle, 1992). It is interesting to note which the value in the Kolb circuit (see above), and the whole notion that learning can be enhanced through experimentation or ‘doing’ is explained by a) and b).

If students are required to stand for their learning in some significant activity, they will have had been forced to undertake a deep approach to the training in the first place – or to upgrade their area quality learning (c ) into more meaningful material. Reflection supplies the right conditions for learning We have suggested above a few ways in which representation is right away related to the training process, nevertheless there as well seem to be other designs of this romance that are usefully described in the notion the activity of expression provides the correct conditions forever learning (Moon, 1999a).

 We summarise these types of ideas below, continuing the lettering system from above seeing that these are more ways in which learning and reflection are related. d) Expression slows down activity, giving the time for the learner to process material of learning and link it with previous tips. There is evidence that when a lecturer pauses in a lecture, the ‘wait time’ permits students to understand better (Tobin, 1987). We could more often stop and ask students to think about an issue which includes arisen in a lecture (etc). e) Expression enables scholars to develop increased ‘ownership’ with the material of learning, rendering it more in person meaningful to themselves and improving their particular grasp than it (Rogers, 1969).

It will also boost the student’s ‘voice’ in her learning (Elbow, 1981). f) A particularly significant means by which will reflective activity generally helps learning can be through the confidence of metacognition. Metacognition is a awareness of one’s own cognitive functioning – in this case, learning. There is proof that good learners have better metacognitive operations than poor learners (Ertmer and Newby, 1996).

Research skills programmes that support learner’s awareness of their learning processes seem to be more successful than those that concentrate on techniques (Main, 1985). g) We advised above that expression occurs when we are dealing with materials that is relatively complicated – or ill-structured. If we will be encouraging college students to indicate, we are, in this way, challenging their learning. There is certainly evidence that it can be by tough learners with ill-structured materials of learning, that they boost their cognitive capacity (King and Kitchener, 1994). Bibliography Boud, D and Garrick, T (1999) Dart, B; Boulton-Lewis; G, Brownlee, J and McCrindle, A (1998) ‘Change in understanding of learning and teaching through journal writing’, Research Papers in Education 13(3), pp291 – 318 George, T and Cowan, J (1999) A Handbook of Tips for Formative Analysis, Kogan Webpage, London Ruler, P and Kitchener, E (1994) Growing Reflective Thinking, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco ‘Reflection as well as the development of learning skills’, in Boud, Deb, Keogh, L and Master, D Representation: turning knowledge into learning, Kogan Site, London