1. Development and Skills Conference
Reflective Practice
Jackie Cawkwell

2. Reflective Practice
• Why ?
• Thinkers on reflective practice
• Reflecting in practice, reflecting on
practice, reflecting for practice
• Key features
• Some criticisms of reflective practice
• How to go about reflective practice
• Reflective writing

3. Why is reflective practice important?
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An adaptive response to change
Develops professional expertise
Supports critical approaches to work and CPD
Encourages deep learning and self
empowerment
• Creates shared meanings
(Carlile & Jordan)

4. Thinkers on reflective practice
• “Active, persistent and careful consideration of any
belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of
the grounds that support it and further conclusions
to which it tends constitutes reflective thought.”
(Dewey)
• “Cognitive housekeeping” (Moon)
• Learning cycle – not closed (Kolb)
• Technical reflection: everyday and individual practice
and critical reflection: contextual and organisational
(Reynolds & Suter)

5. Reflecting in, on and for action
• Reflection in action: problem
solving, experimenting in situ on a puzzling event
• Reflecting on action: writing up, discussing
afterwards, questioning and developing future
response and new course of action
• Reflection for action: is more than pausing for
thought but carrying out action which might
provide evidence for deciding new approach
should be included again
(Russell discussing Schon’s work)

6. What are the key features?
• Blending theory and practice (NB Schon says
difficult to achieve)
• Active learning
• Participative learning
• Challenging dogma
(Thompson and Pascal)

7. What are the key criticisms?
• Of Schon’s model: is it always possible in busy work environment? Is
it always wise? Does it take into account things beyond control?
• No evidence of efficacy of reflective practice (more of an ideology)
• Process isn’t always clear or shared (abstract)
• Institutional habitus: enabling?
• Collaboratively undertaken?
• Routinised and mundane
• Individual experience over-emphasised
(Reynolds and Suter)
• What works in one context may not be good practice in another

8. How to go about reflective practice
• Moon: tips for keeping a learning journal
(Portal)
• Tripp: critical incidents analysis (Reynolds and
Suter)
• Johns: model for structured reflection (Portal)
• Brookfield: using colleagues experiences (Portal)

9. Features of reflective writing
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Acts as an aid to thinking
Is for an effective outcome
Supports writing in PDP’s
Supports secondary reflection
Writing for learning from critical incident
Writing for learning from personal experience
Exploring through structured reflection
Metacognitive writing

10. References
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AUA Portal
Dewey, John (1933) How We Think. Boston: Heath & Co.
Johns, Christopher (2009) Becoming a Reflective Practitioner. Wiley & Sons
Moon, Jenny (1999) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development:
theory and practice. London: Kogan Page
Reynolds, Barbara and Suter, Martin (2010) ‘Reflective Practice’ in
Teaching in Lifelong Learning: a guide to theory and practice. Avis, James
(Ed.) Oxford University Press
Russell, Tom (2005) ‘Can reflective practice be taught?’ in Reflective
Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives. 6(2), 199-204
Schon, Donald (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: how professionals think
in action. New York: Basic Books
Thompson, Neil and Pascal, Jan (2012) ‘Developing critically reflective
practice’ in Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary
Perspectives. 13(2), 311-325

11. A Coaching Approach to
Reflective Practice

12. Rigour in your work: using evidence
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Learning journal
Mid-registration PDP
Appraisal meetings – managers feedback
PDP plans at work
Notes from meetings
Reports
Peer feedback
Student feedback
External feedback
Scholarly activities
Others?