Reflection In Research Paper

1. UNDERSTANDING REFLECTION

In this section the topics what is reflection, learning through reflection, types of reflection and objects to reflect on will be discussed.

What is reflection?

In order to improve and enable (the fostering of) reflectional behaviour, an understanding of what reflection is and does should be developed. To do so, first a definition of reflection is determined. In literature many definitions of reflection can be found, but in this thesis a combination of three definitions by Boud, Keogh & Walker (1985), Jasper & Rolfe (2011) and Moon (2004) is used to give a complete definition:

Reflection involves conscious thinking about experiences, actions, emotions, feelings and responses by interpreting their meaning and possible

A key element of reflection, as argued by John Loughran (2002), is that experience alone does not lead to learning, but deliberate reflection on experience is essential in order to learn from it. One’s capability to reflect on their experiences, so as to engage in a process of continuous learning, establishes a understanding of themselves, their attitudes and behaviours, unearthing any biases, allowing one to become more critical about their views of practice and the world (Jasper & Rolfe, 2011; Paterson & Chapman, 2013; Schön, 1983). The ability to do this, is according to Schön (1983) one of the defining key characteristics of professional practice. Effective reflective practice is not only achieved by ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’, it rather becomes a habit through use and further reflection on such use to enhance the possibilities of learning through experience (Houston & Clift, 1990, p. 218; Loughran, 2015). As Mann et al. (2009) concluded from current literature: reflection and a deep approach to learning is integrally related and stimulates one

According to Schön “in reflection-in-action, reflection tends to focus interactively on the outcomes of action, the action itself, and the intuitive knowing implicit in the action”. It is this by which he argues that practitioners can sometimes deal well with situations which fail to meet one’s expectations. They have become researchers in practice context, considering not only the present choice but the whole tree of further choices to which it leads defined by earlier moves, generating a new understanding of the situation and changing it into a new one (Schön, 1983). To Schön is thinking while doing considered the distinguishing feature of expert versus novice