Reflective PracticeCILIP

17th November 2011

Paula Nottingham Rosemary McGuinness

Reflective Practice

Reflective practice is a valuable way of understanding how professionals evaluate what they do in order to improve their performance in the workplace.

 

Theory Practice

Topics to be Covered

Work Based Learning/Professional Practice

 

WBL can be within a disciplinary area or used more generically within a workplace that contains transdisciplinary knowledge (Gibbons et al., 1994).

Looks at learning in the workplace - there is a need to find the space and time to learn and negotiate change for busy professionals performing various roles and functions - often the emphasis is on the service or competencies that are required versus individual or team capabilities.

Considers individual and organisational learning

Tripartite Practice

Professional learner

Employer/workplace Learning consultant/professional peers

Argyris and Schön

“When they came to explore the nature of organizational learning Chris Argyris and Donald Schon (1978: 2-3) described the process as follows…

Single-loop learning is like a thermostat that learns when it is too hot of too cold and turns the heat on or off. The thermostat can perform this task because it can receive information (the temperature of the room) and take corrective action. Double-loop learning occurs when error is detected and corrected in ways that involve the modification of an organization’s underlying norms, policies and objectives” (Infed, 2011).

Reflective Practice: Schön

Reflection-in-action practice is when practitioners think about practice while they are doing it. Reflection-on-action can happen after the encounter. It is about using tacit knowledge and treating experience as ‘unique’ versus solely using technical rationality.

“It is the entire process of reflection-in-action which is central to the ‘art’ by which some practitioners deal well with situations of uncertainty, instability uniqueness, and value conflict” (Schön, 1983, p. 50).

Schön exercise - fill out the sample learning log using experience from your workplace.

Reflective Practice: Kolb

Kolb developed models of experiential learning practice that include developing learning from doing. Learning from experience is a variation of this practice.

The Kolb learning cycle

The Kolb learning styles and cycle

Honey and Mumford

• We learn in different ways– Activist - learning by doing– Reflectors - learning by observing– Theorist - learning by thinking through in a logical

manner– Pragmatist - learning through putting ideas into

practice and testing them out

“Honey and Alan Mumford developed their learning styles system as a variation on the Kolb model…” (Infed, 2011, online).

Kolb Exercise

Take an incident from you own professional working environment and apply the thinking form the Kolb cycle. Discuss this with others.

Doing…

Reviewing…

Concluding…

Trying out…

Engeström

“Workplace learning has largely emerged as an extension of educational research…The commitment of studies of workplace learning is commonly pedagogical: improvement of conditions and practices of learning and instruction in work settings.

Organizational learning emerged as a sub-field of organization and management studies, trying to find explanatory mechanisms for success and failure in organizational renewal and subsequently organizational knowledge formation. Studies in organizational learning are commonly driven by interests in management, whether utilitarian or critical. The divide between workplace learning and organizational learning has resemblances to the classic divides between micro and macro, between agency and structure” (Engeström and Kerosuo, 2007, p. 336).

Engeström

Activity theory looks at organisations as learners that puts the emphasis on the object – e.g. what is done and learned together in inter-organisational networks – versus connections and collaborations of networks.

Engeström Theories in Use

This is an example of how Engeström’ theory can be applied to thinking about the learner (Francis, 2007).

“Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, 2011, online).

Communities of Practice (Wenger)

Mapping your communities of practice

Using the 3 elements as guides map and describe and map your communities of practice and the elements of coherence they might have.

Reflective Practice Exercises

Create a portfolio where you can continue to research and explore the practices discussed today.

Indicative References

• Engeström, Yrjöand and Kerosuo, Hannele (2007) ‘From Workplace Learning To Inter-Organizational Learning And Back: The Contribution Of Activity Theory’, Guest Editorial, Journal of Workplace Learning, 19 (6): 336-342.

• Eraut, Michael (1994) Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence, London: Falmer.

• Francis, R.J. (2007) ‘The Predicament of the Learner in the New Media Age’. D.Phil. Oxford University (Illustration).

• Gibbons, Michael, Limoges, Camille, Nowotny, Helga, Schwartzmen, Simon, Scott, Peter, and Trow, Martin (1994) The New Production of Knowledge, The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies, London: Sage Publications.

• Infed (2011) ‘david a. kolb on experiential learning’, Available from: http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-explrn.htm

• Infed (2011) ‘Schon’, Available at: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-schon.htm

Indicative References

• International Review of Open and Distance Learning (2011) (illustration of CoP) (online) Available from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/204/286

• Kolb, David A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

• Kolb’s Learning Styles (2011) (illustration and text) Available from http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm

• Leeds University (2011) The Kolb Cycle (illiustration ) Available from:http://www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/ldu/sddu_multimedia/kolb/static_version.php

• McAteer, Erica and Marsden, Sally (2004) ‘Networked Learning Conference, Frameworks for the Representation and Analysis of Networked Learning Activity’, University of Glasgow (illustration).

• Murillo, E. (2011) "Communities of practice in the business and organization studies literature" Information Research, 16(1) paper 464. [Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/16-1/paper464.html] (Illustration)

• Saddington, T. (2011) (online) Available from: http://www.icel.org.uk/pdf/el.pdf

Indicative References

• Schön, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think In Action, New York, NY: USA: Basic Books.

• Schön, D. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Towards a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

• University of Leicester (2011) ‘Honey and Mumford’, Available from: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/careers/pgrd/resources/teaching/theories/honey-mumford

• Wenger, E. (2006) ‘Communities of Practice a Brief Introduction’, available from: http://www.ewenger.com/theory/communities_of_practice_intro.htm [Accessed 4/12/06]

•  Wenger, E., White, N. and Smith, J. (2009) Digital Habitas Stewarding Technology for Communities, Portland, USA: CPSquare.

• Wenger, E. (2011) Website (online) Available from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm