2.

Definitions and Types of Reflection

Reflective practice has a number of interpretations. The definitions range
from the technical to the holistic. This holistic interpretation of reflective
practice takes into account the role of reflexivity and criticality. The external
factors that affect the ability of the teacher have a large part to play in the
reflective abilities of the teacher, and for this reason reflexivity is an
important part of teaching.
What is reflection?
Most of us would probably think of what we see when we look in a
mirror as the answer to this question. The Oxford Dictionary does indeed
have a definition very similar to that, but also includes serious thought or
consideration (OUP 2009). This suggests something which is more than what
we see or think about on the surface, and we believe that deeper, more
thoughtful reflection is the key to Reflective Practice. This does not suggest
that there is one type of reflection which is the only one which works.
Here are some ideas and definitions about reflection from a variety of
writers:
Moon (2004 p82), has coined the term common sense reflection to describe
one basic level of thinking. Roffey-Barentsen and Malthouse (2009: p4) also
explain common sense reflection, describing it as below:
It is the thoughts that occur to us during our day-to-day living, perhaps
following a different lesson or a particularly challenging student. It is the
thoughts we cannot put down after a difficult encounter with an aggressive
student or the muses we choose to have when we feel we could do better
and try to work out exactly how. After these events you may think about the
situation in terms of what went well and what did not. You could consider the
behaviour of the students or how well a particular exercise went.
If you were to reflect on something in this way you may describe what
happened, what you did, what others did in response and what you did after
that, and then describe how you felt about it.
Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985: p43) suggest reflection can yield more when
it is more purposeful:
Reflection is an important human activity in which people recapture their
experience, think about it, mull over and evaluate it. It is this working with
experience that is important in learning.
Andrew Pollard continues to emphasise a more focused form of reflection

when he refers to one of the best known 20th Century education thinkers,
John Dewey.
Dewey (1933) contrasted routine action with reflective action. According
to Dewey routine action is guided by factors such as tradition, habit and
authority and institutional definitions and expectations. By implication it is
relatively static and is thus unresponsive to changing priorities and
circumstances.Reflective action, on the other hand, involves a willingness to
engage in constant self appraisal and development. Among other things it
implies flexibility, rigorous analysis and social awareness.
(Pollard 2005: p13)
Crawley (2005) uses Hillier (2002) to develop this idea of reflection with
more purpose and structure, using the term critical reflection.
Without critical reflection, teaching will remain at best uninformed, and at
worst ineffective, prejudiced and constraining (Hillier 2002: p xi)
There are two main reasons for using critical reflection:
- We can question our routine, convenient, every-day practices and ask
questions about what really does and doesnt work.
- We can challenge some of our deeper social and cultural thoughts, feelings
and reactions, or what Hillier (2002: 7) calls our taken for granted
assumptions.
(Crawley 2005: p 166)
Donald Schon emphasises that there is an instinctive, and in many ways
creative aspect to this type of reflection
Reflection in action concerns thinking about something whilst engaged in
doing it, having a feeling about something & practicing according to that
feeling.
Although there are various ways in which different people have defined and
explained reflection in teaching and learning overall, the most positive views
appear to agree that it is both intuitive in nature, and considered in depth. At
its best it is genuinely capable of helping teachers to develop, improve and
change their teaching.
Types of Reflection
Superficial (= descriptive reflection)
Reflection at this level is very basic some would say it is not reflection at
all, as it is largely descriptive. However the description should not just be of
what happened but should include a description of why those things
happened. Reflection at a superficial level makes reference to an existing

knowledge base, including differing theories but does not make any
comment or critique of them.
Medium (= dialogic reflection)
At this level of reflection, the person takes a step back from what has
happened and starts to explore thoughts, feelings, assumptions and gaps in
knowledge as part of the problem solving process. The teacher makes sense
of what has been learnt from the experience and what future action might
need to take place.
Deep (= critical reflection)
This level of reflection has the most depth. This level of reflection shows that
the experience has created a change in the person his/her views of self,
relationships, community of practice, society and so on. To do so, the teacher
needs to be aware of the relevance of multiple perspectives from contexts
beyond the chosen incident and how the learning from the chosen incident
will impact on other situations.
Informal and Formal (Structured) Reflection
Reflection is an everyday process. We reflect on a range of everyday
problems and situations all the time: What went well? What didnt? Why?
How do I feel about it?
Informal Reflection
For such reflection we dont usually follow a formula for this, it just happens
as feelings, thoughts and emotions about something gradually surface. We
might choose to do something differently, or not, as a result of reflecting, but
reflection is essentially a kind of loose processing of thoughts and feelings
about an incident any event or experience at all.
Formal Reflection
This is a more structured way of processing in order to deal with a problem.
This type of reflection may take place when we have had time to stand back
from something, or talk it through with a colleague.
Structured reflection
If we consciously reflect there tends to be a rough process of How did it go?
What went well? Why? What didnt? Why? What next? In this kind of
reflection, the aim is to look carefully at what happened, sort out what is
really going on and explore in depth, in order to improve, or change
something for next time.
Key elements of reflection
Reflection contains a mixture of elements:
1. Making sense of experience

We dont always learn from experiences. Reflection is where we analyse

experience, actively attempting to make sense or find the meaning in it.
2. Standing back
It can be hard to reflect when we are caught up in an activity. Standing back
gives a better view or perspective on an experience, issue or action.
3. Repetition
Reflection involves going over something, often several times, in order to
get a broad view and check nothing is missed
4. Deeper honesty
Reflection is associated with striving after truth. Through reflection, we can
acknowledge things that we find difficult to admit in the normal course of
events.
5. Weighing up
Reflection involves being even-handed, or balanced in judgement. This
means taking everything into account, not just the most obvious.
6. Clarity
Reflection can bring greater clarity, like seeing events reflected in a mirror.
This can help at any stage of planning, carrying out and reviewing activities.
7. Understanding
Reflection is about learning and understanding on a deeper level. This
includes gaining valuable insights that cannot be just taught.
8. Making judgements
Reflection involves an element of drawing conclusions in order to move on,
change or develop an approach, strategy or activity.