Module 3: Encouraging Reflective Practice in Others

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Sometimes, you have to really think about something in order to fully understand it. This is especially true with complex ideas. Teaching practice is an excellent example of this. As teachers, we work in very complex systems. Each student has his or her own hopes, needs, problems, abilities, and interests. That is already extremely complex, but that’s just the beginning of it! The educational context includes issues of curriculum, standards, and more.

Because teaching is so complex, teacher development requires reflective practice, which is a type of critical thinking. Reflective practice means thinking critically about one’s experiences in order to better understand them and improve one’s practice in the future.

A drawing of a Viking in a boat on the water leaning his head on his hand looking reflective

"Reflective Viking" by Gina Asalon for World Learning is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (Links to an external site.)

Critical thinking is hard work. Other people can help us in this hard work by actively listening to us and offering us thought-provoking ideas, information, and questions. Let’s first look at the 7 techniques for active listening and see how they can encourage reflective practice. After we do that, we’ll look at a few other techniques for encouraging critical thinking and reflective practice in others.

Use your full attention to read the posts.
You are unlikely to give meaningful feedback to someone if you do not fully understand what they are saying! You need to give your full attention to the other person to make sure you understand what they are saying.
Reflect before responding.
Some reflection on your part is necessary. First, are you sure you understand what the person is saying? Next, what is it that this person needs to critically examine? How can you help him or her to do that?
Make sure you understood what the other person wrote.
In Module 2, we saw some ways that you can make sure that you understood. Many of these include clarifying questions. When the other person answers you, he or she may become clearer about his/her ideas by explaining the situation better.

Because of the wait time between responses in our written discussions, you might want to save time. Instead of simply asking for clarification, you can restate or summarize what the other person is saying and see if they agree with it.
Recognize the emotional side.
There are many emotions connected to experiences like teaching experiences and intercultural encounters. If the person you are talking to thinks you do not understand this, they may not want to discuss the experience with you.
Offer alternatives.
Here we are really starting to get into the active work of encouraging reflection. If we can offer alternative interpretations, we are helping the other person see multiple points of view, which is at the heart of critical thinking.
Share your point of view, knowledge, or experience.
All of these can also help the other person to consider other interpretations and perspectives.
Request more information.
If the speaker has not mentioned something, it may be because he/she does not think it is important. However, when you ask about that information, you may be able to show that there are other factors in the situation that could be important. Other excellent questions for promoting critical thinking include,
- Why do think that was?
- What do think the other person was thinking?

As you can see, all of our active listening techniques can help others in their reflective practice. Now, let’s look at some additional techniques for encouraging reflective practice (and critical thinking) in others.

Ask questions the other person hasn’t thought of.
In critical thinking, we need to examine our assumptions, but it is usually quite hard to even realize what our assumptions are. Our assumptions and habits can make us forget the importance of some factors. For example, if a teacher sees a student frowning in class, he might automatically assume that the student is unhappy. A few questions from someone else might help the teacher consider other possibilities, for example,
- Is it possible that that is just what she looks like when she concentrates?
- How is her eyesight? Maybe she can’t read what is written on the board.
Take an objective stance.
Many times people can’t think critically about a situation because they are too emotionally involved. People who are not involved in the situation can help the other person think the event through when they offer an objective point of view.
Offer a different way of seeing things.
This is like #6, except that you don’t have to only offer your point of view; you can help the other person imagine someone else’s point of view.
Get the other person thinking about the future.
Reflective practice includes considering how to adjust one’s practice in the future. It is important to first think critically on past experiences and what they mean, but when the time is right, it is also important to think about implications for the future. You can ask the person you are listening to what they plan to do in the future. If they have given some ideas but you have some other ideas, you might want to suggest alternative courses of action.
Be respectful.
Reflective practice is hard work for everyone. There are always perspectives we haven’t considered, and a lot of emotional issues connected to our work. It is important to respect the other person and choose our comments and questions wisely.

References
(This content is copyrighted, and cannot be adapted in any way, or distributed after the end of this course. It is not Public Domain or Creative Commons-licensed, and therefore not for public use.)

Jasper, M. (2013). Beginning reflective practice (2nd ed.). Cengage Learning.

Leather, S. & Popovic, R. (2008). Time for reflection. English Teaching Professional, (55), 57-59.

Suggested Further Readings
(This content is Creative Commons-licensed with some restrictions. It is not compliant with the OPEN Program’s standards for openly-licensed content. Feel free to save and read any of these resources, but please check the individual license before adapting or distributing a resource.)

al Mahmud, A. (2016). Constructivism and reflectivism as the logical counterparts in TESOL: Learning theory versus teaching methodology. Download Constructivism and reflectivism as the logical counterparts in TESOL: Learning theory versus teaching methodology.TEFLIN Journal. http://journal.teflin.org/index.php/journal/article/view/166/154 (Links to an external site.)

Gutiérrez, M. V. A., & Adasme, M. A. N. (2019). Collaborative Reflective Practice: Its Influence on Pre- service EFL Teachers’ Emerging Professional Identities Download Collaborative Reflective Practice: Its Influence on Pre- service EFL Teachers’ Emerging Professional Identities. The Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research. http://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_120736.html (Links to an external site.)

Lakshmi, B. (2014). Reflective practice through journal writing and peer observation: A case study. Download Reflective practice through journal writing and peer observation: A case study.Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 189-204. http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/tojde/article/view/5000102158/5000095257

Telles Quezada, N., Inostroza Araos, M.-J., & Rosas-Maldonado, M. (2018). View of Points of Improvement: Reflective Strategy to Support Chilean EFL Pre-Service Teachers’ Lesson Planning Download View of Points of Improvement: Reflective Strategy to Support Chilean EFL Pre-Service Teachers’ Lesson Planning. https://www.howjournalcolombia.org/index.php/how/article/view/498/518 (Links to an external site.)