Reflection and the Scholarship of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Abstract

Position and Rationale. In this article, we focus on the role of reflection in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and briefly expand our discussion to consider the role of reflection in assessment as well. We start with a historical perspective casting back to classic definitions and descriptions of reflection put forth by educational philosophers and theorists like John Dewey, Max van Manen, and Donald Schon.1-5 We then move forward to review contemporary literature on the role, forms, and functions of reflection in adult learning and professional development in general, and the importance of reflection in the SoTL in particular. We provide numerous examples of inquiry into teaching and learning in professional education in a variety of disciplines to illustrate practical applications of reflection in SoTL. Finally, we offer food for thought, suggesting ways that physical therapy educators can build reflective practica into their work as teachers in the classroom or the clinic, with the hope that they will take as one focus of ongoing inquiry their own pedagogy and the learning of the future professionals they teach. To pique curiosity, stimulate reflection, and encourage such inquiry, we pose some simple questions, drawn from the work of Lee Shulman,6 that educators might ask themselves as they encounter everyday challenges and successes as teachers. Recommendations. aim is that all physical therapy educators will seek to engage intentionally and reflectively in both scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching, learning, and assessment. Key Words: Reflection, Scholarship of teaching and learning, Assessment. Our knowledge is imperfect. . . . For now we see indistinctly, as in a minor; Then we shall see face to face. My knowledge is imperfect now; then I shall know even as I am known. I Corinthians 13:11-13 NASB INTRODUCTION Central to the definition of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) are the role of reflection and the importance of reflective critique by those engaging in this form of scholarship. The purpose of this article is to focus on this essential element in SoTL. We do so by starting with a historical perspective on classical definitions and descriptions of reflection put forth by educational philosophers and theorists like John Dewey,1' among others. We then cast our glance forward to more contemporary literature on the role, forms, and functions of reflection in adult learning, professional practice, and development in general, with special attention to the role of reflection in SoTL in particular. Thereafter, we provide multiple examples and practical applications of reflection in SoTL. These examples are drawn from the literature in a variety of professions and disciplines and are also derived from our personal experiences as investigators of student learning and our own teaching. We expand our discussion briefly to consider the role of reflection in assessment as well, since inquiry into teaching and learning requires continuous engagement in assessment activities. Historical Perspectives on Reflection Reflection and the Legacy of John Dewy. While it is beyond the scope of this article to fully articulate Dewey's1-13 remarkable vision and insights regarding the aims, functions, and processes of education, it is well worth revisiting some of his classic work on reflection and the role of experience in learning as a foundation for all we discuss later. In his seminal work, How We Think,1 Dewey spent considerable time distinguishing reflective thinking from (merely) thinking. In doing so, he highlighted several characteristics of reflective thought: Reflective thinking is reflexive, or, as he described it, chained; it is purposeful and aims at a conclusion; and it is grounded in commitment to a belief or beliefs that impel the individual toward inquiry about the sources of and evidence for those beliefs (or lack thereof). …