Reflection as a Tool for Audiology Student and Novice Practitioner Learning, Development, and Self-Care

Abstract

This article is the fourth in a series of five articles explaining the grounded theory named RESPoND: Reflection in the Education and Socialization of Practitioners: Novice Development. Participants in the grounded theory study included a cohort of audiology students, clinical faculty, and preceptors. This particular article focuses on the second of three facets that together explain the role of reflection in novice development in the context of the RESPoND theory. This facet represents the concept of reflection as a tool for student and novice development. Reflective practice has been described as a professional development tool. There is a temptation to turn reflective processes into structured, measurable activity for assessment and regulation purposes. Further, there is potential to conflate reflection with self-assessment, thus limiting its potential benefit. For these reasons, this facet's theoretical findings are of particular importance. Implications of this theory are presented, focusing on the potential of reflection as a tool beyond self-assessment. We acknowledge that these findings relate specifically to the participant cohort; however, the understanding gained from this research may nonetheless be informative to a wide audience of individuals interested in audiology education.