Reflective and Reflexive Practices in the Flipped Classroom

Abstract

This chapter explores what we are asking students to do in flipped classroom context. We show how we are asking students to independently (but with facilitation) engage with practical and theoretical problems, and how engaging in this independent learning process challenges students to understand themselves differently. This requires the development of two distinct yet overlapping kinds of practices—namely reflective (problem-oriented) and reflexive (self-oriented) practices (Hibbert in J Manage Edu 37:803–827, 2013; Cunliffe in J Manage Edu 28:407–426, 2004; Cunliffe in The Sage handbook of management learning, education and development. Sage, London, pp 405–418, 2009a). We use Knowles et al.’s (The adult learner. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2011) six andragogic principles that characterise adult learners and show how reflective and reflexive practices are involved in helping students to live out these principles in university contexts. In doing so, we outline a developmental trajectory for students, moving from a transactional learning mindset to an exploratory framing of the learning process. This characterisation of the learning process provides an initial overview for educators who seek to develop their approach to reflective teaching, in the context of flipped classrooms. This overview naturally leaves some questions unanswered. So we conclude by offering some suggestions to the most likely three such questions: 1. Application: where might I get more specific, implementable ideas?; 2. Alternatives: is Knowles et al.’s (The adult learner. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2011) framework the only or best way to frame the application of reflective/reflexive practice?; and 3. Adaptation: what might I do to operationalise these ideas in my own classroom contexts?