The Blended Reflective Inquiry Educators Framework; origins, development and utilisation

Abstract

Reflective practice is widely considered to be an integral part of contemporary pedagogical practice in higher education. The integration of reflection and reflective practice into professional education curricula in areas such as nursing, education and the social sciences, has coincided with an expansion of the reflective practice literature which continues to proliferate within a range of disciplinary fields. However, an interesting paradox is beginning to emerge whereby educators who are charged with developing students reflective ability are often required to do so in the absence of practical educator-focused frameworks and/or guidelines. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate by presenting the ‘Blended Reflective Inquiry Educators Framework’ which is designed for educators who wish to support students to develop their reflective abilities and reflective capacity. This innovative framework was developed following a two stage action research study which was designed to investigate how registered nurses can be facilitated to develop reflective practice skills and abilities. The study resulted in the development of this innovative educator's framework which uses an inquiry based, blended learning approach, to facilitate reflective practice.