Critical Reflective Practice Research Articles

Planning in professional learning teams: building trust, common language and deeper understanding of pedagogy

A teacher professional learning team (PLT) collaboration developed a primary (elementary) Grade 5 & 6, health and nutrition unit using the e5 Instructional model. Planning documents and interviews with the teachers indicated that they had developed a shared language and the teachers assumed that they were achieving the same outcomes in the classroom. An evaluation of student work samples revealed that there were key differences in the way the learning tasks were approached. This case study found reflection on practice and pedagogy should be a deliberate focus in PLTs, to enable informed decisions about best practice. Building on the SECI knowledge creation model to inform a discursive cycle, the critical reflective practice of teachers is highlighted. This offers a pathway for teachers’ tacit pedagogy to become explicit, assisting with the creation and dissemination of new knowledge across professional learning communities.

787 Burn Resuscitation Critical Reflective Practice

Abstract Introduction The Burn Resuscitation Critical Reflective Practice (CRP) was started as collaborative meetings to review 1st 48 hours of admission for burn resuscitations (resus) October 2018- July 2019. All multi- disciplinary teams were invited. The problem identified was on average burn resus patients (>20% TBSA) were being over resuscitated in 1st 24 hours of admission. The goals of the CRP were: 1) Decrease resus fluid in the 1st 24 hours; 2) Increase knowledge of the current fluid resus pathway; 3) Increase communication with interdisciplinary teams during the resus. Methods CRP initiated in October 2018. 6 CRPs were held October 2018- July 2019.The average ml/ KG/ TBSA prior to CRP from January 2017- September 2018 was 5.17ml/kg/TBSA (goal: < 4ml). Chart reviews were done to gather data from each resus (i.e. urine output, fluids, labs, events). Discussions held with staff involved in the 1st 24 hours of resus regarding any communication/process issues.Patient data was presented & staff members present would discuss questions/ issues that came up during the resus. Multi-disciplinary teams surveyed prior to CRP to assess comfort/competence with current resus pathway and communication. 46 surveys received prior to initiating CRP. After initiating CRP October 2018- July 2019, staff members that had attended >1 CRP were post-surveyed. Results January 2017- October 2018 average ml/ KG/ TBSA was 5.17ml/kg/TBSA. October 2018- July 2019 POST CRP implementation, the avg ml/ KG/ TBSA was 3.86 ml LR/ kg/ TBSA in 1st 24 hours of resus. 3 new practices were implemented 1) Decrease fluids by 200ml/hr (instead of 100) when UOP is >100/hr at least 2 hours into resus; 2) Double sign by 2 RNs required when calculating Parkland Formula; 3) Guideline created to guide communication between Burn RNs & trauma bay when burn resus arrives. Post- survey data showed increase in comfort communicating with physicians regarding resus & increase in comfort/confidence in calculating Parkland Formula. 2 additional subjective questions were added onto the post- CRP survey. Conclusions Fluids given in the 1st 24 hours decreased from 5.17 to 3.86 average ml/ kg/ TBSA post- CRP. 3 new practices were implemented as discussed in results. Staff felt more comfortable communicating with team & calculating Parkland formula. Staff had positive responses on the post- survey. Applicability of Research to Practice The monthly CRPs are to be continued to discuss all burn resus patients received during the prior month. Allows team members to continue to modify practice as needed by what’s learned through each CRP to help better our patient outcomes and decrease overall resus fluids.

Improving Inquiry Questions to Foster Critical Thinking and Reflective Practice in a Journalism Capstone

Education researchers have long been interested in helping students develop effective inquiry questions to guide research projects. In this study, students in a journalism senior capstone used writing-studies informed practices such as middle-stakes, iterative writing prompts to enhance metacognition and critical thinking. Using prompts to guide students to periodically revise their inquiry questions and working thesis statements, students showed improvement in their written products as measured through holistic writing assessment measures. Despite measurable improvement, students’ thesis statements were still lackluster, suggesting that programs should develop connected curricula that sequentially scaffold research methods, critical thinking, and writing skills across the major.

Cultivating Instructor’s Reflection: Leveraging Partnerships and Team Efforts

This case study documented the critical reflective practice of an instructor in a higher education context related to teaching and learning approaches. In particular, the reflections unveiled ways of seeing teaching and learning, learning through sharing experiences, developing technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and nurturing professional growth. Cultivating this reflective practice was possible through guided mentoring and collaboration with an instructional design team. Implications for cultivating reflective practice are discussed in light of enhancing the understanding of the complexities that teaching and learning encompass in higher education. Recommendations for cultivating critical reflection through mentoring and collaborating are presented.

CHANGING MINDSET, PERCEPTIONS, LEARNING, AND TRADITION: AN "ADAPTIVE TEACHING FRAMEWORK" FOR TEACHING MUSIC ONLINE

This paper is based on the reflections and experiences from a participant researcher perspective and explores the creation of an inventory of core pedagogical components, called the adaptive teaching framework (ATF), for use in online teaching. This was developed as part of a graduate music teaching program (MTP) across more than 20 tertiary subjects. It involves a series of reflections, descriptions, discussion points, and suggestions, which specifically reference related learning theory, content review, modification of learning design, and pedagogy that were considered during the implementation of a new learner management system (LMS) platform (Canvas) at the start of 2020. Amid the initial phase of implementation, staff and students were also required to move suddenly into a fully online learning environment, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and the subsequent lockdown removed all face-to-face teaching, an essential part of the MTP that included music performance, classroom pedagogy, curriculum design, research, and ensemble performance, as examples of some of the wide-ranging subject areas. These two significant changes (LMS implementation and the COVID-19 pandemic) occurred concurrently, which heightened both the immediacy and demand for adaptive teaching design within a fully implemented online program. The paper overviews the development of the ATF, in response to these mandated changes, just three weeks into Semester One, 2020. The methodology employed was self-study and aspects of critical reflective practice, whereby the researcher reflected on the intersection of technology and 21st century learning in music education, drawing on established literature, research, and emerging learning models combined with creative pedagogies.

Peer review in the classroom: student perceptions, peer feedback quality and the role of assessment

Peer review in the classroom can enhance numerous employability skills such as critical appraisal, writing skills, reflection practices and collaborative experiences. This study takes place over two years and discusses the implementation of a repeating blind peer review cycle across a single semester for final year chemistry students enrolled on a compulsory employability module. The feedback cycle promotes personal reflection through the use of mini-reflective questionnaires. The process was assessed by academic tutors at the resubmission stage and/or the peer feedback stage where the quality of peer feedback was directly assessed. The research investigates the quality of peer feedback, the importance of assessment and student perceptions of what is most useful. Methods include directed content analysis of feedback produced, student opinions and a focus group. Students were capable of offering useable feedback across a range of assessment criteria but tend to focus on the important criteria best aligned to the particular assignment. A range of motivational factors and tactics were noticed but students tended to find reviewing the most beneficial.

Prácticas de liderazgo de docentes y directivos que favorecen el aprendizaje de estudiantes en contexto mapuche

The objective of this research is to investigate the leadership practices of teachers and managers that facilitate the learning of the student of a school in a rural Mapuche context. A qualitative design was proposed, subscribed to a descriptive case study. The participating subjects correspond to all the teaching and management team who work from first to sixth grade in a primary school, La Araucania region, Chile. The results reveal leadership practices focused on the improvement of learning from an intercultural perspective, based mainly on the relationship between Mapuche knowledge and school knowledge. In the same way, critical reflection practices are addressed transversally, which nurtures the development of collaborative work, shared decisions and actions that promote the improvement of children's learning. It is concluded that the leadership developed by the school leader positively influences the professional development of teachers, which contributes to the construction of contextualized and meaningful learning.

Using Self-Assessment as a Tool for English Language Learning

A very important element of formative assessment is giving and receiving feedback. However, most teachers face difficulty in giving students feedback due to various reasons, such as the large number of students in class that makes it time consuming for them to do so. Fortunately, students themselves can be excellent sources of feedback through self-assessment, through which the students would reflect on the quality of their work, judge the degree to which their work reflects explicitly stated goals or criteria, and revise their work if necessary. Under the right conditions, student self-assessment can provide accurate, useful information to promote learning. Self-assessment can also be effective in English language learning, such as: motivating students to learn and reflect on their own English learning; promote critical thinking and reflective practices in learning English; scaffold knowledge of English learning from different English language skills; develop a sense of autonomy in their own learning English; and foster commitment in learning English among many others. This conceptual paper thus seeks to explore the potentials of using self-assessment in English language learning. In this paper, the concept and underlying principles of self-assessment will be introduced. Next, the review of past studies on self-assessment in the context of teaching and learning English as a second or English as a foreign language (ESL/EFL) will be explained. Later, the advantages and disadvantages of using self-assessment in the classroom will be discussed. In the final section, recommendations will be given for the implementation of self-assessment in learning English as a second language (ESL) classrooms.

Using semantic gravity profiling to develop critical reflection

ABSTRACTWhether novices can be guided to produce valued critical reflections is a subject widely-discussed in fields of practice where placement is essential. This research enters into this conversation. However, the question is considered with a new framework by deconstructing evidence of successful critical reflection using an increasingly significant social realist framework, Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Students and teachers involved in fields where critical reflection writing is important can be guided to notice how semantic gravity from Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) makes more visible what is valued by experts evaluating novice critical reflections. The findings discussed in this paper stem from an interdisciplinary collaboration between academic literacy and nursing experts. Over ten months from 2018 to 2019, analyses of 200 first year student nurse critical reflection assignments were conducted. General patterns distinguishing high and low scoring critical reflection assignments were observed. A high and a low scoring paper reflecting these general patterns are discussed in detail in the results. The research seeks to contribute to both research on improving the practice of critical reflection in higher education, and approaches exploring Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) in educational research to better understand knowledge practices in applied disciplines.

Podcasting for social justice: exploring the potential of experiential and transformative teaching and learning through social work podcasts

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of podcasting in teaching and learning for social justice, especially within schools of social work. Using a critical pedagogical teaching and learning lens within social work education, we explored the engagement of entry level Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students in learning about and creating podcasts. Students simultaneously developed social work skills such as critical thinking, understanding theory, current issues of social (in)justice, and community engagement. In the process of creating podcasts, students (1) began to develop their professional and generalist social work identity, (2) engaged with critical reflective practice, and (3) made links between structural and experiential issues related to social policy and social justice. In addition to having implications for critical social work pedagogy, we suggest that student-led podcasting can be used to promote a relationship between the academy and the community.

Cultivating the critical imagination: post-disciplinary pedagogy in a computational design laboratory

ABSTRACTThis article documents and reflects upon a pedagogical project aimed at fostering critical engagements with technology in the context of a graduate research and learning laboratory at the nexus of computer science, design, engineering, and architecture. With the notions of critical technical practice and reflective practice as touchstones, the project links a specific tradition of twentieth century design pedagogy to critical sensibilities drawn from the field of science and technology studies (STS) in a space we call the ‘research studio.’ The methods and examples presented illustrate how this hybrid pedagogical model can cultivate the critical imagination of learners – their ability to place critical and sociohistorical reflection at the centre of creative technology design – and show that the fields of design and STS offer distinct but mutually enriching traditions of learning and research. The article offers insight to educators and researchers across STEM and humanities fields interested in engaging with technologies not merely as subjects but also as vehicles of scholarly and creative inquiry.

Professional supervision and professional autonomy

INTRODUCTION: Supervision is a well-established component of practice in the health and social care professions. In recent years, however, relentless changes in the nature of professional roles within these contexts have led to corresponding variations in how professional practice supervision is configured and delivered.METHOD: This article examines how professional supervision and its future are seen by an international group of experts in social work supervision. The evolving perceptions of social work supervision’s role, and the relationship to professional autonomy in the social sphere are explored with reference to the authors’ earlier research.FINDINGS: The tension between supervision as a surveillant tool of management and a practice of critical reflection is acknowledged in literature as posing a threat to one aspect of professional autonomy and agency.IMPLICATIONS: The authors pose an alternative, theoretically grounded, approach based on the traditions of critically reflective supervision to assist the recognition and management of the balance between support and surveillance or managerial organisational dimensions. Meta- theoretical understanding of professional supervision in the frame of human agency will help both practitioners and supervisors to construct sustainable and proactive social work. Instead of despairing about the loss of autonomy, the professionals may go through significant societal and professional transformations as subjects of their own expertise and professional agency.

‘I Respect You but I Am Not Willing to Be You’: Critical Reflections of Western Teaching of Social Work to Students in China—What Can be Learned Both Ways?

Staff from a Western University annually travel to China to teach social work students at a Chinese University, providing a rich opportunity to share ideas and knowledge about values and practices in social work. One common point of tension that arises each year is how to teach critical reflection whilst considering differences between Eastern and Western ways of knowing and doing. This article is based on email conversations between one Australian lecturer and one Chinese student, containing their discussions on not just critical reflection but also of various key social work topics in China such as social worker’s salary, social work as a profession and using empathy. The student questioned social work in an authentic and practical manner; while the lecturer responded with examples and reflections as a role model of critical reflective thinking and practice in the Chinese context. While such letters of exchange only reflect the particular points of view of the lecturer and the student, much can still be learned about current issues and debates in both countries. The insights given raise many questions about the implications and benefits for sensitively teaching social work across East/West contexts whilst trying to develop anti-colonial social work educational approaches.

Challenging Islamophobia in Canada: non-Muslim social workers as allies with the Muslim community

ABSTRACTIn this article, I examine the increase of Islamophobia in Canada and possible responses of non-Muslim social workers to this issue. A literature review identified only a few Canadian social work direct practice articles related to Islamophobia. In this paper, I argue that critical reflective, person-centered, and social justice practices, are key principles for non-Muslim social workers to be allies with Muslim communities in Canada. Case scenarios illustrating Islamophobia are examined along with the implications of this analysis in social work with individuals, groups, and in agencies. It is my hope to contribute to the growing conversation about this significant issue.

School Leaders’ Insights Regarding Beginning Teachers’ Induction in Belgium, Finland and Portugal

Purpose: Although new teachers’ induction is a key issue of principals’ work, there’s still little research on this. Occurring within the frame of a EU project, the goal of the study was to perceive the main needs of principals to support beginning teachers in Belgium (Flanders), Finland and Portugal . Research m ethod: It built on a questionnaire applied to 1654 principals in three countries . 261 principals replied to the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis were used, and a comparative test involving the countries under analysis was performed. Findings: The most relevant needs referred to professional/organizational development and pedagogical leadership, comprising implementation of supervisory devices and ICT integration in the classroom. Principals stressed the need to support new teachers to promote differentiated pedagogy, critical reflection and collaborative practices. Moreover, we found significant differences between countries: Belgians presented the highest scores in all dimensions, followed by the Portuguese and the Finish, respectively. Conclusions: There’s a consensus on the relevance of principals’ action as pedagogical leaders, with a great focus on collaboration as a methodology of work among teachers, and reflection as an opportunity for professional growth and learning. Traditionally, this issue concerned only teachers. Currently, there seems to be a shift towards a commitment of principals to become more directly involved in driving teachers’ practices and teaching processes. Nevertheless, this consensus is not total, as they value differently, in breadth and depth, the other dimensions, which must be analyzed in the light of the idiosyncrasies of each educational system.

Advancing the quality of care and nursing practice through emancipatory reflection

Abstract Reflection is a fundamental skill of health-care professionals and plays an important role in ensuring the quality of care in health-care practice. It is believed that undertaking reflection in practice can help nurses develop an awareness of a sense of personal power and agency, cultivate their critical thinking ability and help them promote their professional development. However, reflection has not been introduced widely as a nursing curriculum in China, and literature shows that some clinical nurses lack critical thinking skills and critical reflective practice skills by reason of not receiving systematic education on reflection when they were at nursing college. Therefore, we present a series of seven articles focused on prevalent and interesting practice-based events to reflect on in this special issue. The main aim is to disseminate reflective methodology and techniques and present examples of reflective writing for nurses. It is expected that these articles will help to lead Chinese nurses to adopt critical emancipatory reflective processes to bring about transformative actions.

Vocational Pedagogies for the Formation and Training of Early Childhood Educators: Perspectives of VET Lecturers and Level 5 Early Years Learners

This paper examines the kind of pedagogical approaches used in Higher Vocational Education, more specifically initial training programmes for early-years practitioners, from the perspectives of both VET lecturers and students currently involved or enrolled in these programmes. The focus is on understanding the ways in which the pedagogical models and tools adopted carefully match the requirements for the successful formation of early-years professionals. More specifically, this paper seeks to explore and understand the factors that influence the vocational pedagogical strategies used, the extent to which these pedagogies are learner-centred, the opportunities and challenges that Higher VET lecturers experience in their classrooms when embracing pedagogical innovation, the benefits for learners, as well as the impact on the quality of the training provided. Adopting a grounded theory methodology, with the aim of building theoretical ideas grounded in the data, two main data collection methods were used: one-to-one semi-structured interviews with a group of VET lecturers and a focus group with a group of Level 5 early-years learners who at the time of the study were in the process of completing the two-year higher diploma. Through a process involving inductive-abductive logic and the constant comparison, coding, and analysis of the data, a theoretical model of vocational pedagogies for the training and formation of early childhood educators emerged. The findings indicate the need for clear pedagogical direction and informed choices to be made individually and collectively by the team of lecturers teaching the programme; this requires the presence of an ethos and climate of critical reflective practice and life-long learning through the creation or seeking of opportunities for continuous professional development. Its relevance becomes more pronounced in the context of a training programme that prepares future educators as there is a greater application of the pedagogy used at higher vocational training level for its transfer to early-years classrooms and settings. The role of the VET lecturer as a role model is highlighted as being significant in the formation and training of early childhood educators by both sets of participants. The current pedagogical picture portrays a situation where different lecturers adopt different pedagogical approaches that range from the traditional, teacher-focused ones to more innovative, participatory, and practice-based strategies. There is a consensus about the validity of adopting more learner-centred, hands-on pedagogical approaches though this is usually influenced by contextual, cultural-historical, and philosophical factors. The topical debate on professionalizing the Early Years sector is also reflected in the data and seems to influence expectations that both lecturers and learners have on the quality of the programme and the need for more focused exploration of effective vocational pedagogies. The importance of a strategic plan on the relevance and advancement of the teaching and learning practices within the vocational training programmes is highlighted.

Innovating the Craft of Phenomenological Research Methods Through Mindfulness

To conduct qualitative social research requires not only a declarative knowledge of the research methods and methodology, but also a set of honed practical, applied skills. For beginning researchers, particularly those undertaking phenomenological research, the skills of bracketing, the phenomenological reductions and having an awareness of one’s positionality or relationship to their chosen research methods, participants and contexts is of significant importance. More generally, these skills are also required in other qualitative research disciplines under the guise of reflexivity or critical reflective practice. Regardless, these are notoriously slippery and require more than prior reading to translate from theory and philosophy into practice. There is literature which also identifies and highlights the disparity between theory, skill development and practice; however, these practicalities of how one can bracket or bridle and undertake reductions require further elaboration and guidance for how researchers can develop these applied skills of research. In this article, I propose and demonstrate that the therapeutic tradition of mindfulness as specifically practised in dialectical behaviour therapy can be used to de-mystify the practices of reflexivity and work specifically within the tradition of phenomenological reduction and bracketing. I also assert that this innovation can provide a practical tool to craft qualitative and phenomenological research and make achievable the original philosophical ideas which underpin phenomenological research. I begin by focusing on the theory of bracketing and reduction from the philosophic tradition of phenomenology as a framework for research methodology and methods, and then introduce the practical skill of mindfulness as prescribed in dialectical behaviour therapy as an innovation which can assist the researcher in developing these skills. I finish by illustrating the usefulness of mindfulness in undertaking phenomenological research drawing on examples from a current research project.

Critical reflections on postgraduate andragogy from the points of view of a Kenyan student and an Australian academic

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we use Critical Reflective Practice to give voice to the experience of a Kenyan teacher who travelled to Australia to undertake advanced coursework in leadership and inclusive education studies. It also reflects upon an Australian academic as she tries to be more culturally responsive in her andragogy when teaching, supervising and mentoring postgraduate international students. We use reflective practices over an extended period to lessen the power imbalance between them as academic supervisor and postgraduate student. This eventually allowed for the student to teach and the academic to learn; and together we here shed light on what it is like to study and teach within an Australian university that annually enrols 6000 students from more than 100 countries around the globe.

Singaporean educarers’ reflections about their role and practices in the education and care of infants

ABSTRACTThe way educarers conceptualize their role in the education and care of infants can influence their pedagogical practices and interactions with infants in their care. The Early Years Development Framework was developed to provide key principles, practices, and learning outcomes to guide educarers working with children under 3 in Singapore. It envisioned educarers to be attuned and responsive to infants’ development in their physical, linguistic, cognitive, social, and emotional domains. The professional educarer is also envisaged to engage in reflection and practitioner research for professional growth. Using principles stipulated in the EYDF as an analytical framework, this paper explores how 6 Singaporean educarers’ conceptualize and reflect on their dual role of education and care of infants. Half of the educarers viewed their role as custodial in nature, with less focus on the education aspects of caregiving. The practice of critical reflection was also not prevalent in the work of some of the educarers. Work conditions were found to be a contributing factor that supported or impeded the practice of reflection. How conceptions can potentially be transformed and changed by the practice of critical reflection and implications of these findings on professional training and policy for educarers are discussed.