REFLECTION Jones, M., Shelton, M. (2011). Developing Your Portfolio--Enhancing Your Learning and Showing Your Stuff: A Guide for the Early Childhood Student or Professional, Second Edition. Routledge.

"The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action" John Dewey

Reflection: A Definition The defining characteristic of a portfolio Intentionally bringing to consciousness motivations, thoughts, beliefs, questions, assumptions, feelings, attitudes, desires, & expectations to gain insight as to meaning, connections to what is personally known, & in light of new experiences & information Jones & Shelton, 2006

Reflection a disposition a human capability a cognitive skill

Reflection is a process of… Thinking about thinking (metacognition) Considering implications of past actions, knowledge, or current circumstances Projecting into the future Making connections across time Writing as thinking (product) Reflection makes possible insights needed to learn from experience & alter habitual behaviors

Reflection: Purposes Bring experience & knowledge together to produce new, personally meaningful learning Connect theory to practice Strengthen a critical reflection disposition Provide insight into learning & personal or professional development Manage emotions throughout the learning process

Reflection Enables Connections Relate learning to standards/guidelines (theory to practice) Examine impact of learning on personal views or behaviors (transformation) Determine relevance & implications of the learning on future action (so what? & what now?)

Reflection Frames Experiences as: An observer of self and others focuses on qualities & content of relationship A critical reader of professional literature focuses on engaging the literature, rather than simply being a consumer of it An implementer of activities focuses on the processes and products associated with your activities

Dispositions Consistent & frequent patterns of behavior wherein the individual acts intentionally in particular contexts at particular times. Ways of responding determined more by characteristics internal to the actor than provoked by the environment “Habits of mind,” rather than “mindless habits” Katz, 1995

Some dispositions exercised in the portfolio process Flexibility of thought Intellectual curiosity Perseverance Risk-taking Critical reflection

Steps in Reflecting & Connecting Contemplate the meaning of specified learning experiences in relation to guidelines and practice (theory to practice) Examine the impact of the learning on personal views or behaviors (transformation) Determine the relevance and implications of the learning with regard to future action (so what? & now what?)

Reflective Writing “when viewed as a process and when done properly, [reflective writing] has a unique ability to develop the interior life of the writer…” (Fink, 2003, (p. 116).

The Role of Reflection To make meaning: bring experience and knowledge together to produce new learning To connect theory to practice – past, present and future To transform the scrapbook into a portfolio

Summary of facts to limited reflection skills Reflection Continuum Summary of facts to limited reflection skills More insightful reflection Sophisticated, multi-level reflection           Concrete operations Formal operations

Prompts _____ motivated me to… I believed that… ____ has made me question…  The question this raises for me is…  I assumed that… _____ makes me feel like…   I realized that… _____ made me realize… My expectation was that…  My views on… have been…  I imagined…  It surprised me to find out… _____ caused me wonder _____ is important to me because…  _____ has affected the way I think/feel about…