HELPING TRAINEES REFLECT KATE WISHART AUTUMN SEMINAR 2015

A C Grayling 2000 ‘The best thing any education can bequeath is the habit of reflection and questioning.’

WHY REFLECTION? Maximises the effectiveness of experiential learning Evaluates one’s practice Promotes critical thinking Facilitates the integration of theory with practice Generates theory Evaluates a learning activity Demonstrates that learning has taken place

KEY QUALITIES AND SKILLS Open mindedness Commitment to self-enquiry Readiness to change Ability to describe accurately – and therefore to have observed accurately Honesty and openness Critical thinking Ability to synthesise and evaluate information

HIGHER ORDER THINKING & COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT CRITICAL THINKING Process of utilising logic and reasoning when assessing and working with information Done through practising critical thinking techniques Focused CRITICAL REFLECTION Process of examining assumptions and beliefs and questioning them in order to learn or change behaviour For trainees, done through introducing the idea, coaching and encouraging them to think critically Needs practice

TYPES OF REFLECTION Donald Schön Reflection in action thinking on your feet – leads to change in the moment Reflection on action Looking back over what happened including one’s own actions in order to understand, evaluate and learn.

LEVELS OF REFLECTION Superficial: very basic, and largely descriptive, but to count as reflection it should not be just what happened but include some assessment of why those things happened. makes reference to existing knowledge base and theories but does not comment or critique them Medium: taking a step back from what has happened and starts to explore thoughts, feelings, assumptions and gaps in knowledge as part of the problem solving process the practitioner makes sense of what has been learnt from the experience and what future action might need to take place Deep: Shows that the experience has created a change in the person; their views of self, relationships, community of practice, society and so on. To do this, the writer needs to be aware of multiple perspectives from contexts beyond the chosen incident/case – and how the learning from it will have an impact on other situations

TRAINEE PERSPECTIVE If someone sits you down and asks you to reflect on a difficult case – until you can really express the feelings rather than what happened with a difficult case Asking why was it difficult, what made it difficult, what helped you sort it out. Made it click Putting it in the thought process – what was going through your mind If just left to me, the penny wouldn’t have dropped.

QUESTIONS As a trainer, how do you know that learning has occurred? Ex: list all the ways Attributes of a critical thinker – flipchart? Does critical thinking occur naturally in adults?

STRATEGIES Discussion – individual or group Reflective writing exercises Letters to successors Mind maps Start with the end in mind Show as well as tell

STRATEGIES Bloom’s taxonomy: Knowledge – Comprehension – Application – Analysis – Synthesis – Evaluation Higher level questions: Create: Can you create new and unusual uses for ….? Can you design a……..to……..? Evaluate: Do you agree with…? Prioritise…… How would you decide about…..? Analyse: Classify according to…. What solutions would you suggest for…..? Outline/ diagram……….

WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT? What did I learn? So, what does it mean for me? in the context of the case, my learning, my practice, my feelings, my life Now, what am I going to do with what I have learned or experienced?

EXERCISES 1.Read the article : What was going through your mind as your read? Did anything surprise you? What feelings (if any) did the article evoke? Does the article prompt you to take any further action? 2.Think about the last workshop you attended at this symposium. Reflect with your neighbour on what if anything you learned.

EXERCISE Read example 1 identify (mark the sheet) any place where you think the write could have reflected on the case/ experience choose one of these and make some notes on the kind of things they might have written Read example 2 identify where the writer has included reactions or feelings identify where the writer has analysed or evaluated the experience identify where the writer has suggested plans for learning as a result of the experience

NEXT STEPS What steps will you take next? practise your own reflection and critical thinking skills? start working with your trainee to develop his/her skills? be more aware of internal reflection when you are doing it? consciously reflect on things outside work and the consulting room?