Reflecting on the process of teaching reflection in higher education
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Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Abstract
Higher education plays an important role in nurturing life-long
learning and critical citizenry. One way to foster these is through
developing a reflective practice. Given the importance of reflection, this article discusses the process of teaching reflection in my
course, and students� responses to these lessons, with a focus on
their understanding of what it means to reflect and on its benefits
and challenges. The findings reveal that, while most students are
able to adequately articulate what reflection is, they are not able
to translate this understanding into practice, and reflection is not
viewed as a learning strategy. Students find reflecting on personal
issues easier than reflecting on discipline-related ones, and language proficiency could play a role. A reflective practice can be
inculcated in students and can lead to the development of criticality; however, the methods used to facilitate this process are
crucial. While some of the above findings may be attributed to
shortcomings in the course, the article concludes that, for greater
effectiveness and for reflection to be viewed as an important
practice in developing criticality, as well as a life-long learning
practice, the teaching of reflection should be embedded in meaningful and productive ways throughout the curricula.
Description
Keywords
Higher education, South Africa, Teaching and learning, Teaching, Reflective practice, Pedagogical reflection
Citation
Bharuthram, S. (2018). Reflecting on the process of teaching reflection in higher education. Reflective Practice, 19(6), 806�817. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2018.1539655