One of the required blog entries in my assignment is to discuss the usefulness of reflective writing in effective teaching. I don't mention this because it is factually true, nor as an attempt to sound as if I'm answering like I'm doing a GCSE exam. I mention it because I think blogs - as a concept, if not always the execution - are an inherently reflective medium and communication format, so it's worth discussing why. Then I'll just segue into answering the question, all natural like.
A blog is not long-form, 'one-shot' writing like a thesis or book. A blog communicates near instantly and favours ongoing, frequently updated topics. This lends itself well to reflective writing as it does to any introspective subject by capturing that self-analytical process in bite-sized chunks, unhindered by pesky academic guidelines that expect you to be rational.
I jest of course, and indeed blogging's greatest strength - democratisation of communication - is also one of its greatest issues: lack of rigour. Nevertheless the ease of sharing streams of concious thought with the world has led to a surprising number of bloggers keen to share their deepest, self-reflective, angst-ridden feelings. It should be a natural fit for a less emotional but similarly reflective writing platform. Some academic research appears to support this (Silva De Mattos, 2014).
Whichever platform it is presented in however, reflective writing remains a crucially important aspect of teaching, and of being taught. Reflection is how we make sense of our successes and failures in terms of the whys and hows. As author and organisational behaviourist Margaret J. Wheatley wrote:
Tutors can also benefit from reflecting on their own teaching, by contemplating the success or otherwise of a lesson. Did the students learn anything? Were they engaged? Did everything go smoothly? Each of these questions can be appended with the most useful of evaluative questions, '... and if not, why not?' Teachers, much like doctors, are driven by a desire to do good to others. The multitude of skills needed to achieve this don't come easily (not for me, anyway). You need to work at it, iterate, progressively improve on past efforts. Without reflective practice that couldn't happen.
There, that didn't seem forced at all. Smoooooth.
A blog is not long-form, 'one-shot' writing like a thesis or book. A blog communicates near instantly and favours ongoing, frequently updated topics. This lends itself well to reflective writing as it does to any introspective subject by capturing that self-analytical process in bite-sized chunks, unhindered by pesky academic guidelines that expect you to be rational.
I jest of course, and indeed blogging's greatest strength - democratisation of communication - is also one of its greatest issues: lack of rigour. Nevertheless the ease of sharing streams of concious thought with the world has led to a surprising number of bloggers keen to share their deepest, self-reflective, angst-ridden feelings. It should be a natural fit for a less emotional but similarly reflective writing platform. Some academic research appears to support this (Silva De Mattos, 2014).
Whichever platform it is presented in however, reflective writing remains a crucially important aspect of teaching, and of being taught. Reflection is how we make sense of our successes and failures in terms of the whys and hows. As author and organisational behaviourist Margaret J. Wheatley wrote:
“Reflect, often. If we take time to notice what just happened, we learn how the system operates. Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful. It's amazing to me how much we do, but how little time we spend reflecting on what we just did.” (2002, http://margaretwheatley.com/articles/interconnected.html)Philosopher John Locke described it thus:
Put simply: if we do not look at what we've done and try to understand why we ended up with whatever results we got then how can we possibly repeat our successes, or avoid further failures?“Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him.” (1884, The Book-Lover's Enchiridion)
“... when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (1905, George Santayana - The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress)This, fairly obviously, is highly applicable in the world of education. Reflection is a valuable tool for students to critically evaluate their own work and progress in an attempt to learn from their mistakes and know what they did right. Every one of the modules I teach or have taught in the past asks for a self-reflective evaluation as part of the written component. It's important to be able to see that a student is aware of their limits and has some idea how to push onwards.
Tutors can also benefit from reflecting on their own teaching, by contemplating the success or otherwise of a lesson. Did the students learn anything? Were they engaged? Did everything go smoothly? Each of these questions can be appended with the most useful of evaluative questions, '... and if not, why not?' Teachers, much like doctors, are driven by a desire to do good to others. The multitude of skills needed to achieve this don't come easily (not for me, anyway). You need to work at it, iterate, progressively improve on past efforts. Without reflective practice that couldn't happen.
There, that didn't seem forced at all. Smoooooth.
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