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REFLECTION: A TAXONOMY AND SYNTHESIS OF DESCRIPTIONS OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICE/REFLECTIVE INQUIRYC. Timothy Dickel, Ed.D.Professor of EducationCreighton University2017IntroductionThis paper presents quoted descriptions of several types of reflective practice and reflective inquiry. The intent is to use the words of noted persons in the field of reflective practice to summarize what they have described. The reference section of the paper provides the reader with the complete source of each of the quotes. Much of the literature of reflective practice is from teacher education, but the process of reflective practice has broad application to many fields of professional endeavor.Reflection is a concept and practice in higher education, today. Some instructors consider reflection to be a necessary learning activity by students. Faculty asks students to reflect on a reading or class experience with the hope that the students will pause and think about the meaning of the reading or experience for them. Too often, the assignment is simply to provide a reflection on the reading or experience, and that is the extent of the assignment. In reality, there are many different kinds of reflection, and this paper begins to describe a number of those with the hope that the reader will develop a repertoire of reflective behaviors that will be useful across the many professional challenges that are likely to occur in one’s professional life. These reflective kinds are:Reflection in the Jesuit TraditionReflection within Jesuit PedagogyContemplative in ActionSuggestions for PracticeAnticipatory ReflectionIn-the-Moment Reflection Technical ReflectionReflection-In and On-ActionDeliberative ReflectionPersonalistic ReflectionCritical ReflectionReflection in the Jesuit TraditionReflection in the Jesuit tradition comes from both the Jesuit pedagogical paradigm and from the way of Ignatius, namely Contemplative in Action. Reflection for Ignatius had two distinct purposes.Reflection within Jesuit PedagogyDuminuco (2000) has edited a book that describes Jesuit pedagogy, and much of the text comes from the International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education (JCAJE). In “Appendix B: Ignatian Pedagogy: A Practical Approach,” there is a section entitled “The Teacher-Learner Relationship” (pp. 247-248) that applies the principles of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius to the education of students within the Jesuit tradition.Applying, then, the Ignatian paradigm to the teacher-learner relationship in Jesuit education, it is the teacher’s primary role to facilitate the growing relationship of the learner with truth, particularly in the matter of the subject being studied under the guiding influence of the teacher. The teacher creates the conditions, lays the foundations and provides the opportunities for the continual interplay of the student’s EXPERIENCE, REFLECTION, AND ACTION to occur. (p. 247)Starting with EXPERIENCE, the teacher creates the conditions whereby students gather and recollect the material of their own experience in order to distill what they understand already in terms of facts, feelings, values, insights and intuitions they bring to the subject matter at hand. Later the teacher guides the students in assimilating new information and further experience so that their knowledge will grow in completeness and truth. The teacher lays the foundations for learning how to learn by engaging students in skills and techniques of REFLECTION. Here memory, understanding, imagination and feelings are used to grasp the essential meaning and value of what is being studied, to discover its relationship to other facets of human knowledge and activity, and to appreciate its implications in the continuing search for truth. Reflection should be a formative and liberating process that so shapes the consciousness of students – their habitual attitudes, values, and beliefs as well as ways of thinking – that they are compelled to move beyond knowing to ACTION. It is then the role of the teacher to see that the opportunities are provided that will challenge the imagination and exercise the will of the students to choose the best possible course of action to flow from and follow up on what they have learned. What they do as a result under the teacher’s direction, while it may not immediately transform the world into a global community of justice, peace, and love, should at least be an educational step in that direction and towards that goal even if it merely leads to new experiences, further reflections and consequent actions within the subject area under consideration. (pp. 247-248)In Jesuit schools the learning experience is expected to move beyond rote knowledge to the development of the more complex learning skills of understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. (p. 250)If learning were to stop there, it would not be Ignatian. For it would lack the component of REFLECTION wherein students are impelled to consider the human meaning and significance of what they study and to integrate that meaning as responsible learners who grow as persons of competence, conscience and compassion. (p.251)REFLECTION: Throughout his life, Ignatius knew himself to be constantly subjected to different stirrings, invitations, alternatives which were contradictory. His greatest effort was to try to discover what moved him in each situation: the impulse that leads him t good or the one that inclines him to evil; the desire to serve others or the solicitude for his own egotistical affirmation. He became the master of discernment that he continues to be today because he succeeded in distinguishing the difference. For Ignatius to “discern” was to clarify his internal motivation, the reasons behind his judgments, to probe the causes and implications of what he experienced, to weigh possible options and evaluate them in the light of their likely consequences, to discover what best leads to the desired goal; to be a free person who seeks, finds and carries out the will of God in each situation. (p. 257)Thus, the International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education (JCAJE) (Duminuco, 2000) attaches great meaning to the idea of reflection in Jesuit pedagogy, especially at the level of true Ignatian “discernment.”At this level of REFLECTION, the memory, the understanding, the imagination and the feelings are used to capture the meaning and the essential value of what is being studied, to discover its relationship with other aspects of knowledge and human activity, and to appreciate its implications in the ongoing search for truth and freedom. This REFLECTION is a formative and liberating process. It forms the conscience of learners (their beliefs, values, attitudes, and their entire way of thinking) in such a manner that they are led to move beyond knowing, to undertake action. (Duminuco, 2000, p.257)In conclusion, the International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education (JCAJE) (Duminuco, 2000) states, We use the term reflection to mean a thoughtful reconsideration of some subject matter, experience, idea, purpose or spontaneous reaction, in order to grasp its significance more fully. Thus, reflection is the process by which meaning surfaces in human experience: by understanding the truth being studied more clearly. For example, “What are the assumptions in this theory of the atom? Are they valid: are they fair? Are other assumptions possible? How would the presentation be different if other assumptions were made?”by understanding the sources of the sensations or reactions I experience in this consideration. For example, “In studying this short story, what particularly interests me? Why?” “What do I find troubling in this translation? Why?”by achieving personal insights into events, ideas, truth or the distortion of truth and the like. For example, “Most people feel that a more equitable sharing of the world’s resources is at least desirable, if not a moral imperative. My own life style, the things I take for granted, may contribute to the current imbalance. Am I willing to reconsider what I really need to be happy.”by coming to some understanding of who I am (“What moves me, and why?”) . . . and who I might be in relation to others. For example, “How does what I have reflected upon make me feel? Why? Am I at peace with that reaction in myself? Why? If not, why not?” (pp. 257-258).Korth (2008) describes reflection in the following.Reflection and discernment were integral parts of Ignatius’ learning process. Reflection is a thoughtful reconsideration of some subject matter, experience, idea, purpose, or spontaneous reaction, in order to grasp its significance more fully. Thus, reflection is the process by which meaning surfaces in human experience by understanding the truth being studied more clearly; understanding the sources of one’s sensations or reactions in the consideration; deepening one’s understanding of the implications in the consideration for oneself and others; achieving personal insights into events, truths, or the distortion of truth; coming to an understanding of who I am . . . and who I might be in relations to others. Reflection is a formative and a liberating process that forms the conscience of learners in such a manner that they are led t move beyond knowing to undertake action. Faculty lay the foundations for “learning how to learn” by engaging students in the skills and techniques of reflection. A major challenge to faculty is to formulate questions that will broaden students’ awareness and impel them to consider viewpoints of others. (p. 283) SUMMARY: Reflection within Jesuit pedagogy stresses stepping back either during or after an experience and spending quiet time carefully examining what the experience personally means. During the quiet time, the individual considers the objective meaning of the experience and the sensory implications of the experience, and then looking for personal insights that give new self-knowledge. Contemplative in ActionIn leading into a description of the contemplative in action, Martin (2010) presents four hypothetical Jesuits, each asked to define the way of Ignatius. Four answers were suggested: being a contemplative in action; finding God in all things; looking at the world in an incarnational way; and seeking freedom and detachment. These are all goals for the traveler along the way of Ignatius. (p. 390)Martin (2010) statesThe contemplative in action, according to St. Ignatius Loyola, not only contemplates the active world and sees wonderful things, but also sees in those wonderful things signs of God’s presence and activity. The contemplative in action is deeply aware of God’s presence even the midst of a busy life. It is a stance of awareness. Awareness of God. (p. 391)That leads us to a second goal: finding God in all things. By now you’ve seen how everything can be a way to experience God. In the past chapters, we’ve talked about experiencing God in prayer, worship, family, love, music, nature, decision making, working, living simply, friendship, even during times of suffering. In all things. An in all people. And we’ve talked about an easy way to jump-start that awareness, to help you find God in everything: the examen. The contemplative in action seeks God and seeks to find God in action. (p. 391)That means that he or she sees the world in an incarnational way, a third definition. God dwells in real things, real places, and real people. Not just “up there” but “all around.” (Although I’m not denying that God is also “up there” in heaven, wherever or however that is.) For Christians, Jesus is the incarnation of God, but you don’t have to be a Christian to have an incarnational worldview. The more you travel along the way of Ignatius, the more you see the incarnational God. (pp. 391-392)And the more you travel along the Ignatian way, the more you will want to go further. The more you experience God, the more you will want to experience God more. The more you know God, the more you will want to know God more. (p.392)To do this, you need to maintain a measure of detachment and freedom, a fourth goal. You desire freedom from anything that prevents you from following along the way. You want to free yourself from any excess baggage. You want, as Ignatius said, to be free of the “disorders of attachments.” And you have to be careful not to start down paths that will lead you away from God. As Ignatius would say, you have to “discern.” (p. 392)So tying it all together, you could say this: Contemplatives in action seek to find God in all things by looking at the world in an incarnational way, and, in their quest, they realize their desire for freedom and detachment, which helps them move even closer to God. That’s probably a fair summary of Ignatian spirituality. (p. 392)SUMMARY: For the contemplative in action, reflection is taking time to notice the world and all of the wonder-filled things and people that occupy the world and attributing them to “… God’s presence and activity” (Martin, 2010, p. 391).Suggestions for PracticeThe use of reflection in the Jesuit tradition can be found in nearly an infinite number of places. One place is in the work of Father Dennis Hamm, S.J. In Hamm’s (1994) article entitled “Rummaging for God: Praying backwards through your day,” the reader is directed to employ a five step method for reflecting on her/his day.What I am proposing here is a way of doing the examen that works for me. It puts a special emphasis on feelings, for reasons that I hope will become apparent. First, I describe the format. Second, I invite you to spend a few minutes actually doing it. Third, I describe some of the consequences that I have discovered to flow from this kind of prayer.A Method: Five Steps1. Pray for light. Since we are not simply daydreaming or reminiscing but rather looking for some sense of how the Spirit of God is leading us, it only makes sense to pray for some illumination. The goal is not simply memory but graced understanding. That’s a gift from God devoutly to be begged. “Lord, help me understand this blooming, buzzing confusion.”2. Review the day in thanksgiving. Note how different this is from looking immediately for your sins. Nobody likes to poke around in the memory bank to uncover smallness, weakness, lack of generosity. But everybody likes beautiful gifts, and that is precisely what the past 24 hours contain–gifts of existence, work, relationships, food, challenges. Gratitude is the foundation of our whole relationship with God. So use whatever cues help you to walk through the day from the moment of awakening–even the dreams you recall upon awakening. Walk through the past 24 hours, from hour to hour, from place to place, task to task, person to person, thanking the Lord for every gift you encounter.3. Review the feelings that surface in the replay of the day. Our feelings, positive and negative, the painful and the pleasing, are clear signals of where the action was during the day. Simply pay attention to any and all of those feelings as they surface, the whole range: delight, boredom, fear, anticipation, resentment, anger, peace, contentment, impatience, desire, hope, regret, shame, uncertainty, compassion,?disgust, gratitude, pride, rage, doubt, confidence, admiration, shyness–whatever was there. Some of us may be hesitant to focus on feelings in this over-psychologized age, but I believe that these feelings are the liveliest index to what is happening in our lives. This leads us to the fourth moment:4. Choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and pray from it. That is, choose the remembered feeling that most caught your attention. The feeling is a sign that something important was going on. Now simply express spontaneously the prayer that surfaces as you attend to the source of the feeling–praise, petition, contrition, cry for help or healing, whatever.5. Look toward tomorrow. Using your appointment calendar if that helps, face your immediate future. What feelings surface as you look at the tasks, meetings, and appointments that face you? Fear? Delighted anticipation? Self-doubt? Temptation to procrastinate? Zestful planning? Regret? Weakness? Whatever it is, turn it into prayer–for help, for healing, whatever comes spontaneously. To round off the examen, say the Lord’s Prayer.A mnemonic for recalling the five points: LT3F (light, thanks, feelings, focus, future).Do ItTake a few minutes to pray through the past 24 hours, and toward the next 24 hours, with that five-point format.ConsequencesHere are some of the consequences flowing from this kind of prayer:1. There is always something to pray about. For a person who does this kind of prayer at least once a day, there is never the question: What should I talk to God about? Until you die, you always have a past 24 hours, and you always have some feelings about what’s next.2. The gratitude moment is worthwhile in itself. “Dedicate yourselves to gratitude,” Paul tells the Colossians. Even if we drift off into slumber after reviewing the gifts of the day, we have praised the Lord.3. We learn to face the Lord where we are, as we are. There is no other way to be present to God, of course, but we often fool ourselves into thinking that we have to “put on our best face” before we address our God.4. We learn to respect our feelings. Feelings count. They are morally neutral until we make some choice about acting upon or dealing with them. But if we don’t attend to them, we miss what they have to tell us about the quality of our lives.5. Praying from feelings, we are liberated from them. An unattended emotion can dominate and manipulate us. Attending to and praying from and about the persons and situations that give rise to the emotions helps us to cease being unwitting slaves of our emotions.6. We actually find something to bring to confession. That is, we stumble across our sins without making them the primary focus.7. We can experience an inner healing. People have found that praying about (as opposed to fretting about or denying) feelings leads to a healing of mental life. We probably get a head start on our dream work when we do this.8. This kind of prayer helps us get over our Deism. Deism is belief in a sort of “clock-maker” God, a God who does indeed exist but does not have much, if anything, to do with his people’s ongoing life. The God we have come to know through our Jewish and Christian experience is more present than we usually think.9. Praying this way is an antidote to the spiritual disease of Pelagianism. Pelagianism was the heresy that approached life with God as a do-it-yourself project (“If at first you don’t succeed…”), whereas a true theology of grace and freedom sees life as response to God’s love (“If today you hear God’s voice…”). (Hamm, 1994)Anticipatory ReflectionAnticipatory reflection is the kind of reflection that we engage in as we prepare for some experience. As you approach a social gathering, what are your thoughts? Do you think about who might be there? If you know who might be there, do you think about what you might say to that person, or those persons? Does knowing who might be there stimulate feelings or excitement or apprehension? On the other hand, sometimes as we anticipate a situation, we may think about what will be required of us. I once knew an orthopedic surgeon, and one day, I asked him what he does each evening as he thinks about the kind of surgeries that he has scheduled for the next day. He told me that he intentionally walks himself through each step of each surgery, rehearsing in his mind and with his hands the actions that he will need the next day. Anticipatory reflection can be both spontaneous and systematic. SUMMARY: Anticipatory reflection consists of what we are thinking about and feeling as we prepare for an experience.In-the-Moment ReflectionIn-the-moment reflection consists of our immediate thoughts and feelings as we are either going through an experience or immediately following that experience. It takes place just like any other reflection when we take the time to step back and spend a little time reviewing what is happening or what just happened to us as a result of going through that experience. For example, I suspect that there are two kinds of movie-goers, those who reflect on the experience of the film during the film, and know immediately following the film what they thought of it, and those who need a little time after viewing the film to collect their thoughts regarding what they thought of the film. For people who can read their emotions and thoughts, or are conscious of their emotions and thoughts, spontaneously, they are able to engage in in-the-moment reflection. Most people take a little longer to reflect on what they have experienced.SUMMARY: As the previous paragraph states, In-the-Moment reflection is all about our thoughts and feelings while in the middle of some experience. It does involve taking the time to step out of the experience (literally or figuratively) to reflect on what is happening.Technical ReflectionValli (1997) presents the following descriptions of “technical” reflection.The word technical in this context has two related meanings. The first relates to the content of reflection: focus on the narrow domain of teaching techniques or skills. The second relates to the quality of reflection: directing one’s actions through a straightforward application of research on teaching. Technical reflection is very much rule-governed. (pp. 74-75)Using this type of reflection, teachers judge their own teaching performance on the basis of externally imposed criteria. The content that prospective teachers think about are the general teaching behaviors that have been derived from research on teaching. These include things like time-on-task, wait-time, active learning, student engagement, homework, review, and prior knowledge. Prospective teachers would think about findings from this research and try to match their performance to those guidelines. For example, they would determine if they were “waiting” the recommended 3 seconds after asking a higher order question before calling on a student to respond. Or they would calculate the use of time in the classroom to determine whether time spent on learning activities was increasing. (p. 75)Technical reflection occurs within these types of narrow, pre-established boundaries. It is a prescriptive way to learn how to teach: An outside authority sets the standards, guidelines, and evaluation criteria. Experts (researchers or state evaluators) determine what good teaching is and then teachers think about whether their teaching meets those expectations. Reflection is limited to the retrospective comparison of the effectiveness of prescribed teaching strategies. It leaves broader goals and purposes of schooling; the social context and environment of teaching; issues of equity, fairness, and justice; and even the curriculum unquestioned. (pp. 75-76)An example of technical reflection would be new teachers who learned how to use a state’s assessment instrument to judge whether the lessons they taught were good. These new teachers would have strong technical skills, be able to maintain order, pace instruction appropriately, and give their students useful feedback. They would know when to reteach material and when to correct student responses. They would be able to implement new programs that they had received solid training in, such as a mastery learning program. The quality of their reflection would be judged by their knowledge of research findings and their ability to match their teaching performance to these findings. In this type of reflection, the outside expert researcher’s voice is dominant. (pp. 75-76) SUMMARY: Technical reflection may have originated in consideration of teaching performance, but it can be any reflection in which behavior is compared to standards for action. One could also engage in a technical reflection when comparing procedures, formats, etc. to a defined standard for such things.Reflection-In and On-ActionAlthough the concepts of reflection-in action and reflection-on-action come from Schon (1983), Valli (1997) provides some detailed description.[The terms reflection in action and reflection in action] come from Schon (1983). Reflection-on-action is the retrospective thinking teachers do after a lesson has been taught. Reflection-in-action refers to the spontaneous, intuitive decisions made during the act of teaching. Schon claimed that important decisions are made during the act of teaching itself and that these decisions are based primarily on practical knowledge – knowledge derived from experience. The content for reflection comes primarily from one’s own unique situation. Each teacher’s vales, beliefs, classroom context, and students provide the source of knowledge for reflective action. Quality of reflection is judged by the teacher’s ability to make and justify good decisions based on his or her own situation and experience. In this type of reflection, the teacher’s voice is regarded as expert rather than the researcher’s. Reflection-in and on-action values practical, craft knowledge. Reflection-in and on-action values practical, craft knowledge. (p. 76)Teacher preparation programs that emphasize reflection-in and on-action would not give prospective teachers explicit rules to follow. Rather, they would have these prospective teachers keep journals of their experiences to help them look back on all the important events that occur in their classrooms and help them think carefully about these events. Those who promote this type of reflection believe that the more unique situations prospective teachers reflect on, the more prepared they will be to make good decisions in action. The unique case, rather than the generalized rule, is the important teaching tool. (pp. 76-77) Schon (1987) has his own ideas about reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.When we have learned how to do something, we can execute smooth sequences of activity, recognition, decision, and adjustment without having, aw we say, to “think about it.” Our spontaneous knowing-in-action usually gets us through the day. On occasion, however, it doesn’t. A familiar routine produces an unexpected result: an error stubbornly resists correction; or, although the usual actions produce the usual outcome, we find something odd about them because, for some reason, we have begun to look at them in a new way. All such experiences, pleasant and unpleasant, contain an element of surprise. Something fails to meet our expectations. In an attempt to preserve the constancy of our usual patterns of knowing-in-action, we may respond to surprise by brushing it aside, selectively in attending to the signals that produce it. Or, we may respond to it by reflection, and we may do so in one of two ways. (p.26)We may reflect on action, thinking back on what we have done in order to discover how our knowing-in-action may have contributed to an unexpected outcome. We may do so after the fact, in tranquility, or we may pause in the midst of action to make what Hannah Arendt (1971) calls a “stop-and-think.” In either case, or reflection has no direct connection to present action. Alternatively, we may reflect in the midst of action without interrupting it. In an action-present – a period of time, variable with the context during which we can still make a difference to the situation at hand – our thinking serves to reshape what we are doing while we are doing it. I shall say, in cases like this, that we reflect-in-action. (p. 26)Recently, for example, I built a gate out of wooden pickets and strapping. I had made a drawing and figured out the dimensions I wanted, but I had not reckoned with the problem of keeping the structure square. As I began to nail the strapping to the pickets, I noticed a wobble. I knew the structure would become rigid when I nailed in the diagonal piece, but how could I be sure it would be square? There came to mind a vague memory about diagonals: in a rectangle diagonals are equal. I took a yardstick, intending to measure the diagonals, but I found I could not use it without disturbing the structure. It occurred to me to use a piece of string. Then it became apparent that, in order to measure the diagonals, I needed a precise location at each corner. After several trials, I found I could locate the center point at each corner by constructing diagonals there. I hammered in a nail at each of the four corner points and used the nails as anchors for the measurement string. It took several minutes to figure out how to adjust the structure so as to correct the errors I found by measuring. And then, when I had the diagonals equal, I nailed in a piece of strapping to freeze the structure. (pp. 26-27)Here is an example that must have its analogues in the experiences of amateur carpenters the world over, my intuitive way of going about the task led me to a surprise (the discovery of the wobble), which I interpreted as a problem. In the midst of action, I invented procedures to solve the problem, discovered further unpleasant surprises, and made further corrective inventions, including the several minor ones necessary to carry out the idea of using string to measure the diagonals. We might call such a process “trial and error.” But the trials are not randomly related to one another; reflection on each trial and its results sets the stage for the next trial. Such a pattern of inquiry is better described as a sequence of “moments” in a process of reflection-in-action: (p. 27)There is, to begin with, a situation of action to which we bring spontaneous, routinized responses. These reveal knowing-in-action that may be described in terms of strategies, understandings of phenomena, and ways of framing a task or problem appropriate to the situation. The knowing-in-action is tacit, spontaneously delivered without conscious deliberation; and it works, yielding intended outcomes so long as the situation falls within the boundaries of what we have learned to treat as normal. (p. 28)Routine responses produce a surprise – an unexpected outcome, pleasant or unpleasant, that does not fit the categories of our knowing-in-action. Inherent in a surprise is the fact that it gets our attention. For example, I might not have been surprised by the wobble in my gate because I might not have attended to it; the structure might not have ended up square, and I might not have noticed. (p. 28)Surprise leads to reflection within an action-present. Reflection is at least in some measure conscious, although it need not occur in the medium of words. We consider both the unexpected event and the knowing-in-action that led up to it, asking ourselves, as it were, “What is this?” and, at the same time, “How have I been thinking about it?” Our thought turns back on the surprising phenomenon and, at the same time back to itself. (p. 28)Reflection-in-action has a critical function, questioning the assumptional structure of knowing-in-action. We think critically about the thinking that got us into the fix or this opportunity; and we may, in the process, restructure strategies of action, understandings of phenomena, or ways of framing problems. In my example, the surprise triggered by mu observation of the wobble led me to frame a new problem: “How to keep the gate square?” (p. 28)Reflection gives rise to on-the-spot experiment. We think up and try out new actions intended to explore the newly observed phenomena, test our tentative understandings of them, or affirm the moves we have invented to change tings for the better. With my measuring-string experiment, I tested both my understanding of squareness as equality of diagonals and the effectiveness of the procedures I had invented for determining when diagonals are equal. On-the-spot experiment may work, again in the sense of yielding intended results, or it may produce surprises that call for further reflection and experiment. (pp. 28-29)SUMMARY: Reflection-in and on-action consists of two processes combined into one activity. First, there is the spontaneous thought that occurs within an activity, then something unexpected happens that is contrary to expectation. This contradiction necessitates rethinking of the original assumptions and results in new actions which are intended to meet the needs of the situation. Deliberative ReflectionIn technical reflection, research is the most important source of knowledge. Reflection-in-action emphasizes craft knowledge and personal experience. In contrast, the deliberative approach to reflection emphasizes decision-making based on a variety of sources; research, experience, the advice of other teachers, personal beliefs and values, and so forth. No one voice dominates. Multiple voices and perspectives are heard. Teachers must then make the best decision possible even though conflicting advice might be offered. Quality of reflection, therefore, would be judged by teachers’ abilities to weigh these competing claims and to give a good reason for the decisions they make. (Valli, 1997, p. 77)The content for deliberative reflection would also be more inclusive than the narrow range of instructional and management behaviors considered in technical reflection. Deliberative teachers would give serious consideration to their own teacher behaviors; their relationships with students; the subject matter they were teaching; and the school’s organization, culture, and climate. Because the sources for their reflection are varied, teachers will often face competing points of view. There will not always be agreement about the best course of action. For example, school district guidelines might encourage teachers to push through the entire curriculum quickly so that students are exposed to a broad range of information before they move on to the next grade level. In contrast, educators who promote teaching for deep understanding would caution teachers against this approach. They claim that one of the greatest enemies of learning is the obsession with “content coverage.” Teacher educators would help prospective teachers deliberate on such conflicting viewpoints, determine the credibility of the sources, and consider the best alternative for their particular students. Teacher educators would help students develop their capacities to become good decision makers. (Valli, 1997, p. 77) SUMMARY: In deliberative reflection, the individual makes a decision based on information from the variety of possible sources of solutions: “research, experience, the advice of other teachers, personal beliefs and values, and so forth” (Valli, 1997, p. 77). While this type of reflection is based in literature about teaching, it can apply to any profession in which the individual scans available sources for solutions to a situation.Personalistic ReflectionPersonal growth and relational issues are most central to this mode of reflection. They provide the content of reflective thinking. Teachers reflecting in a personal way would consciously link their personal and professional lives. They would think about what type of person the want to be and how being a teacher helps them accomplish their life goals. Just as they think about their own lives, they would also think about their students. Their concerns would not be limited to their students’ academic achievement. Rather, they would be interested in all aspects of their students’ lives: their personal desires, their concerns, their hopes for the future. Teachers who reflect in a personalistic way would be caretakers, not just information dispensers. Their job would be to understand the reality of their students in order to give then the best care possible. The quality of their reflection would be determined by the ability to empathize. This kind of reflective teacher would be less concerned about success on achievement tests than about students’ ability to live compassionately, to be trusted, and to support worthy institutions (Noddings, 1984, 1987). (Valli, 1997, pp. 77-78)Teacher education programs that have a personalistic orientation would help prospective teachers examine those events in their lives that influenced them to be teachers. The programs would help them be attentive to their inner voices as well as the voices of their students. Students in these programs would learn to question the sources of their beliefs, attitudes, and biases. They would try to figure out what experiences might have helped prepare them to be good teachers and what experiences might be hindering their professional development. (Valli, 1997, p. 78)For example, most prospective teachers in the United States have a European ancestry. Many of them attended schools in which most previous students also had a European heritage. In those schools, the curriculum is very Eurocentric. Yet, the school-age population in the United States is becoming increasingly diverse. A much higher percentage of students have an Asian, African, or Hispanic heritage. Many prospective teachers do not know how to teach these students and are reluctant to try. Teacher education programs with a personalistic orientation would help prospective teachers understand the limiting nature of their own educational experience and help them overcome their reluctance. (Valli, 1997, p. 78)SUMMARY: Personalistic reflection is a strategy in which the individual connects the implications of an experience with her/his personal and professional life.Critical ReflectionThis mode of reflection is derived from political philosophers such as Habermas (1974). It is the only form of reflection that explicitly views the school and school knowledge as political constructs. Habermas regarded the critical as the highest form of reflection because of its potential to eliminate misery and create social conditions necessary for human freedom and happiness. The aim of critical reflection is not just understanding, but improving the quality of life of disadvantaged groups. Those who promote critical reflection are committed to unlimited inquiry, fundamental self-criticism, and social action (Van Manen, 1977). (Valli, 1997, pp. 78-79).Programs that have a critical orientation emphasize that educational decisions are inevitably based on beliefs about what is good or desirable. An assumption of these programs is that schools often reproduce unjust social class, race, and sex relations. Therefore, the content for student reflection would always be ways in which schools and teachers contribute to social injustices and inequality and ways in which they can help overcome these inequities. Graduates of these programs would be encouraged to be reformers and social activists. They would help change teacher practices and school structures that foster injustice and inequity. They would attend to the voices of those who are among a society’s least powerful and privileged. (Valli, 1997, p. 79)The quality of teacher reflection would be determined by the teachers’ ability to apply ethical criteria to the goals and processes of schooling. Students would be encouraged to examine even the most simple teacher action in relation to broad social goals. Take teacher questioning, for example. In the United States, this topic is often taught simply as a technical skill without considering its moral aspects. Prospective teachers are taught how to ask different types of questions, probe for further knowledge, use questions to get students’ attention, and select appropriate students for easier or harder questions. But teacher questioning has social and ethical implications. Programs that promote critical reflection would teach students not only questioning skills, but also the potential consequences of the use of questions. Prospective teachers in this type of program would be asked to reflect on matters such as, Is it important to consider the way questions and wait time are distributed? Are certain kinds of students systematically ignored? Do some students too often receive negative feedback? What messages are communicated to students who go through the school day without an opportunity to contribute to classroom dialogue or without a positive instructional interaction? (Valli, 1997, p. 79)SUMMARY: In critical reflection, the individual applies ethical criteria to a situation. In the preceding paragraphs, the content implies that situations have ethical qualities, and the job of the reflecting individual is to carefully consider interactions and procedures looking at their ethical qualities and social justice implications.ReferencesDuminuco, V.J. (Ed.). (2000). The Jesuit Ratio Studiorum: 400th anniversary perspectives. New York: Fordham University Press.Habermas, J. (1974). Theory and practice. London: Heinemann.Hamm, D. (1994, May 14). Rummaging for God: Praying backwards through your day. America Magazine.Korth, S.J. (2008). Precis of Ignatian pedagogy: A practical approach. In G.W. Taub (Ed.), A Jesuit education reader: Contemporary writings on the Jesuit mission in education, principles, the issues of Catholic identity, practical applications of the Ignatian way, and more. Chicago: Loyola Press.Martin, J. (2010). The Jesuit guide to almost everything: A spirituality for real life. New York: HaperCollins.Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and more education. Berkeley: University of California Press. (CU Library)Noddings, N. (1987 April). An ethic of caring and its implications for instructional arrangements. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington, DC. Schon, D.A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Schon, D.A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books. Spaulding, E., & Wilson, A. (2002). Demystifying reflection: A study of pedagogical strategies that encourage reflective journal writing. teachers College Record, 104(7), 1393-1421.Valli, L. (1997). Listening to other voices: A description of teacher reflection in the United States. Peabody Journal of Education, 72, 67-88.Van Manen, M.(1977). Linking ways of knowing with ways of being practical. Curriculum Inquiry, 6, 205-228. ................
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