Resources for learning and teaching critical reflection

Abstract

Many books include suggestions for further learning at the end of each chapter. With this volume, we decided not to disturb the reflective flow, and the personal nature of the accounts by doing this. Instead, we have presented a collection of resources that we have developed over the years of facilitating critical reflection workshops and university-based courses. Since there are common themes, which link the chapters, we also felt it was more fitting to include further resources in a more collective way rather than to risk repeating ideas across the chapters. The resources presented here are intended to be applicable across a range of different teaching settings and may be adjusted to various learning contexts. For example, they could be used as facilitator reference material, provided as handouts or worksheets for participants, or reformatted into PowerPoint slides. We hope you find them useful. Box 14.1 Exercise in developing critically reflective questions Many students and educators wishing to use the critical reflection model used by the contributors in this volume have requested that a list of reflective questions be provided. We tend to resist this request, for several reasons. First, we have found that once someone truly understands the theoretical lenses, which inform this approach, they are able to have a much better grasp of the process and are then also able to generate appropriate questions. Secondly, questions to help participants delve beneath the surface of their stories, to uncover hidden deeper assumptions, must generally be asked in relation to the specific story of the experience being reflected upon. It is vitally important that people assisting someone to reflect develop the skills of listening, especially trying to listen underneath a story, to what is not expressed in so many words. If they just have in mind specific questions to ask, without thinking through how their question is relevant to what a person is saying, this can impede deep listening. 166Thirdly, the theoretical frameworks, which we outlined at the beginning of the book, are intended to provide a broad framework for questions.