Importance of Reflection in Leadership: Analytical Essay

In order for me to become the kind of leader that will inspire others, it will take critical self-reflection on how I can be transformed as a leader and so, in turn, transform those I lead. Danielson (2009) discussed the importance of daily reflection by teachers drawing attention to the fact that teachers make a multitude of decisions every day. Many of these decisions are routine and the teacher can make these decisions automatically. There are other decisions teachers make that are in the midst of evolving situations. And then there are more complex decisions. Expert teachers need to be able to understand the level of reflection required for the different situations. This reflection will help them to replicate best practice, refine coincidental practice and avoid inferior practice.

In order to truly understand how reflection can be achieved, it is important to understand what reflection is. ‘Reflective practice’ derives from the work of Dewey and Schon. Dewey (1910, p.6) wrote that reflective practice refers to ‘the active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that supports it’. This lends itself to a questioning approach whereby one questions why things are the way they are, and how they might be if influences were to change or shift. Dewey went on to say that being reflective enables us to act with foresight. My actions in the classroom should be carefully planned, informed by theory and purposeful.

Schon (1983) presents a slightly different view. Schon’s reflective practice, as Meierdirk (2017) explains, is based on three points:

1. Knowing in action which is automatic behavior learnt through experience.
2. Reflection in action which is reflecting very quickly in a particular scenario. This is also possible from learnt experience, it does require some thought and is not an automatic reaction.
3. Reflection on action which is when you reflect after an event and identify what went well and what could be done better. This is when you think more deeply about why things did not go according to your plan, or why they exceeded your expectations.

There are various models of reflection. One model is a cyclic process which needs to be repeated. Reflective practice is ‘learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and practice’ (Finlay, 2008, p.1). The aim is to be more aware of my own professional knowledge, actions and decisions as I strive to make sure all students make maximum progress and learning so that can be tailored to them.

Kolb’s model and Gibbs model are cyclical models of reflection.

Kolb’s Learning cycle (1984) highlights reflective practice as a tool whereby one learns from and through experiences. Gibbs’ model (1998) is also a cyclic reflection model. It is based on Kolb’s model but further extended and broken down. Gibbs model also encourages reflection during the experience and not just after the experience.

Both models require the teacher to analyse the experience. Kolb’s theory requires analyzing the experience after the fact and looking the outcome of that experience. Gibb’s model requires taking a factual account of exactly what happened before, during and after the experience. All models require teachers to draw on ideas from research to support development, understanding and modifying their teaching approaches to improve their own teaching practice. If you reflect, but do not use the reflective practice to embrace change and professional growth; there is no point in reflecting.

Johns’ model is on structured reflection. Johns (2000) suggests that when you reflect you must look inwards, considering your own thoughts and feelings, as well as looking outwards, considering the actual situation as well as your own actions, if you acted ethically and if there were any other influencing factors. Johns’ model has structured cue questions which help you to reflect on the experience. It is different to the cyclical reflection in that you are required to look inwards and outwards.

Systematic reflection is a learning procedure whereby one analyses their behavior and evaluate the contribution to performance outcomes. Ellis and Davidi (2005) emphasize that systematic reflection serves three functions: self-explanation, data verification and feedback. When systematically reflecting, the individual is responsible for analyzing their own performance and coming up with reasons why things worked out as expected or why things went wrong.

In the ‘Interview mit Prof. Dr. Jennifer A. Moon’, (DUWBerlin, 2012, 00:52) Moon described reflection as ‘cognitive housekeeping’ which is basically reordering what we already know and thinking about learning we have already done. Through reflection, we need to be assessing our knowledge and the quality of our knowledge.

All of the models serve the same purpose in the educational field; to improve on yourself and your teaching methods to allow for best practice in the classroom. However, if it is to be successful, it requires honesty and making yourself vulnerable. It requires you to be open to criticism and a willingness to learn and change. If you are not prepared to do any of those things, reflection will simply be a formality that will have no bearing on your own professional and personal growth.

Finlay (2008) points out that busy and overstretched professionals are likely to find reflective practice taxing and time consuming. The result being bland, mechanical, routinised and unthinking ways of reflecting. Ixer (1999) emphasizes the fact that there is increasing evidence that teachers need to develop their metacognitive awareness to increase their own professional learning and to enable them to support pupils develop their metacognitive skills effectively (Veenman et al., 2006, Kuhn, 2000, Kistner, 2010). Being a metacognitively aware as a teacher involves understanding how your thinking, and learning, is developing.

References

1. Danielson, L. (2009) ‘Fostering Reflection’, Educational Leadership: How Teachers Learn, 66(5). Available at: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Fostering-Reflection.aspx (Accessed 17 February 2019).
2. Dewey, J. (1910) How we think, Boston, D.C.Heath.
3. DUWBerlin (2012) Interview mit Prof. Dr. Jennifer A. Moon. 28 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pilxn3-Pts&feature=youtu.be (Accessed: 06 March 2020).
4. Ellis, S., & Davidi, I. (2005). After-event reviews: Drawing lessons from successful and failed experience. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 857–871.
5. Finlay, Linda (2008). Reflecting on ‘Reflective practice’. Practice-based Professional Learning Paper 52, The Open University.
6. Ixer, G. (1999) ‘There’s no such thing as reflection’, British Journal of Social Work, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 513–27.
7. Johns C. Becoming a reflective practitioner: a reflective and holistic approach to clinical nursing practice, development and clinical supervision. Oxford: Blackwell Science, 2000.
8. Meierdirk, C. (2017) Schon’s Reflective Practice. 13 July. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzjz-l8L1lc (Accessed: 06 March 2020).
9. Schon, D. (1983) The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action, London, TempleSmith.
10. Veenman, M. et al., (2006) ‘Metacognition and learning: conceptual and methodological considerations’, Metacognition Learning, vol. 1, pp. 3–14.