Taking a Reflective Stance

In a previous article, I wrote of the importance of reflective practice as a piece of the learning puzzle (Read More). As John Dewey shares, "we do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience". I wrote that "If we genuinely value reflective practice, we need to take a more proactive approach. Instead of leaving it to chance and hoping our students will make the right moves, we need to build reflection into our teaching and their learning." I suggested that the Eight Cultural Forces, as explained by Ron Ritchhart, are an excellent tool for ensuring reflection is an enculturated part of our classroom and school culture. Building on from the ideas in this article I'd like to suggest that there is another step we can take towards ensuring meaningful reflection is not just something we do but is a part of who we are.

To ensure reflective practice is more than an activity added to our schedule, we need to take a reflective stance.

Too often, reflection becomes the thing we do at the end of a task or the end of the day. We look back and contemplate what was, and with that in mind, we look forward to what we might do differently next time. It is in this way a very reactionary process. By all means, this form of reflection has its place, and it can be a powerful strategy to deploy as we seek to learn from experience. If we value reflective practice, we will be sure to set aside time for this form of reflection on a routine basis. By engaging in reflection habitually, we ensure that it is a routine part of our day.

But adopting a reflective stance can make this more powerful.

A reflective stance requires a deliberate effort to move away from reflection being the activity that terminates our learning journey. Instead, it becomes something that we are routinely engaged with before, during and at the end of our learning. It means that we not only allocate time to the practice of reflection but that we understand its value as a cognitive tool that empowers our learning.

A reflective stance moves us from behaviours towards metacognition.

Metacognition is defined within Habits of Mind, by Costa & Kallick as "Thinking about thinking. Know your knowing. Be aware of your own thoughts, strategies, feelings and actions - and how they affect others." According to Costa & Kallick "metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is our ability to know what we know and what we don't know. It is our ability to plan a strategy for producing the information that is needed, to be conscious of our own steps and strategies during the act of problem solving, and to reflect on and evaluate the productiveness of our own thinking. . . . Intelligent people plan for, reflect on, and evaluate the quality of their own thinking skills and strategies." As with each of the 'Habits of Mind', and dispositions more broadly, metacognition thrives when there is an inclination to deploy the habit based on a sensitivity to its value and commitment to developing the capability.

If we are to maximise the benefits of metacognition, we must be aware of our ability to plan for purposeful and effective thinking. We must then monitor the effects that our thinking is having in the moment and be aware of how our thinking and acting is evolving. Finally, we also then take time to reflect on both the evolving processes of our learning journey and the results thusly achieved. In an article for "Improve with Metacognition", Costa & Kallick identify the need for planning for thinking to be combined with self-monitoring through consciously looking forward and looking back. End of day or end of task reflective practices are overly reliant on the efficacy of one part of this process; looking back.

A reflective stance allows for each part of this reflective process in ways that habitual, end of day practices do not. A reflective stance includes mindful attention in advance of cognitive activity, during cognitive activity and as reflection on cognitive activity. A reflective stance becomes an ongoing cycle of planning, noticing and reflecting on the efficacy of our thinking and acting.

A reflective stance doesn't mean we are forever analysing our thinking.

Engaging in full-blown, mindful metacognition all of the time would be exhausting and largely pointless. "Thinking, Fast & Slow", by Daniel Kahnemann invites us to see our thinking as being a result of two metaphorical systems. "System 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control. System 2 allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations." Each system has its advantages and disadvantages, and in most cases, we shift between the two effortlessly and seamlessly, one supporting the other.

Consider the task of driving. For the experienced driver, it is normal to travel great distances with the task of managing the vehicle, navigating the roads and avoiding obstacles with our minds in autopilot. Only when the task requires heightened concentration, do we become focused on the task and fully aware of the choices we are making. When we reflect on our journey, we will recall these moments in vivid detail while others are not recalled at all. The same is true of much of the thinking that occurs throughout our day. However, when we adopt a reflective stance, we plan for the times when we will deliberately engage our full mental capacities and the moments where we will notice how our thinking is evolving and the effect that has. Because we value our reflective practices, we take actions to ensure we will have the impact we desire and that we notice the actions and thoughts that we deployed towards this goal. We are not leaving things to chance; we are planning for and monitoring which system we require.

Our reflective stance will also enhance how we learn in the future.

As noted, we learn from reflecting on experience. When we adopt a reflective stance, we recognise the benefits of particular patterns of action and thought. By recognising these patterns and the impact that they have in the moment, and by then reflecting upon our noticings, we allow ourselves to incorporate the more effective patterns into our future planning and refine or abandon those that are not working.

A reflective stance requires a commitment and a valuing of reflective practice as more than a set of behaviours we schedule into our day. The fullest benefits of a reflective stance are achieved when we plan for notice and reflect upon our actions and then use the information gained as a result to inform our future choices.

By Nigel Coutts

Read this article in Portuguese - Leia este artigo em Portugues

Read - Playing with Habits of Mind

Explore - Strategies & Routines that Support Metacognition

Costa, A. & Kallick, B. (2008) Learning and leading with habits of mind: 16 essential characteristics for success. ASCD, USA

Costa, A & Kallick, B. (2015) Metacognition: What Makes Humans Unique  https://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/metacognition-what-makes-humans-unique/

Kahnemann, D. (2012) Thinking, Fast And Slow. Penguin, Random House Books; UK




Maximising the Power of Documentation

What place does documentation play in our learning environments? What roles might it play? 

We probably should begin by considering what we mean by documentation. When we talk documentation, we are describing the process of capturing evidence both of the learning progress of our students and the impact of our teaching. As such, documentation plays an important role in assessment for learning as an ongoing process of formative assessment and as a part of our professional reflection. Or at least it should. 

Often documentation is associated with measures of accountability. When documentation of learning is reduced to a process of gathering work samples for filing away to satisfy the requirements of school registration, it has little value. The same is true when we spend time documenting evidence of learning on our teaching programmes but then do not use this to guide future planning. Whenever we consider documentation as the material produced and archived from our teaching, rather than a process that we as teachers and our students are actively engaged with, we eliminate its potential role in teaching and learning. 

“Although what and how one documents is key, even more critical is understanding that documentation is not an end in itself. In order for documentation to be useful, teachers and learners must actually do something with it. Teachers use documentation practices to deepen learning—their own, their students’, their colleagues’, parents’, and even the larger public’s.” (Krechevsky, Mardell, Rivard, & Wilson, 2013 p74)

In the Reggio Emilia approach, documentation plays a central role, and it is considered one of the more significant contributions made to education by the small Italian region (Schroeder-Yu, 2008). According to Krechevsky et al. it is “The practice of observing, recording, interpreting, and sharing through different media the processes and products of learning in order to deepen or extend learning” (Krechevsky, Mardell, Rivard, & Wilson, 2013 p74). In a Reggio Emilia approach:

“Documentation typically includes samples of a child’s work at several different stages of completion; photographs showing work in progress; comments written by the teacher or other adults working with the child; transcriptions of the child’s discussions, comments, and explanations of intentions about the activity; and comments made by parents.” (Schroeder-Yu, 2008 p127)

 As Krechevsky et al. note, it can be tempting to view the beautiful examples of Reggio Emilia inspired documentation available online and conclude that it is all about creating magnificent displays of students work. While there is a definite value in celebrating student learning in this way, documentation should also include the messy, incomplete and unfinished samples which are much more the norm and include space for capturing the richness of dialogue that occurs along the way. If taken to extremes, however, this approach can also be flawed. If we attempt to capture every moment, every brushstroke, every work sample, we end up with clutter and a collection that will fail to tell a story of learning. The sweet spot is a curated collection of learning artefacts that reveal a story of learning and are then used wisely to inform next steps in learning by the teacher, the student and their learning community. 

DocumentationsPurposes.png

The diagram above is derived from a number of sources and aims to capture some of the purposes that documentation might play in teaching and learning, some of which require some explanation. One of the key purposes it serves is in activating Teachers as Researchers or as students of their children as learners. Documentation allows us to make visible where our children are with their learning, their thinking processes and informs our understanding of the impact that our teaching is having. Documentation as such allows us to make informed decisions both in the moment and for the long terms as to how we will proceed as we continue to engage our students with learning. 

Closely connected its part in our role as Teacher Researchers are the roles that documentation plays in our professional development and as a catalyst for collaborative partnerships. When documentation becomes a process that we engage with, it opens our eyes to the impact that we are having. When we better understand this impact, we create opportunities for professional growth as we consider how we might do more of what is working and seek answers to the dilemmas that emerge. When we share documentation with colleagues, we expand these opportunities through the inclusion of professional dialogue that allows all participants to develop a more enlightened perspective. 

Suppose our goal is to develop learning environments that are responsive to the passions, wonderings and unique interests of our students; In that case, we begin to explore the possibilities of an emergent curriculum. The concept of an emergent curriculum is familiar to anyone with a knowledge of Reggio Emilia approaches and is common in early childhood settings. An Emergent Curriculum is one that is allowed to emerge from the interaction of the learner with the environment. Rather than a heavily prescribed curriculum, as is the norm in many settings, an emergent curriculum evolves out of the dialogue between students and teachers. A teacher adept in the application of an emergent curriculum builds upon the possibilities embedded in the environment they design for and with their learners. It is not a free for all but simultaneously a carefully orchestrated and highly dynamic experience. 

Documentation plays a vital role in the implementation of an Emergent Curriculum. As the teacher observes the student engaging with their learning, as they capture evidence of this, as they reflect upon this evidence and engage in dialogue (with students and colleagues) about the learning made evident by this documentation, they are also planning for the next steps they will take. The documentation allows them to see both where the learner has been and where they might go next. Additionally, when the curriculum is emergent, documentation effectively becomes a significant part of the curriculum replacing the formal written curriculum that is used to map learning in other contexts. 

Documentation also plays an essential role as “The Third Teacher”. The idea of the third teacher is derived from an understanding that our students learn from their teacher (and other adults), from their peers and from their environment. When we display documentation in the learning environment, we enable its use as a tool for learning. When children interact with artefacts from their learning journey and the learning journeys of their peers, the utility of documentation is enhanced. When the use of such items is incorporated into learning that elevates the place of metacognitive skills, the power of documentation as the third teacher is unlocked. This also creates opportunities for the students learning to be celebrated and shown to be valued. 

Documentation, when done right, when seen as a process rather than a beautiful end product, can be a vital tool for learning. If you are keen to better understand its potential, begin by reading “Visible Learners”. 

By Nigel Coutts

 Krechevsky, M., Mardell, B., Rivard, M., & Wilson, D. G. (2013). Visible learners: Promoting Reggio-inspired approaches in all schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gigi Schroeder-Yu (2008) Documentation: Ideas and Applications from the Reggio Emilia Approach, TEACHING ARTIST JOURNAL, 6:2, 126-134

 

The future of Schools

Ask the average adult to describe a school and you are likely to get similar responses. There will be a focus on the places and spaces in which their education occurred, the teachers who taught, the rows of desks, the daily schedule of classes and breaks. They may reflect on the subjects they enjoyed and those they didn’t. If you asked the same question of your typical octogenarian the response would be similar and if you could travel back in time you would receive a similar response from those whose experience of school would not include electric light. It makes you wonder what makes a school and what might a school be like?

Karl Weick the organisational theorist wrote in 1976 an article titled ‘Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems’ in which he asks the questions ‘Why do all educational organisations look the way they do, and why do they all look the same?’ He suggests that the common structural and organisational elements in schools are not a result of the true task of education but a consequence of the certification and registration process. The implication being that if schools were designed to best serve their fundamental task they would look different and there would be differences between schools as a result of their intentions and purposes.

The unflattering description of the physical layout of most schools reveals much in common with factories. Raw product enters at one end, is acted upon through set processes and at the opposite end of the factory processed products exit ready for the workforce. Along the way the child learns how to fit into society, how to complete core tasks required for dutiful citizenship and is presented with the knowledge of content expected of an educated person. Pink Floyd’s gruesome portrayal of a school as a production line for humans resonated with its audience not only for its gore but also its metaphorical accuracy. Thankfully schools have a greater calling and are moving away from this archaic model.

The modern classroom is a space full of light and colour, with flexible furnishings and a degree of comfort not present in the classrooms many adults recall. Students are encouraged to take charge of the space and arrange its physicality to meet their needs. Design decisions are based around engagement, creativity, expression, imagination and an understanding of education as an active process that the student chooses to engage with. So important is the physical space that authors and architects for education OWP/P published a book titled ‘The Third Teacher’ as a tome for anyone wishing to enhance the effectiveness of their learning spaces. 

In this classroom you will likely find the teacher located somewhere amongst the students. The role of the teacher is transforming from the deliverer of content and enforcer of behavioural norms to one of facilitator of learning. Learning as an educational term is under re-evaluation as the profession and society considers what it means to learn. Once defined through connections to the recall of facts and the application of formulas and methods, learning is now seen through a wider lens. Learning is a process that you must learn to do, a process that involves imagination, problem finding, questioning, design thinning, collaboration, reflection and knowledge creation. The modern teacher is skilled in enabling dispositions, attitudes, habits of mind and thinking skills within their diverse learners. A successful lesson will be one that generates a new list of questions, not a set of answers. 

The students in this classroom are adept at asking questions but they do not expect easy answers and they do not rely on their teachers to be the source of their learning. They approach their learning with a sense of possibility and openness that the students in the Pink Floyd clip have had beaten out of them. They should experience a learning system that encourages creativity and prepares them for a world that will value them for their ability to find problems and solve them in unique ways.

What might the school day be like? The ever creative Finns are exploring a model of learning that does away with traditional subjects. Students instead of discretely studying mathematics or language will explore themes with opportunities to develop a wide mix of dispositions and skills around the exploration of central ideas. This model of themed learning is described as having more in common with how individuals learn outside of a school-based setting where they operate within a group to explore a set of closely linked ideas and find solutions to the problems they encounter along the way. Such a change will bring with it fundamental adjustments to the timetabling of the school day, the structure of schools around faculties and the compartmentalisation of knowledge that comes with this. The skill set of the art teacher, the mathematician, the scientist and the language specialist will be combined around a central theme with the students benefiting from the sharing of knowledge that this model creates as their teachers collaborate. 

If the process of modernising schools identifies a clear intent for schools with an equally clear model for how this is best achieved will schools still all look the same? Will a shift from schools as factories for the fodder of the industrial age workforce to a focus on the production of creative problem finders and solvers produce a greater variety of schools? Will Weick see a diversity of organisational structures? As we shift from the one-model fits all system of the past to a new model that celebrates flexibility and individuality will this be reflected by a diversity of school systems that follow? Will there be a common experience of school in the future or will the loosely connected structures, tasks, intents and people of a yet to be invented educational model centred on the networked individual even form an organisation that we can meaningfully refer to as a school?

By Nigel Coutts