No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.
—Taoist Proverb
Definition
Reflection is the process of being able to thoughtfully ponder an experience, which can enable greater meaning and learning to be derived from a given situation.
Julia: This sounds like a very obvious part of everyday life. Why is it highlighted as a learning principle?
It may seem obvious, but in today’s hectic lifestyle, with an increasing list of obligations that seldom get attended to, reflection is less a common habit than we would imagine. It’s true, of course, that we all draw conclusions from almost everything that happens to us, and ask ourselves, Why did this happen? But many times, our conclusions are really hasty assumptions, forged with no deep scrutiny, and do not create real, valuable learning. To extract real learning from events and interactions, we need to slow down, pause, and reflect.
Nick: Are you referring to the philosophical understanding of reflection?
Philosophers have definitely evidenced reflection as the best method to deepen our understanding; witness the Greek thinkers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. For them and others, reflection has constituted an essential method to gain wisdom. Plato asked: “... why should we not calmly and patiently review our own thoughts, and thoroughly examine and see what these appearances in us really are?” More recently, educator John Dewey1 was the first to signal the key role of reflection in the learning process. David Kolb,2 elaborating further on Dewey’s experiential learning concept, developed a learning cycle of four linked phases; of which, reflection was one. The four phases are: concrete experience (the action itself); reflective observation (to critically reflect upon and investigate the experience); abstract conceptualization (meaning to develop ideas and hypotheses); and active experimentation (when based on our ideas and hypotheses, we take action in the world). This was influenced by Kurt Lewin’s process of Action Research,3 characterized by continuous cycles of action and reflection to test hypotheses and create new knowledge in the area of social sciences. Chris Argyris’s4 theory of single- and double-loop learning is also based on reflection. If we are able to identify the assumptions that underpin our behaviors, we can revise them and extract lessons for other situations. This was elaborated further by Kegan and Lahey, who pointed at the importance of identifying the “big assumption” behind our beliefs and actions.5
Vivien: Does this mean that reflection is an important principle for responsible management education because individuals are able to analyze their behaviors?
Yes, this is a core step in our personal development journey of becoming responsible citizens of the planet in these demanding times. A school of thought called “critical reflection”6 has proposed the power of reflection to question truths, structures, and distribution of power, as well as to increase the understanding of self. For the adult education scholar and educator Stephen Brookfield,7 four activities are central to critical reflection:
Assumption analysis: We need to challenge our beliefs, values, cultural practices, and social structures in order to assess their impact on our daily behaviors;
Contextual awareness: We will discover how our assumptions are socially and personally created in a specific historical and cultural context;
Imaginative speculation: Then we can start thinking in new ways about the same phenomena; and
Reflective skepticism: We need to maintain a constant practice of questioning what could be presented as universal truths.
Critical reflection has also been elevated to the primary objective of adult education in the work of Jack Mezirow,8 who views it as essential to help students go through transformative learning.
As you can see, reflection is not only about understanding the self, but also about our context, and about developing a habit of questioning and revising what is taken for granted. This is critical to bring about the changes we need.
Andres: Can you give us a few examples or techniques for integrating reflection into the classroom?
Reflecting on an event or an action allows us to detach ourselves from the situation, and to establish a “reflecting subject” or “scrutinized eventobject” dynamic. In order to be able to revise our behaviors and our experiences to extract lessons, the first condition is to pause. If we jump from one action to the next, there is no time to process and ponder what actually happened, and why. The instructor needs therefore to be aware of his own pace, and make time to extract meaning from the events. The pause and invitation to reflect can take place both inside the classroom, as well as through assignments between sessions.
A Story
Students around the globe are living under a lot of pressure, taking several courses, keeping up with the assignments, sometimes carrying a job, having a family, dealing with romance, maintaining their social relationships, making time for service hours to add points to their resume, and forging their identity, to name a few. All this fosters short attention spans, forces the students to attempt to multitask, which results in them being reduced to giving little attention to many tasks. How do we get them to pause?
One activity I have used is called The Coffee Shop. The assignment asks them to find a coffee shop and sit there for 45 minutes, leaving their phone in the office or at home. With nothing to write or read. Just plain sit there. If thoughts come about what they could be doing, what they just did or still have to do, they should notice them, and let them pass, because the assignment is just to sit there, and doing nothing is not only fine, but also is the point of the exercise.
This is one of the most powerful exercises, and as they get back, students write down and post a wealth of thoughts that indicate a profound time they just spent with themselves. This simple exercise helps them experience the power of pausing, noticing the pace of their daily life, realizing how many useless thoughts occupy our mind, and how many valuable reflections can emerge from quietness.
Questions are a great tool to foster reflection, and they should be open, nonleading questions. They can be probing and challenging. Silent individual reflection time, writing down thoughts in a learning journal, and using the Stop-Reflect-Write-Report tool to share an edited version of our thoughts are a few ways to develop the habit of reflection. Skillfully selected questions can guide students to extract clear meaning from events and discussions, to clarify how something relates to their life; questions can lead to exploration of feelings and assumptions, and also help students to imagine scenarios, anticipate, visualize, and plan.
Andres: Summarizing then, to bring the powerful principle of reflection into our classrooms we need first to slow ourselves down, to make space to ask questions, and allow students the time to silently reflect—something not at all common in our classrooms today.
Vivien: It may be awkward to slow our pace, but if we think of the impact we can have by helping students identify the deeper assumptions, values, and beliefs underpinning their behaviors (and our society)—we are creating a powerful awareness, which is the first prerequisite for change.
Julia: Indeed, because more than a singular reflection, we are developing the habit of critically reflecting—and yes, we all have to slow down for that.
Nick: This is not new—it has been at the core of ancient wisdom and modern scholarly research, so perhaps we have just allowed ourselves to be distracted by our over-burdened lifestyle. Time to pause. Let’s reflect on that. 