The year that was…
In 2020, a group of Australian academics and Fellows, known as a learning circle, collaborated with AdvanceHE to launch a new Reflection for Learning Scholarly Practice Guide.
The practice guide has been designed for educators who are interested in supporting reflective practice for their students’ learning and for their own learning and career development. The Reflection for Learning activities are grouped by category to scaffold you from familiar cognitive and text-based approaches, through to practices that are more sensory and creative. The inherent recognition is that reflective practice is a somatic, whole-of-body practice (Harvey, Baumann & Fredericks, 2019).
Workshop and classroom participants regularly rate the creative approaches as the best option for their learning and professional needs (Harvey & Vlachopoulos, 2020). Each activity is underpinned by a succinct reference to the research evidence of how it supports learning. Short and simple instructions on how to facilitate the activity, what materials are needed and how much time to allow are provided.
With the many time constraints in the academy, a criterion for most of the activities presented in the guide was that they be both engaging and short in duration to allow for easier embedding in the curriculum.
This year
The many reflective activities in the guide were practised and developed in face-to-face, synchronous learning environments. A pandemic meant our universities had to swiftly respond to working in a new environment of lockdown. As educators we had the responsibility of leading a rapid reimagining of learning and teaching, supporting students and academics as they rapidly became fully online learners and teachers.
As part of this reimagining, the Reflection for Learning Circle academics, the authors of the guide, began experimenting with practising the reflection activities in their online classes. And they worked! To share how to incorporate reflective practices in an online learning environment we decided to video capture some of these activities, simply using Zoom, and make them available on a YouTube channel.
New videos for 2021 include:
'Counting breaths' · 'The countdown' · 'Five finger breathing' · 'Food for thought' · 'Give your brain a break' · 'Imagine a teacup' · 'Images as reflective prompts' · 'Invisible whiteboard' · 'Melting' · 'Mindfulness hand awareness' · 'Minute paper' · 'Noticing five things' · 'Reflection as exploration' · 'Seeking clarity' · 'Ten-second Count' · 'Team breath' · 'Reflection as exploration' · 'Silence'.
A call to reflect online
Are you teaching online? Reflective practices support learning (Harvey, Coulson & McMaugh, 2016) and they can be used in any learning environment, including online. Download the practice guide and view a video of a new practice you have not used before. Trial one of the reflection activities in one of your online classes. Ask your students for their feedback. Which is your favourite online reflective practice activity?
Marina Harvey (PFHEA) is an Australian National Teaching Fellow and has received national and university citations for outstanding contributions to student learning. For over a decade she has taught, researched, experimented with and practiced reflection for learning. Her Action Research has produced over 90 scholarly publications.
Colleagues working with Marina on this project include: Kate Lloyd PFHEA, Macquarie University, Kath McLachlan SFHEA, Macquarie University, Anne-Louise Semple SFHEA, Macquarie University and Dr Greg Walkerden.
References
- Harvey, M., Baumann, C. & Fredericks, V. (2019). A taxonomy of emotion and cognition for student reflection: introducing emo-cog. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(6), 1138-1153. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1629879
- Harvey, M. & Vlachopoulos, P. (2020). What a difference a day makes: Reflection retreats as academic development in higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 44 (3), 378-392. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1541976
- Harvey, M., Coulson, D. & McMaugh, A. (2016). Towards a theory of the ecology of reflection: reflective practice for experiential learning in higher education. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 13(2). http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol13/iss2/2
- Harvey, M., Lloyd, K., McLachlan, K., Semple, A., & Walkerden, G. (2020). Reflection for learning: a scholarly practice guide for educators. York: AdvanceHE.