Sunday, 25 March 2012

The Silent Teacher


Portfolios as reflection - the biggest nudge to independent learning?


It is impossible to identify what you are learning at a time quite close to the learning task. Far better to reflect when learning is not taking place...
Emotion gets in the way of reflection; also the intellectual difficulty of the sudden switch. As J P Powell writes in Autobiographical Learning, "One has to be able to move rapidly...from...intense involvement in a discussion of a substantive point to a metra-discussion of ideas and feelings quite unrelated to what was being talked about a short time before".
Questions to consider:

  • How far should a reflective journal be shared?
  • How can we encourage a "write it as it is, not as you would like it to be, nor as you think it should be" approach?
  • Should it be used as emotional catharsis or "rant"?
  • Should it be entirely descriptive?
  • Should it reflect on values?
  • Should it be ego-centric or open to alternative perspectives as a kind of lens?
  • Should it position personal reflection in relation to the "bigger picture"?
  • Should it look backwards or forwards? Should links be made between previous experience and future action?
  • Should it be allowed to question the status quo?



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