Reflective Practice, Post Graduate Students and Research Journals

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Reflective Practice, Post Graduate Students and
Research Journals

• UWIC Teaching Fellow research project 2003-5

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Aims of the project

• To set up , monitor and evaluate the use of
  critical reflective journals for post graduate
  research students
• reflecting on practice
• identifying training or support needs

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Secondary Aims

• To evaluate the potential of supervisor journals
  as a means of
• reflecting on practice
• identifying training or support needs
• To evaluate the potential of Blackboard as an
  informal point of contact for research students
  and supervisors

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Rationale

• well established role of critical reflection
  in producing active learners and in aiding
  professional development
• clearly documented use of journals as a vehicle
  for engaging students in critical reflection

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• little evidence of studies evaluating the
  potential of critical reflective journals in
  post-graduate research student context
• Research training
• Supervision needs

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Code of practice for postgraduate research
programmes

• a learning environment should enable
  students to grapple with challenges that develop
  intellectual maturity and encourage a high level
  of reflection on the student's own learning about
  research as well as on research outcomes
• Quality Assurance Agency 2004

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The project

• Stage 1 Initial Training
• Nov 2003
• Project overview
• Introduction to critical reflection and journals
• Stage 2 Follow up Training
• March 2004
• Deepening critical reflection
• Stage 3 Evaluation Interviews
• June -2004

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• Stage 1 Initial Training Nov 2003
• 11 students 3 supervisors
• Project overview
• Aims
• Individual commitment
• Introduction to critical reflection and journals
• Practical advice
• Journal formats

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• A Stage 2 Follow up Training
• March 2004
• 7 students 2 supervisors
• Views on process and progress
• Deepening critical reflection
• Identifying reflective writing

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Evaluation

• Effectiveness of training and intro to reflective
  practice and journal use
• Using journals for reflection process
  positives and pitfalls
• Outcomes lessons learnt

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Findings Students

• Training
• Multi stage spaced out
• Supervisor involvement not needed in training
• Applied focus
• Theory - a resource -not included
• Evidence of pay off relevance important for
  engagement

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Process of journaling

• Positive
• Worth time invested
• Need initial framework
• Need flexibility to adapt Used as supervisor
  substitute
• ?
• Used as supervisor substitute
• Negative
• Time hard to find
• Focus on negatives beat myself up with it

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Changes over time

• More time efficient - less waffle
• Less emotion more action points
• Move from just facts to ideas to learning
• From to do to what happened and why
• More honest and analytic

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Content

• Time management tactics
• Reviewing planning and organisation effectiveness
• Needs analysis- what do I need to know about
• What do I ask my supervisor ?

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What use was it ?

• Self counselling
• An ideas pool
• Sounding board- friendly audience
• Target setting mechanism
• Reality check guilt reducer
• Made me accountable to myself
• Alternative to suicide note ( !!)

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Findings Supervisors

• Students seemed more organised
• Offered a means of easy progress review
• Engaged students in the questioning/ decision
  process more
• Basis for action plans
• Encouraged a standing back from the subject
  matter

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Potential for supervisors

• Generally positive
• Indirect link with accreditation
• Not assessable
• Potential material for peer review discussion
• Needs time to engage and develop
• Need guidance and training
• Good for review of changes in practice
• Bit luxurious time resource
• Easy to misuse

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taking it further .

• Reflective journals have potential for use in
  Progress files
• Ineffective if compulsory or assessed writing
  for an audience
• Training needs to stress flexibility and
  adaptability personal endeavour
• Need to offer guidelines and examples for
  comparison

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• Need to demonstrate potential for concrete
  outcomes action planning learning
• If too applied and practice focussed then can
  get change without understanding
• Should not become an end in itself
• Suitable for all disciplines
• Reflection is a higher order learning skill