Critical reflection “triggers” transformative learning.  The phrase “critical reflection” is commonly seen in our learning outcomes, in the various methods of assessment we employ, and in our course syllabi.  However, if critical reflection is not commonly present among we educators of adult learners and practiced regularly in the institution in which we teach, how then can it be successfully implemented as a pedagogical tool and encouraged among the learners of that institution?

Scholarship pertaining to transformative learning indicates that adult learning theory is a work in progress – specifically, in respect to the development and incorporation of critical reflection in teaching and learning. One of the leading scholars in this field, Dr. Stephen D. Brookfield, contends that “teaching critically brings us into conflict with many of the taken-for-granted assumptions and practices that currently define educational institutions” (Brookfield, 1995, p. 246). With this contention in mind, one may presume that there exist within the framework of the traditional educational institution a number of obstacles that not only present challenges, but sometimes serve as a direct impediment to the creation of a culture of reflection. This post attempts not only to define a culture of reflection, but to identify specific obstacles or “cultural barriers” as Brookfield labels them, and summarize methods for overcoming those obstacles.

Reflection has been defined as “intentional mental processing, used primarily with complicated or uncertain situations or ideas in order to fulfill a particular purpose in the present or future” (Lowe, Rappolt, Jaglal, and MacDonald, 2007, p. 143). In the most basic sense, “reflection is inquiry into one’s experience” (Fiddler and Marineau, 2008, p. 76). Based on the latter definition, a teacher who desires to create a culture of reflection is faced with an immediate challenge: how to foster the ability in students to convert their individual experience(s) into meaningful learning. “Meaningful learning,” according to Fiddler and Marineau, “involves questioning and examining one’s assumptions, beliefs, mental models, values, and a host of other qualities that characterize meaning” (p. 78). Similarly, Lamoreaux and Taylor (2008) explain, because intentions in teaching adult learners go beyond mastering behavioral skills or mastering content, helping learners create “meaningful connection[s] is – from the brain’s perspective – a more effective approach to teaching and learning than focusing primarily on how we, as educators and experts, understand the issue” (p.54). Critical reflection is the key to this process, however, in order for reflection to become common pedagogical practice and recognized as an institutional norm in both teaching and learning, a number of obstacles must be addressed.

Obstacles to Creating a Culture of Reflection

Brookfield (1995) identifies three cultural barriers, in particular, to critical reflection. These include 1) the culture of silence; 2) the culture of individualism; and 3) the culture of secrecy (p. 247). In considering the first barrier, Brookfield (1995) suggests that teachers’ lives are often “bound in chains of silence” (p. 247). Purposeful discussions about the process and meaning of teaching, classroom dynamics, personal experience as it relates to teaching, are rare and asking for help with teaching is often perceived as incompetence. In respect to the second barrier, the culture of individualism, Brookfield (1995) contends that “an anticollectivist orientation is rampant in college cultures” (p. 249). To this end, although the rhetoric of collaboration is often present in the institution, acts of collegial collaboration are somehow viewed as less credible because one has chosen to take the easy way out by working with others instead of tackling a task individually. Finally, Brookfield (1995) emphasizes that when and “where a culture of secrecy exists, reflection is doomed” (p. 251). Fostering a culture of critical reflection is often inhibited by an unwillingness on the part of participants – teachers, specifically, – to publicly disclose personal or private error out of fear of retribution. If penalty results from an admission of one’s mistakes, how then is it possible to truly learn from our mistakes? This fear in and of itself impedes the act of critical reflection on the part of the teacher, presenting even more of a challenge in encouraging and incorporating the act of critical reflection among learners. Therefore, a trustful atmosphere must exist in order for real critical reflection to happen.

Collectively, the three cultural barriers identified pose an important question: if critical reflection is not commonly present among teachers of adult learners and practiced regularly in the institution in which they teach, how then can it be successfully implemented as a pedagogical tool and encouraged among the learners of that institution? In order to overcome obstacles to creating a culture of reflection, teachers and administrators alike must be willing to both recognize the cultural barriers and actively participate in the implementation of methods to break down those barriers. This may involve developing a better understanding of resistance to critical reflection, creating a reward system for critical reflection, providing “real-life evidence” of reflection successfully at work, and/or conveying a legitimate and easily understood rationale for practices relating to the culture of reflection. In addition to those mechanisms, administrators and teachers serving as models of good critically reflective practices creates an environment of open-mindedness, self-evaluation, diversity of opinion, and discovery – all important components in creating a culture of reflection (Brookfield, 1995, pp. 251-263).

It is essential to examine the topic of critical reflection because it is the key to transformative learning. If adult learning theory is, indeed, a “work in progress,” we as educators of adult learners must be willing to foster the same critically reflective behaviors in ourselves that we wish to develop in our students. As educators, we not only must recognize barriers but possess a willingness to confront institutional contradictions in order to become critically reflective educators ourselves and create a true culture of reflection.

References

Brookfield, Stephen D. (1995). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Brookfield, S. (1987). Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Fiddler, M. and Marineau, C. (2008). Developing Habits of Reflection for Meaningful Learning.   New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 118, 75-85.

Lamoreaux, A. and Taylor, K. (2008). Teaching with the Brain in Mind. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 119, 49-59.

Lowe, M., Rappolt, S., Jaglal, S., & MacDonald, G. (2007). The role of reflection in implementing learning from continuing education into practice. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 143-148.

Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. San Francisco. CA: Jossey-Bass.