Preface

While my personal learning journey has led me to question, adopt, refine, or reject various pedagogical ideas, I had never thought to evaluate or describe my “process” for becoming a better educator. But in the search for material for this book, I came across Reflection: Turning Experiences into Learning.¹ In the second chapter, written by J. P. Powell, I found the perfect written expression of my experience as an educator:

“My own practice, like that of the great majority of teachers, was not derived from any carefully devised theoretical position, but was based upon beliefs and insights which had emerged in a very ad hoc and leisurely manner over a number of years of experience of trying to assist others to learn.”*

So where does an educator looking to improve their practice turn for guidance and professional development outside of self-reflection and trial and error? Keynote speakers and edu-books, that’s where!

In my experience attending professional development sessions, it is common to find little to no research mentioned in support of the main topic. Often the speaker will develop the topic with humorous anecdotes and exemplars of their interventions, perhaps provide some statistical data of the success or failures of some pedagogical approach, and may even offer up a name or two of a leading figure in that area; but, rarely is the audience provided with details of academic research evidence and/or time to digest these research findings. This lack of research support appears as a commonality through my experience in reading popular edu-books. The pattern of topic development mirrors a standard professional development session, and again, it is rare to find much in way of supporting research. These books often neglect to include academic research footnotes and an end-of-book reference list.

Which brings me to this book—it is difficult enough to find time outside of the basic demands of educating students to read educational literature, let alone dig into academic research (I acknowledge that not everyone is clamoring to read research). But I argue that if educators can be made aware of the supporting research connecting new pedagogical approaches, it will make them more likely to invest some of their precious class time to incorporating new or unfamiliar strategies.

The trends of technology use and personalized learning options in today’s classroom has increased the need for student agency. This makes the investigation into, and inclusion of, the skills a student requires to take more control the keystone of our current situation. This book contains my investigation into skills learners need to navigate our current and future educational landscape—specifically the skill of reflection. The aim of this book is to provide educators with a research-based guide outlining ways to improve learning outcomes by scaffolding and honing student reflective practice.

The book is split into two sections—Theory and Practice. The Theory section provides detail into the background, theoretical frameworks, terminology disputes, and research in support of reflection in the classroom. To maintain the flow of the writing, the research links are noted in-text, and listed at the back of the book in the Reference section. Relevant research was pared down based on two criteria: the importance of the work and recency of the study. Where possible, the references are hyperlinked to an open-access channel—to encourage exploration beyond these pages. If you would prefer to skip the research and move right into the “how to” of the Practice section—fine. The Practice section contains research-backed activities and insights to get started with reflective practice immediately. For accessibility, the graphics have been reproduced on an associated WordPress site in alternate format to make available to assistive technologies.

Dig in and enjoy!