Reflective Writing #2

PID 3100 – Assignment 4: Reflection 2 has us reflecting on quotes out of Merriam & Bierema’s Adult Learning – Linking Theory and Practice textbook. I chose my second reflective writing assignment to be on Merriam & Bierema’s quote :

“learning from one’s experience involves not just reflection, but critical reflection” (p. 117)

Below is the full text of my reflection.

Assignment 4: Reflection 2

Objective

My second reflective writing assignment will be on Merriam & Bierema’s (2014) quote “learning from one’s experience involves not just reflection, but critical reflection” (p. 117). Here, Merriam & Bierema are exploring “a more postmodern and critical stance on reflective practice” (p. 117). We can interpret “critical reflection” as reflection involving critical thinking. Brookfield (as cited in Merriam & Bierema, 2014) defines critical thinking as “the ability to assess your assumptions, beliefs, and actions” (p. 222).

Reflective

This quote caught my attention because, at first glance, it doesn’t appear to be a very profound thought. One must look at the definition of reflection to see what Merriam & Bierema are saying. Gage Canadian Dictionary defines reflection as merely “thinking; careful thinking” (Gage Educational Publishing Company, 1983, p. 946). It is in this simplistic definition that I can see the need to stipulate critical reflection as a key component to learning. I question the validity of the quote as my interpretation of the language is that you must critically reflect on your experience in order to derive any educational value from it.

Interpretive

My “Aha!” moment when reading this quote was the realization that this quote is very much context based. Adult Education covers many disciplines and to be sure, critical reflection is extremely important in many of them. Reflecting on how this quote pertains to the vast majority of skills taught in the trades, I don’t believe critical reflection is necessary for the procedural learning portion of the course.

One insight I gained from this quote is that when the experiential learning is relating to personal growth, it is absolutely necessary to reflect critically. It is not enough to think carefully about what happened to us. We must assess our assumptions, beliefs, and actions in an effort to determine what we could have done better and if we may have been wrong. As Scott Berkun puts it, “You can only learn from a mistake after you admit you’ve made it. As soon as you start blaming other people (or the universe itself), you distance yourself from any possible lesson” (Berkun, 2011).

Decisional

I don’t take issue with critical thinking, On the contrary, I believe it is very important in the trades. I take issue with the belief that experiential learning isn’t learning without critical reflection.

In my role of Instructor I will continue to teach procedural tasks such as how to solve math equations without much thought of reflection, critical or otherwise. The students will learn the method through repetition and need not reflect much on it beyond where they failed to follow the method.

When I come to lessons on safety and best work practices, then I will make use of critical reflection. In the trades it is often thought that safety standards are overkill and do not need to be followed. I believe a great deal of critical reflection on this point would be beneficial by showcasing specific situations where bad things do happen. I will prompt students to self-evaluate their own safety practices and have them think of ways to be safer to avoid such tragic situations.

References

Berkun, S. (2011). How to Identify and Learn From Your Mistakes. Retrieved from

http://lifehacker.com/5863490/how-to-learn-from-your-mistakes

Gage Educational Publishing Company (1983). Gage Canadian Dictionary. Toronto, ON:

Gage Publishing Limited.

Merriam, S. B. & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult Learning. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons