Week 3 : Being critically reflective

As we believe it is important for people undertaking critical reflection to have an appreciation of the different theoretical traditions.

The four theoretical traditions underpinning critical reflection 1. The reflective approach to theory and practice 2. Reflexivity 3. Postmodernism and deconstruction 4. Critical social theory

Reflective practice as an idea builds on the notion of reflection on experience, and applies it specifically to learning in the field of professional practice.
Fook, J.,Gardner.,(2007) Fiona. Practising Critical Reflection : A Handbook. Buckingham, GB: Open University Press.

Below is a direct copy of the email sent from Judith Ayre " Critical Reflectiontopic for the BBC tomorrow. Please Read Learning activity 4.2 from week 4"  received 27/2/17"As a process, critical thinking involves adults in recognising andresearching the assumptions that undergird their thoughts and actions (Brookfield,1987).
Assumptions are the taken-for-granted beliefs about the world and our place within it that seem so obvious to us that they do not seem to need to be statedexplicitly. Assumptions give meaning and purpose to who we are and what we do. In many ways we are our assumptions. So much of what we think, say, and do is based on assumptions about how the world should work and about what counts as appropriate, moral action. Yet frequently these assumptions are not recognized for the provisional understandings they really are. Ideas and actions that we regard as commonsense conventional wisdoms are often based on uncritically accepted assumptions. Some person, institution, or authority that we either trust or fear has told us that this is the way things are and we have accepted them unquestioningly. When we think critically, we research these assumptions for the evidence and experiences that inform them" (Brookfield, 1997)
Fook and Gardner (2007) define a two-stage process as a way of engaging with connections between: * An experience  - a specific experience is a useful starting point; * the emotions, thought, reactions and actions related to that experience; * what matters about the experience, including related assumptions and values at a fundamental level; and * the influence of social context and history both individually and collectively with the expectation of the critically      reflective process leading to socially just change (Gardner, 2014 p. 24).
 They offer the following questions  questions to aid critical reflection (Fook & Gardner, 2007, p. 75):
 Stage one: * What does my account of my critical incident imply about, for example, my basic ideals or values, my beliefsabout power, my view of myself and other people, what I believe about professionalism? * Are there any gaps or contradictions between what I say I do and what is implied by what I do?
 For stage two: * What is behind these contradictions and where do they come from? * How do I handle these contradictions? * What needs to change about my thinking or practice to handle the contradictions?
CRITICAL ANALYTICAL WRITING:
STATES what happened
IDENTIFIES the significance (of what happened)
STATES what something is like 
EVALUATES the strengths and weaknesses
GIVES information
CONTRASTS  one piece of information against another and draws conclusions
EXPLAINS what a theory says
SHOWS WHY a theory is suitable or relevant
NOTES the skills used
IDENTIFIES WHETHER the skills used are appropriate or suitable 
STATES the different components
WEIGHS UP the importance of component parts 
STATES options
GIVES REASONS for selecting each option
LISTS in any order
STRUCTURES information in order of importance
STATES links between information
SHOWS THE RELEVANCE of links between pieces of information
When critically examining theory the Heath (2012)  in section 3 provides a useful framework (p. 16): * Ask whether the argument is logical. * Is the argument based on sound premises? * Do the premises support the conclusion? * Ask for evidence that the truth claim really is a fact and then examine the quality of the evidence for it beinga fact. * Ask about the context in which this ‘fact’ has emerged. How might the context have affected what counts as‘factual’, which  evidence is seen as relevant, and which questions went unasked?* If we can identify a philosophy, theory or approach on which the claim being made is based, we might ask what other theories would say about this claim. * What other approaches exist? How would they respond to this claim? * What are the benefits of the proposal? What are its costs? Who will benefit from this proposal? Who will pay, orbear the costs? * Ask how the medium chosen invites us to accept the overt message/s and the implicit message/s. Is the medium inviting an emotional response that renders us more likely to accept thesemessages?
These are a set of very important questions which must be answered if you want to do well in your essays. I your undergrad or in your psyche essays, you were asked to find a reference to back up your views. In critical analysis you are being asked to question author's truth claims and even look at underlying assumptions behind legitimate research and how the underlying assumptions might skew the research.

x