Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking

“The problems of this ambiguity for research have been already highlighted, for example, by Rodgers (2002), whereas others (e.g., Akbari, 2007; Mena, Sanchez, & Tillema, 2011) have also stressed the problems that an ambiguous notion of reflection may imply for teachers’ practice and for the…”

“Moreover, reflective thinking facilitates learning and enables deeper understanding of the relationships and connections between ideas and/or experiences (Rodgers, 2002).”

“Based on detailed analysis of Dewey’s work, Rodgers (2002) emphasises “that the process of reflection is rigorous and systematic and distinct from other, less structured kinds of thinking.”

“…upon is), the motivational dimension (needs, desires, and goals in that situation), the personal dimension (personality characteristics of a reflective teacher), and the bodily dimension (reflection as an embodied practice) (Boud, 2010; Korthagen & Vasalos, 2009; Rodgers, 2002; Van Manen, 1995).”

“Various commissions, boards, foundations, states, and local school districts identify developing reflective skills as a standard toward which all teachers and students must strive (Rodgers, 2002).”

“It should be noted that, according to many authors, the possibility of interaction is a determining condition for inducing reflection (Butke, 2006; Mann, Gordon, & Macleod, 2009; Rodgers, 2002; Page 9 of 14 Teekman, 2000).”

“According to Dewey and echoed by Rogers (2002) and Hatton and Smith (1995), reflection on and for action is a purposeful cognitive activity that teachers use to analyze, and evaluate data and phenomena in order to affect the educational process as well as the interplay between research and practice…”

“Reflection as a set of attitudes, (criterion four), ‘requires attitudes that value the personal and intellectual growth of oneself and of others’ (Rodgers, 2002, p. 845).”

“On the other hand, the literature on reflection is a reminder that reflection cannot not be reduced to a checklist of behaviors as it is a “complex, rigorous, intellectual, and emotional enterprise that takes time to do well” (Rodgers, 2002, p. 844).”

“Although reflective thinking has a variety of meanings in teacher education (Rodgers, 2002), common elements include understanding a dilemma or problem from multiple perspectives and questioning taken-for-granted assumptions, routines, rationalizations, and explanations (Loughran, 2002).”

“The focus on experience was essential, as it was (and still is) considered as the root for developing meaningful learning (e.g., Boyd & Fales, 1983; Mezirow, 1990; Roberts, 2012; Rodgers, 2002) but also for engaging the learner in the learning process.”

“This is displayed primarily as a systematic, disciplined process of giving experiences meaning and value in relation to other experiences (Dewey, 1910; Rodgers, 2002).”

“is more than encouraging teachers to bring something to mind (Dewey, 1933; Rodgers, 2002).”

“Reflection is a meaning-making process that moves learners from one experience into another with deeper understanding of their practices and their connections to other experiences and ideas (Oliver et al., 2005; Rodgers, 2002).”

“…and systematic” research method because the practitioner must 1) describe observations from an experience in detail, 2) analyze the experiences to generate theories, and 3) test theories about experiences through interactions between one’s self, others, and environment (Rodgers, 2002, p. 863).”

“It has been argued to be a naturally (yet rarely) occurring thinking process that relates to meaning-making from experience and can be characterized to be systematic, rigorous, and disciplined (Clarà, 2015; Dewey, 1933; Rodgers, 2002).”

“The paper develops a theoretical and conceptual model for CKB process by modifying Stahl’s (2000a) model of CKB, pedagogy of reflective thinking (Herrington & Oliver, 2002; Rodgers, 2002), and uses constructs of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) (Engestrom, 2001) for analysing the data.”

“For example, if in theory reflexive inquiry is infinitely circular, then how can and when do RML sessions conclude? The introspective character of reflection and reflexivity also makes links between RML and the practical outcomes of this activity difficult to obtain (Ghaye, 2000; Rodgers, 2002) which runs the risk of…”

“Inspired by Carol Rodgers’ (2002b) reflective cycle, a coding scheme was developed that distinguished deep from surface-level reflections as those that go beyond description of experience to provide details about how the experience affected or changed a student’s way of thinking.”

“…that problem-solvers possess in various contexts to solve problems effectively and efficiently, Lee (1999) referred to this activity as the ‘problem context’, Rodgers (2002) referred to it as ‘presence to experience’, and Zehavi and Mann (2005) referred to it as the ‘selection of techniques’.”

“This level reflects the main description of a reflective thinker, namely, a problem solver who encounters problems but perseveres by considering various strategies for these problems to the end (Rodgers, 2002).”

“Rozmajzl (1992) asked 77 university instructors who taught music method courses to complete a survey during a 3-day colloquium on music teacher programs. Sixty-eight questionnaires were returned representing 88% of the sample. These 68 participants represented universities in 30 states in the nation. They were asked t…”

“Perhaps they fail because reflection is a demanding cognitive activity that is difficult to master (Rodgers, 2002), as it requires one to “decentre” (Bolam, Gleeson, & Murphy, 2003) and to step back from one’s own practice and “[visualize] oneself over time and place” (Stronach, Garratt, Pearce, &…”

“More recently, John Dewey’s criteria for defining reflection were updated by characterizing reflection as a meaning-making process, a systematic and rigorous application of scientific inquiry, and an activity that must happen in the context of a community, particularly one that values attitudes of personal and intelle…”

“Although the importance of reflection on the part of students is clear, there is substantial disagreement about what constitutes reflection, whether there are different types of reflection, and what effects reflection might have on teachers' practices and students’ learning (Rodgers, 2002).”

“In order to compare the goodness-of-fit for the two models, maximum likelihood estimation, a technique commonly conducted for confirmatory factor analysis (Pallant, 2011), was used since there were no universally accepted set of criterion to prove model fit (Kline, 2011).”

“This does not mean that individuals are empty-minded or blindly accepting of new ideas; rather they are prepared to entertain different perspectives and not to cling too tightly to their own (Rodgers, 2002).”

“As Rodgers [39] has pointed out reflective thinking is not end itself, but rather a tool to transform an experience into meaning filled theory that is grounded in practice, informed by existing theory, and serves a bigger purpose of making society better.”

“It is relevant to Rodgers (2002) stated reflection is a systematic, rigorous, disciplined way of thinking, with its roots in scientific inquiry.”

“Still, the subject could solve non-routine problems through formulated patterns, that is, patterns provided by the problems (Rodgers, 2002).”

“Going back to Dewey, Rodgers (2002) points out that human attitudes fall into two categories: to see what we wish to see, rather than accept the evidence before us, or to believe the worst even if unsubstantiated.”

“Medicine, nursing, and pharmacy are among the disciplines that are adapting these types of reflective processes in curricula to aid in learning as well as improve patient care.(13-21) The extent of medical residents’ reflection has been explored 13-15 and showed that physicians’ decision-making skills were improved in…”

“Indeed, students must be ready to reflect indicating that openness towards reflection is necessary:” . . .an additional quality is necessary in the person—a quality of being present to the nature of the experience and an openness to its potential meanings” (Rodgers, 2002, p. 850).”

“The findings based on this framework support educators’ and re-searchers’ claim that critical self-reflections deriving from a conceptual frame should become a habit of mind for preservice teachers’ professionalism (Artz, 1999; Randi & Corno, 2000; Rodgers, 2002).”

“Based on a review of Dewey’s works, Rodgers (2002) defines reflection as follows: Reflection is … a tool or vehicle used in the transformation of raw experience into meaningfilled theory that is grounded in experiences, informed by existing theory, and serves the larger purpose of the moral growth…”

“It is John Dewey’s (1933) work that serves as the “roots of reflection” (Rodgers, 2002).”

“Models of experiential learning and reflective learning stemming from the work of Dewey (1910/1933) abound and are too vast to discuss in detail (e.g. Boud et al., 1985; Fendler, 2003; Kolb, 1984; Mezirow, 1991, 2000; Rodgers, 2002; Schon, 1983, 1987, 1991; Shermis, 1999).”

“…the idea that reflective thinking practices are meant to make meaning and create a relationship with their learning experiences and other experiences in the classroom to create continuity (Rodgers, 2002) which can further enhance their teaching skills as well as develop critical thinking skills.”

“Schon (1991) and Rodgers (2002) also support Dewey’s viewpoint about reflection in problem-solving, but Mezirow’s (1991) theory provides more details about reflection.”

“(Rogers, 2002, p. 860).”

“Adult learning scholarship, more generally, also continues to struggle articulating affect’s significance beyond how it supports or inhibits critical thinking (Boud & Walker, 1993; Dirkx, 2001; Rodgers, 2002; Taylor, 2009).”

“Despite ubiquitous standing as a guiding principle in teacher education, there is no singular or unified definition of reflective practice (Rodgers, 2002).”

“The aspects of the reflective thinking components are examined in the study adapted from Dewey [20], Lee [21], Rodgers [22] and Zehavi and Mann [23] which are detailed in the following Table 1.”

“Lastly, Rodgers (2002) claims that "student learning should guide teaching and practice.”

“Building upon Dewey's theory, Rodgers (2002) further expanded it by identifying four main elements of reflective thinking.”

“In Anlehnung an die bislang vorgestellten Stufenmodelle, kann hierbei auch von einer technischen, oberfläch-lichen Auseinandersetzung, mit dem Ziel möglichst schnell ein Problem zu lösen bzw.”

“Rodgers (2002) exempli fi ed this with the rhetorical question: How many apples had fallen on heads before Newton perceived the inherent signi fi cance of the event?”

“Vol 36, 1 January 2011 8  Week 8: Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective thinking (Rodgers, 2002) This reading was set later in the semester and the early career teachers had had some time to become familiar with the demands of this task and to develop deeper relationships with the members of…”

“For Dewey, reflection must lead to action but this, while not definitive but a hypothesis, is different from routine action because of the preceding thought; it is intelligent action (Rodgers 2002).”

“Since reflection is a disciplined thinking process with systematic stages (Boud et al., 1985; Rodgers, 2002), there are different levels of guidance in directing reflective processes.”

“For professional development to occur, it is important to promote systematic reflection and understand what it consists of (Nel, 2021; Rodgers, 2002; Ulusoy, 2016).”

“Rappa (2019) observed that the simulation experience for PSTs aligns with four criteria distilled from John Dewey’s concept of reflection by Rodgers (2002): PSTs were engaged in a meaning-making process about their actions and reactions in parent-teacher interactions; they were provided with models…”

“In a broader context of technology-supported learning, reflective thinking has been extensively explored as an effective mechanism that mediates and augments learning and thinking (Ghanizadeh, 2017; Oracki, 2021; Rodgers, 2002).”