6 Tools for reflection

In your ITE course you may be asked to demonstrate your ability to critically reflect in a number of ways. Some commonly used tools include:

• learning journals (via blogs or off-line formats)
• webfolios
• written assessment tasks at designated points in the ITE course
• lesson evaluations
• tutorials or meetings with your mentor or tutor.

Whatever the format, these tools provide an opportunity to demonstrate deep level reflection, but are all susceptible to the kind of surface level reflection that Ixer, Finlay and Laboskey warn against.

So how can you evaluate whether you are using these tools effectively? One answer is to develop an understanding of some models of reflection, which will help you shape your responses and guide you as to what you may be missing out. The next section will introduce you to a few models.