4.1 Critical reflection in reading and writing
As part of your ITE course you may be asked to produce written work which demonstrates critical reflection.
Reading for critical analysis and reflection involves:
- Making judgements about the way arguments are made in the text.
- Are they convincing?
- Are they based on reliable evidence?
- Considering the arguments from a detached position which allows you to carefully scrutinise what is being said.
- What is missing or doesn’t relate to my understanding of the issues?
- Reading to understand different ways of thinking about a subject rather than just collecting information or quotes.
- Considering how the literature relates to your own practical experiences.
- Does it support, challenge or even undermine your experiences?
Writing in a critically reflective and analytical style involves applying these ideas to help you develop arguments, use evidence and demonstrate the link between theoretical perspectives and experiences in practice. The following activity will help you to understand what is meant by critically reflective writing.
Activity 4: Identifying critical reflection
Timing: Time: 30 minutes
- Read the extracts from the lesson evaluations of two student teachers who team taught the same lesson, Lesson analysis.
- Using different colours, highlight what is descriptive, what is analytical and what is reflective.
- Come to a conclusion about whether each student teacher has been critically reflective.
Having considered what critical reflection is, we will now think about how to ensure reflection leads to effective learning.