4.3 Applying critical and reflective thinking in academic and professional contexts: education perspective – classroom practice

Introduction

As a professional, learning from your experiences is a core component of your personal and professional development. There are instances where your response to specific tasks, activities, and duties challenge your values, perceptions, assumptions and interpretations of the world around you. Sometimes contradictions emerge between what you have read, and how that translates into practice. In other cases, it could be a result of other factors such as context, organisational culture or belief system(s) of people you interact with. Experiencing contradictions, whether between members of staff or between practice and literature, can have an emotional impact. However, viewing these contradictions as an opportunity to learn enables you to turn them into a positive experience. A good way of dealing with this is through discussing the issue with colleagues at work, peers on your course, friends who may be interested in what you do, and to test your understanding.