Co-creating time and space for
productive reflection in the working
environment: implications for practice
Wednesday 25th April 2012
John Driscoll
www.supervisionandcoaching.com
Before we start….
…perhaps this sums up reflection
and reflective practice….?
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Key workshop aims are
to…. ‘rethink’ ways in
which reflection is (or can
be) used in practice…..
….enhance YOUR own work
as leaders and managers
through more ‘productive
reflection’ at work
Today we can address some or
all of the following….
• Consider the challenge of thinking for oneself
• Think about the components of a thinking
environment at work
• Consider the changing face of reflection and
reflective practice
• What is meant by productive reflection at work?
• Perhaps you are doing it already….. applying
productive reflection in busy work environments
• How can productive reflection support the
development of the new N&M strategy?
• Other…….?
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Thinking for yourself is
challenging!
• How many of you spent your childhood…
and much of your teen years learning ‘how
to fit in’ rather than think for yourselves?
• What authorities do we look to for what to
think?
• Is doing what everybody else does….. and
thinking what everybody thinks rewarded?
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Finding the time to
think….
…as well using reflection in our
work situations as leaders and
managers!
What sorts of conditions
support a ‘Thinking
Environment’…….?
(Kline 2004)
Activity 1: The 10 components of a
thinking environment
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The Thinking Environment
• Attention
• Incisive
questions
• Equality
• Appreciation
• Ease
• Encouragement
• Feelings
• Information
• Place
• Diversity
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From thinking to
reflection….what’s
the difference?
Reminding ourselves what we
mean by reflective practice
Activity 2
Reflection described….
(not a new idea)….key elements?
…..we do not learn by
doing….we learn by
doing…..and then
realising what came of
what we did…..
(John Dewey 1929
p367)
….. a process of
internally examining
and exploring an issue
of concern, triggered
by an experience,
which creates and
clarifies meaning in
terms of self, and
which results in a
changed conceptual
perspective….
(Boyd & Fales 1983
p113)
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Why the need for reflective
practice at work….examples?
• To become more aware of what we
do….through support and feedback
• To lessen the gap between what we say
we will do and what we actually do
• Prior solutions may not work even if
similar….our emphasis on similarities
rather than differences
• Other reasons….?
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The changing
face of reflective
practice…beyond
the reflective
practitioner!
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Organisational
……not just
individual
approaches to
reflection......
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•Critical reflection
•Public reflection
•Productive reflection
•Organising reflection
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Defining productive reflection
• …..reflection is far from being an isolating
act of solely personal benefit….it is a key
to learning to improve production and to
making working life more satisfying
(Cressey & Docherty 2006 p2)
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Key features of productive
reflection (Cressey et. al 2006)
• Organisational rather than individual intent and
collective rather than individual orientation
• Contextualised within work and connecting
learning to work
• Multiple stakeholders and connects players
• Generative rather than instrumental
• Developmental in nature
• Open and unpredictable process that changes
over time
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How is productive reflection
being applied…or could be applied
to your own work as leaders and
managers? ….. Activity 3
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And finally….why
the need to reflect
in organisations?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kH
W3zmZwI0
References
• Boud, D. (undated) Relocating reflection in the context of
practice: Rehabilitation or rejection? [online]:
www.bretton.ac.uk/medicine/meu/lifelong06/P_DavidBou
d.pdf accessed12/3/12
• Boud, D. Cressey, P. Walker, D. (2006) Productive
Reflection at Work Routledge: Abingdon, UK.
• Kline, N (2004) Time to Think Listening to Ignite the Human
Mind Cassell Illustrated: London.
• Raelin, J. A. (2002) I Don’t Have Time to Think!’ versus the
Art of Reflective Practice Reflections [online]: www.globalleader.org/Reflective%20Practice%20Article.pdf accessed
10/4/12
• Vince, R. Reynolds, M. Organising Reflective Practice
[online]:
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/conf/olkc/…/Contributi
on115.pdf accessed 4/4/12
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