1

Reflectivesession–Criticalreflection

PowerPointLink: ThePowerPointcanbefoundontheACECQAwebsite

Sessiontitle: CriticalReflection

Date: Sessiontime: Sessionlength: 50minutes

Resources/setup: Confirmed

Laptopordataprojectorand/oraccesstoacomputer(ifavailable) PowerPointpresentation(ifbeingused) Speakingnotes Handout:QA1Infosheet:developingacultureoflearningthroughreflection CopiesoftheGuidetotheNQF CopiesoftheApprovedLearningFrameworksEYLFand/orFSAC Resourcesforactivitiesandexperiences(ifrequired),e.g.postitnotes,whiteboard,largepiecesofpaper,pens,textas,etc.

ACECQA’sQuestforQualitygame

NationalQualityStandard:Standard1.3Assessmentandplanning:Educatorsandco-ordinatorstakeaplannedandreflectiveapproachtoimplementingtheprogramforeachchild.Element1.3.2Criticalreflection:Criticalreflectiononchildren’slearninganddevelopment,bothasindividualsandingroups,drivesprogramplanningandimplementation.Standard7.2Leadership:EffectiveleadershipbuildsandpromotesapositiveorganisationalcultureandprofessionallearningcommunityElement7.2.3Developmentofprofessionals:Educators,coordinatorsandstaffmembers’performanceisregularlyevaluatedandindividualplansareinplacetosupportlearninganddevelopment.ApprovedLearningFramework:Principle5Ongoinglearningandreflectivepractice

Speakingnotes: PPT

2

Welcome/Introduction

Hieveryone,thanksforjoiningmetoday.It’sexcitingtobe

workingtogethertoimproveonpractice.

I’dliketostartbyacknowledgingtheTraditionalOwnersofthis

landandpaymyrespectstoElderspast,presentandemerging

(andanyAboriginalorTorresStraitIslanderpeoplesjoiningus

today).

Overview

Inthisreflectivesessionwewill(readslide):

Remember

It’sbeenabusyday/week,soIthoughtbeforewebeginwecould

takeamomenttoreflectonhowyourdayorweekwentover

somenibbles(ifyouhaveofferedfood).

(Activity)Thinkbackoveryourdayortheweek,andchoose

somethingthatyoureallyenjoyeddoingatwork.Maybeitwasa

newexperiencewiththechildrenthatwaswellreceived.Maybe

youlearntsomethingfromeachotherthatyoudecidedtohavea

goat.Oritcouldhavebeenan‘aha’momentforoneofyour

childrenthatyousharedwithafamily.

Whenthinkingaboutthisspecialmoment,haveachatwiththe

personnexttoyouaboutthishighlightandexplainwhat

happened.Let’stakeabout5minutestochat.

3

Reflectivepractice

Whatwe’vejustbeendoingisaformofreflectionwhichweall

callrememberingorreminiscing.Thisisdifferenttoreflective

practicethough.

Thegoodnewsisthat‘reflectivepractice’issomethingthateach

ofusdoesonadailybasis:Wemakehundredsofdecisionsevery

daywith,about,andforourchildren.Weimplementexperiences

basedonourobservationsofwhatchildrenenjoydoing,what

they‘recapableof,andtheiremergingskillsthattheymayneed

supportwith.Thisiswhatreflectivepracticeisallabout.

Let’sthinkaboutthatspecialmemoryyoujustshared.Nowthink

aboutwhatmadeitaspecialmoment,whowasinvolvedinthe

moment,whendidithappen,hasithappenedbefore,what’sthe

likelihoodofithappeningagain,andwouldyoulikeittohappen

again?

Onceyouhavedonethis,–you’vemadetheleapfromamemory

ofanexperiencetoreflectingonthatexperience.

DonaldSchon,theauthorofTheReflectivePractitioner,sayswe

engageinthreetypesofreflection–reflectionin

action,reflectiononactionandreflectionforaction.(Handout-

QA1Infosheet:developingacultureoflearningthrough

reflection).

Reflectioninactioniswhatwedospontaneouslythroughoutthe

day.Wemightaddmaterialsoraskquestionstoextendchildren's

thinking,orwemightchangeastrategythatwefeelisn'tworking.

4

Whatiscriticalreflection?

Sowhat’sthedifferencebetweenreflectingandcritically

reflecting?

Whenwereflectonanactionwebegintothinkmoredeeply

aboutwhathappenedandthe‘why’behindit.Thisdeeper

thinkingiscalled‘criticalreflection’.Itcantakeplaceatthetime

oftheevent,butusuallytakesplaceaftertheevent.

TheNationalQualityStandardandtheApprovedLearning

Frameworksallrequireustoengageincriticallyreflectivepractice

Sowhatdoesthisactuallymean?

(Activity)Tofindoutlet’sdoanotheractivity;I'mgoingtogive

someofyouacopyoftheGuidetotheNQFandothersacopyof

theEarlyYearsLearningFramework(orifapplicablethe

FrameworkforSchoolAgeCareorVictorianEarlyYearsLearning

andDevelopmentFramework).Findapartnerorformagroup

anddiscoverwheretheterm‘criticalreflection’isidentifiedin

each.(Hint:IntheGuidetotheNQF,takealookattheNQS

summaryonpages90-91andthenturntotherelevantsectionin

theNQSforfurtherinformation).Whenyouhavefoundthis,

choosetwowordsthatyoufeelformpartofthedefinitionof

criticalreflection.(Allow5-10minutesforthisactivityandthen

inviteateammembertowritethesewordsonawhiteboardor

largepieceofpaper.Readtheseout).

Asyoumayhaveseen,intheGuidetotheNQF,‘criticalreflection’

5

wasidentifiedunderQualityArea1oftheNQS,inparticular:

Standard1.3Assessmentandplanning:Educatorsandco-

ordinatorstakeaplannedandreflectiveapproachto

implementingtheprogramforeachchild.Element1.3.2Critical

reflection:Criticalreflectiononchildren’slearningand

development,bothasindividualsandingroups,drivesprogram

planningandimplementation(p.129).Thisdrawsourattentionto

theimportanceofengagingincriticalreflectiontodriveour

programplanningandtheassessmentandplanningcycle.

It’salsoincludedasoneofthethreenewexceedingthemesthat

servicesneedtodemonstrateforastandardtoberated

ExceedingNQS.Didanyonefindthese?They‘reattheendofeach

QualityAreaintheGuidetotheNQF.It’sExceedingTheme2:

Practiceisinformedbycriticalreflection.Whenpracticeis

informedbycriticalreflection,weconsider,question,analyseand

re-evaluateplanninganddecision-makingforthatstandard.This

supportsacultureofongoingself-assessmentthathelpsidentify

continuousimprovementandimprovedoutcomesforchildren,

families,andforus.

IntheEYLF(orFSACorVEYLDF),you’llhaveseenthatit’sinthe

principles,practicesorlearningoutcomes.Reflectivepracticeis

identifiedasoneofthekeyfiveprinciplesofearlychildhood

pedagogyidentifiedintheEYLFonpage13andtheFSAConpage

11thatunderpinspractice.Infactit’sPrinciple5-Ongoing

learningandreflectivepractice.Theseprinciplesreflect

contemporarytheoriesandresearchevidenceaboutchildren’s

Stayonthisslide

6

learning.Theytellusaboutwhatwedo,focusingonassistingour

childrentoworktowardachievingthelearningoutcomes.

So,criticalreflectionislookingatthe‘why’behindallthe

decisionswemake.It’saboutthinkingmoredeeply,honestlyand

criticallyaboutourprofessionalpractices.Forexample,whywe

madethedecisiontointeractthisway,toimplementthis

experienceortoapplythisapproachorpractice.

Whenwecriticallyreflectwe’reidentifyingourthoughtsand

feelings,drawingonourphilosophyabouthowchildrenlearn,

andquestioningiforhowthisconnectswithourearlychildhood

knowledgeandtheknowledgewehaveofourchildren.

TheApprovedLearningFrameworksexplainthatcriticalreflection

involvescloselyexaminingallaspectsofeventsandexperiences

fromdifferentperspectives.Thefocusisalsoonimplicationsfor

equityandsocialjustice(EYLF,pp.13-45,FSCA;pp.11-41,

VEYLDF;pp.8).

Stayonthisslide

Video1

Inthisvideowe’llhearfromCatherineLee,DirectorofThePoint

Preschool,whichhasanoverallratingofExceedingtheNQS.

Whilewatchingit,compareyourthoughtsoncriticalreflection

withthosesharedbyCatherine.(Eitherclickontheimageinthe

slidetoviewthevideooronthelinkunderneaththeimage

whichwilltakeyoutotheYouTubeclip.Itrunsfor2minsand6

secs.)

AsCatherinementioned,criticalreflectionallowsustostepback

7

andnotice.Wecanlookatapractice,situationoreventand

identifyhowwefeelaboutit,whatwentwell,whatdidn’tgoso

well,andwhatwecoulddodifferently.Italsohelpsustoconsider

whetherourpracticesareguidedbyourphilosophy.Beingcriticallyreflectivealsoincludessharingperspectiveswith

eachotherandourfamilies.Thiswaywediscoverotherpointsof

viewandopenourselvesuptodifferentwaysofdoingthings.

Someexamplesofpracticesortopicswemightfindthatwehave

differentperspectivesoncouldincludeourlunchtimeorresttime

practices,theuseofnappiesinthepreschoolroom,dummiesand

soon(inviteyoureducatorstoidentifytopicsrelevanttoyour

setting).

Differentperspectives

TheApprovedLearningFrameworksencourageustoshowa

commitmenttoongoinglearningandreflectivepractice.Theaim

istobuildourprofessionalknowledge.

Whenweexpressourviews,listentoeachotherandcritically

reflectonwhywemadethedecisionswemade,we’reopening

ourmindstonewideas,possiblesolutionsandnewwaysofdoing

things.

LetmejustsaythatIliketothinkofourteamasaprofessional

learningcommunity.Ibelieveweopenlyshareandrespecteach

other’sopinionsandit’smyroletoensurethateveryonefeels

safetodothis.Iamcommittedtosupportingyoualltobepartof

astrongreflectiveandcollaborativeteamofprofessionals,andto

8

ensureeveryonehasavoiceandeveryonefeelsheard.

Asthequoteontheslidereads(readquote).We’readiverse

groupofprofessionalswithdifferentexperiences,viewsand

knowledge.Imightdosomethingonewayandyoumightdo

somethingadifferentway,butourcommongoalisquality

outcomesforourchildrenandfamilies.Ifwediscoverthrough

sharingthatthere’sadifferentwayofdoingsomethingthatmight

resultinabetteroutcome,thenweshouldconsiderandpossibly

adoptthisway.

Criticalreflectionshouldleadtoaction.It’smorelikelytoleadto

changewhenwedoittogether.(Activity)Letsgrouptogetherto

shareourperspectivesontherelevantscenarioontheslide(FDC

orLDC).Wewillreflectinpairsorasagrouponhowwefeel

aboutthescenario,whatweknowandwhattheorieswecan

drawfrom,whatourinitialreactionwouldbeintermsofwhatwe

wanttodoandthenwhatwewouldactuallydo.(Onalargepiece

ofpaperorwhiteboardjotdownandreadoutthetitles:‘How

doyoufeel?’(aboutthescenario),‘Whatdoyouknow?’

(theoriesonroughandtumbleplayorriskyplaywithlooseparts

andnaturalmaterials),‘Whatdoyouwanttodo?’,and‘What

wouldyoudo?’Inviteeveryonetosharetheirknowledgeand

ideasandwritetheseupastheyareshared.Allow10-15

minutesforthisactivity,includingsharing.)

(Readoutwhatwasshared).Let’slookat‘Whatdoyouknow’.

Didyoulearnsomethingneworwereyouremindedofatheory?

Didthissharingknowledgeoftheoriesencourageanyofyouto

Stayonthisslide

9

reconsideryourinitialreactiontothescenario?Inwhatway?This

isoneofthebenefitsofengagingincriticalreflection.

Whycriticallyreflect?

Nowweknowthedifferencebetweenreflectionandcritical

reflection,let’sthinkaboutthebenefitsofbeingcritically

reflective.

Whenwereflectonourprogramsandpracticesandtheprinciples

thatguidethem,we’reengaginginongoinglearningandbeing

thoughtfulaboutourwork.

Whenwecriticallyreflectwe’recloselyexaminingallaspectsof

eventsandexperiencesfromdifferentperspectiveswithafocus

onimplicationsforequity,inclusionanddiversity.Ittakes

reflectivepracticetoadeeperlevelwhereweanalysewhat

happenedandwhy.

Thisdrivesourprogramplanningandimplementationandour

commitmenttoprovidingqualityexperiencesforourchildren.

Partofourcommitmenttoqualityimprovementincludeslooking

foropportunitiestoraisetheoverallqualityoftheservice’s

educationandcareexperiencesforchildren.Criticalreflection

involvesgaininginsightintootherperspectivestobuildonour

knowledgeandskills.Theaimistostrengthenourown

professionalpractice,identifyimprovementsandinformthe

decisionswemake.

Theprocessofcriticalreflectionhelpsustothinkdeeplyabout

10

ourpractices,acknowledgeourstrengthsandcontinuelearning

andstrengtheningourprogram.Puttingcriticalreflectioninto

practiceispartofanongoingcycleofbuilding,testingandre-

buildingtheoriesaboutteachingandlearning.

Criticalreflectionalsoallowsustoaskbiggerquestionssuchas,

‘WhoisadvantagedandwhoisdisadvantagedwhenIworkthis

way?’(EYLF,p.14,FSAC,p.12).

Stayonthisslide

Whatcouldwecriticallyreflecton?

Therearemanyevents,practices,processes,experiencesand

topicswecouldreflectuponinourservice.Thisslideidentifies

justafewexamplestoconsider.

Theyinclude:

• Howourobservationsofchildren’slearningand

developmentinfluenceoureducationalprograms.

• Howourpedagogy(professionalpractice)connectswith

theprinciples,practicesandoutcomesoftheApproved

LearningFrameworks.

• Howeffectiveourinductionandorientationprocessesfor

newfamiliesandchildrenareatbuildingcollaborative

partnershipsandasenseofbelongingfromthebeginning.

• Howweencouragefamiliesandourcommunitytoshare

ideasandprovidefeedback.

Howdoyoudoit?

Thinkbacktothefondmemoryyousharedatthebeginningof

thissession.

11

Nowusethisreflectionandgoalittledeeper.Thisiswhenthe

questions‘why?’and‘how’?’canbeintroduced.Thinkaboutwhy

yourespondedthewayyoudidtothechildinthesituation,how

youfeltaboutthemoment,whyyoumadecertaindecisions,

whatinfluencedyouractions,andwhichtheoreticalperspectives

youdrewuponinyourdecision-making.

Forexample,an‘aha’momentforatoddlertryingtocompletea

puzzle.Younoticedherbecomingfrustratedassheunsuccessfully

attemptedtocompletethepuzzle.Whenyousatdownwithher

younoticedthatitwasalargeinsetpuzzlewithinterconnecting

piecesandyoudecidedtointroduceadifferentpuzzleyoufelt

wouldbemoresuitable.Yousupportedhertocompletethe

puzzlewithoutdoingitforherandsharedinherjoywhenshe

wassuccessful.

Whydidyourespondthatway?Youdrewonyourknowledgeof

childdevelopmentandchildren'scapabilities,aswellaswhatyou

knewaboutthisparticularchild.

(Activity)Nowturntothesamepersonyousharedyourmoment

withatthebeginningofthissessionandtrydelvingdeeperinto

thewhybehindyourdecisions,whetheryouwouldhavedoneit

differently,andwhatyoumightdonext(allow5minutes).

WecanalsousethereflectivequestionsintheEYLFtoprompt

ourthinking,suchas:‘WhoisadvantagedwhenIworkinthis

way?Whoisdisadvantaged?’(p.13).

Stayonthisslide

12

Let’sdoit!

Reflectivepractice,includingcriticalreflection,needstobean

ongoingprocessandI’mheretosupportyouwiththis.

It’simportanttomakethetimeandbeprovidedwith

opportunitiestoreflecteverydayandtocriticallyreflect

regularly.Wecouldreflectinourdailydiariesorpersonal

reflectivejournals,aswellasinourregularmeetings.

Let’sthinkaboutwaysandtimeswecanhavethesereflective

conversations.Itcouldbeaquickchatbetweenshifts,atrest

time,beforeorafterwork,orduringmeetings.(ForFDC:)Onthe

phonetootherFDCeducators,duringcoordinatorvisits,orat

meetings.

Sometimesitcanbedifficultforallofustogettogetherto

criticallyreflectasagroup.Youmightliketopartnerwithanother

memberoftheteamwhocouldbecomeamentororcritical

friendwho’dbeavailabletosharetheirthoughtsonatopic,

observationorevent.

TheApprovedLearningFrameworks(Outcome1)andtheNQS

(1.2.3)saythatweneedtofosterchildren’ssenseofagency.

Whenweinvitechildrentoreflecttheybecomeactiveagentsin

theirownlearningandwerecognisethattheyhavearightto,and

arecapableof,makingdecisionsthataffectthem.

Whenwereflectwithfamiliesweacknowledgethattheyaretheir

child’sfirstandmostsignificanteducator.Sowhatweneedtodo

Stayonthisslide

13

istogetthemtoreflectonourprogramanddiscoverhowwecan

worktogethertosupporttheirchild’slearninganddevelopment.

Also,whenwereflectwithourcommunitywecangainan

understandingofwhatourservicelookslikefromtheir

perspective.Thisfeedbackcanalsoinformthedecisionswemake.

Stayonthisslide

Video2

Inthepreviousslidewelookedatwayswecouldembedcritical

reflectioninoureverydaypractices.

Inthisvideowe’llhearagainfromCatherine,thedirectorofThe

PointPreschool.Shetakesusthroughtheprocessofevaluation,

thewayherteamembedcriticalreflectionintheirpractice,and

howtheyovercomethechallenges.(Eitherclickontheimagein

theslidetoviewthevideooronthelinkunderneaththeimage

whichwilltakeyoutotheYouTubeclip.Itrunsfor2minsand34

secs).

ConclusionSo,thisbringsustotheendofourreflectivesession.

Iwouldliketothankeachandeveryoneofyouforyour

commitmenttoongoinglearning,qualityoutcomesforour

childrenandfamiliesandforworkingtogethertomakeapositive

difference.

Onthenextslidetherearesomesuggestedreadings.Letme

knowifyouhaveanyquestions,orwanttomakeanycomments

orsuggestions.

14

FurtherReadings

Here are some resourceswe can refer to for support on critical

reflection.