As a teacher, you will know that learning is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that involves reflection, feedback, and improvement. But how do you reflect on your own teaching practice and learn from your experiences?
One useful framework is Donald Schön's (1983) reflective practice model, which was developed in response to problems of urban planning, but has since been adapted to healthcare, psychiatry, and education.
High ground and lowland
In his 1987 book, Educating the Reflective Practitioner, Schön – a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – suggested that the topography of professional practice can be divided into two main areas: the “high ground” and the “swampy lowland”.
In this analogy, the high ground is where problems are relatively well-defined and can be solved through the application of research-based theory and strategies, whereas the swampy lowland is where problems are messy, confusing, and seemingly defy technical solutions.
Subsequently, we are often faced with a dilemma: should we stay on the high ground, where we can solve generalised problems according to prevailing standards of best practice, or should we descend into the swampy lowland, where we might need to tackle problems through on-the-spot, but less certain, solutions?
For Schön, this dilemma arises from two sources:
- The prevailing idea of rigorous professional knowledge, based on technical rationality.
- The awareness of indeterminate, swampy zones of practice that lie beyond the canons of technical rationality.
Personally, I feel that my own practice mixes both these sources and, therefore, I think it is worth considering them a little further.
Technical rationality
Technical rationality is an epistemological approach that views knowledge as objective and certain. It assumes that problems can be solved through the application of scientific methods and techniques.
In education, technical rationality is probably best described as “evidenced-based” or “evidence-informed” practice, which I have critically discussed in previous SecEd articles, most notably this piece from January 2024.
While technical rationality is an essential dimension to our professional practice, and only a complete fool would ignore the importance of evidence-informed practice, Schön argues that it is not always appropriate. Moreover, in the swampy lowland, where problems are chaotic and uncertain, he suggests that technical rationality can even be a liability.
Despite the above, my own view is that evidence-informed practice, which arguably suggests we need to apply technical rationality in a more contextual way than evidence-based practice, is conceptually compatible with Schon’s ideas on reflection outlined below.
The reflective practitioner
Therefore, Schön (1983) proposed the concept of the “reflective practitioner” to address the limitations of technical rationality. He argued that practitioners need to be able to reflect on their individual practice in order to make informed decisions.
Essentially, the reflective practitioner is not afraid to enter the swampy lowland. They are willing to experiment and take risks in order to solve problems. They are also aware of the limits of their knowledge and are humble enough to ask for help when they need it, which Schön (1987) later called “professional artistry”.
According to Schön, professional artistry is the ability of practitioners to act effectively in unique, uncertain, and conflicted situations. He argues that professionals can act at three levels of reflective activity:
- Knowing-in-action: This is the ability to do something skilfully without necessarily being able to explain how you are doing it. For example, a skilled teacher may be able to create a positive learning environment in their classroom but cannot articulate the specific things they are doing to achieve this.
- Reflection-in-action: This is the ability to think about what you are doing while you are doing it. For example, a teacher may notice that a student is struggling to understand a concept, and they may reflect on their own teaching to see if they can adjust their approach.
- Reflection-on-action: This is the ability to think about what you have done after the fact. For example, a teacher may reflect on a lesson they taught and think about what they could have done differently to improve it.
Although Schön believes that knowing-in-action, or – in other words – expert practice, even intuition, resulting from experience, is essential for professional artistry, it is not enough.
Here, reflection-in-action allows us to respond to unexpected challenges and to make adjustments to our plans as needed, whereas reflection-on-action allows us to learn from our experiences and to improve our practice over time.
For instance, we might need to use ideas and strategies that are unique to our classrooms and colleagues and, more often than not, are accessible through collaborative discussions, non-hierarchical coaching, old school mentoring or even our own creative innovations; we should never be restricted by other people’s generic enforcement of “best practice” (this is not, however, the same as ignoring it).
How do we become reflective practitioners?
Although various researchers have written articles on how to be a reflective practitioner (see below), here are some basic strategies for applying Schön's ideas in your own teaching:
Plan your lessons carefully: Before you teach, take some time to think about your lesson objectives, activities, and assessment methods. This will help you stay focused during the lesson and make sure that you are covering the material you need to cover (Olteanu, 2017).
Be mindful of what is happening in the classroom: While you are teaching, pay attention to how your students are reacting to the material and activities. Are they engaged? Are they confused? Are they making progress? This information can help you to make adjustments to your teaching at the moment; you might want to take a critical approach to this (Brookfield, 2017).
Reflect on your teaching after each lesson: After each lesson, take some time to reflect on what went well and what could have gone better. What were your students' learning outcomes? What were the challenges and opportunities that you faced? What would you do differently next time? For ideas on what to reflect on, there is a useful resource from the University of South Florida (see further information).
Talk to your colleagues about your reflections: Sharing your reflections with other teachers can help you get different perspectives and ideas. It can also help you feel supported and validated in your practice. Evidence and professional experience suggest this is extremely beneficial (Darling–Hammond & Richardson, 2009; Enser, 2021).
Use peer observations to facilitate reflection: Despite caution from the likes of David Didau (2020), peer observations and the “lesson study” framework can be a worthwhile enterprise for joint reflection (Kanellopoulou & Darra, 2019).
Keep a reflective journal. A reflective journal is a great way to track your reflections over time. It can also help you identify patterns in your teaching and make improvements (Vujnovic & Medic, 2022).
Final thoughts
Schön's theory has been influential in the field of education, including the development of reflective practice among trainees and experienced teachers (Aubrey & Riley 2022; Smith, 2011). Although it has received criticism (Collin et al, 2013), various studies suggest it has helped teachers to better understand the importance of reflection in their practice (see, for example, Edwards, 2007).
The topography of professional practice is a complex one. Practitioners need to be able to navigate the high ground and the swampy lowland effectively. The reflective practitioner is one who is able to do this. They are able to use technical rationality when appropriate, but they are also willing to step outside of the box and think creatively. They are the ones who are best equipped to solve the problems that matter most.
- Andrew Jones is assistant headteacher at The Reach Free School in Hertfordshire. Follow him on X (Twitter) @abowdenj and find his previous articles for SecEd via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/andrew-jones
Further information & resources
- Aubrey & Riley: Understanding and Using Educational Theories, SAGE, 2022.
- Brookfield: Becoming A Critically Reflective Teacher, Jossey Bass, 2017.
- Collin, Karsenti & Komis: Reflective practice in initial teacher training: critiques and perspectives, Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, (14,1), 2013.
- Darling–Hammond & Richardson: Teacher learning: What matters? Educational Leadership, (66,5), 2009.
- Didau: Intelligent Accountability, John Catt Educational, 2020.
- Edwards: Primary trainees' reflection-in-action. Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics, (27,1), 2007.
- Enser: Why talking to colleagues is vital – especially now, Tes, 2021: tes.com/magazine/archived/why-talking-colleagues-vital-especially-now
- Kanellopoulou & Darra: Benefits, difficulties, and conditions of lesson study implementation in basic teacher education: A review, International Journal of Higher Education, 2019.
- Olteanu: Reflection-for-action and the choice or design of examples in the teaching of mathematics, Mathematics Education Research Journal volume, (29), 2017.
- Schön: The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action, Basic Books, 1983.
- Schön: Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions, Jossey-Bass, 1987.
- Smith: Donald Schön: Learning, reflection and change, The Encyclopaedia of Pedagogy and Informal Education, 2011.
- University of South Florida: Lesson plan & implementation: Reflection and analysis: https://tinyurl.com/297cpujf
- Vujnovic & Medic: The use of reflective journals in professional development. Linguistics and Culture Review, (6,S5), 2022.