The Reflection Process

Different writers describe the reflection process with different labels, but most modern models share the same shape. Reflection is not a one-off event. It is a cycle that loops back on itself, getting sharper each time. Five stages cover the work, and three levels describe how deep the reflection goes.

Two basic properties of reflection

Two properties show up in almost every model.

Reflection is cyclical

Reflection runs in loops. The end of one cycle becomes the start of the next. A teacher reflects on a lesson, makes a change, teaches again, reflects on the result, makes another change. The cycle does not stop. The shapes Kolb, Gibbs, and Johns drew are different, but the cyclical structure is the same.

Reflection is iterative

Each loop refines what came before. The first reflection on a problem may surface a surface explanation. The second loop may reach the underlying assumption. The third may change how the teacher thinks about the whole topic. Reflection does not arrive at the truth in one shot.

The five stages of the reflection cycle

A working version of the cycle has five stages.

Stage 1: collect information

Before reflecting on what happened, gather data. The data does not need to be quantitative. Useful sources:

1. Talking to others. Children, colleagues, parents.
2. Observing colleagues teach. Watching another teacher run a similar lesson reveals what each teacher takes for granted.
3. Being observed. A colleague watches you teach and gives feedback.
4. Observing yourself. A short video recording of a lesson is one of the most powerful tools available, even on a phone.
5. Reviewing lesson plans. Yours and others.
6. Reviewing lesson evaluations. What you wrote at the time, before memory smoothed it out.

A teacher who skips this stage and goes straight to “what should I have done?” is reflecting on a story they constructed, not on the actual situation.

Stage 2: question and analyse

The questioning stage is where reflection deepens or stays shallow. Two kinds of learning sit here.

1. Single-loop learning. Look for a solution to fix a specific problem. The teacher asks, “How do I get students to participate in this kind of activity?” and finds a technique. The frame stays the same.
2. Double-loop learning. Examine the assumptions and theories-in-use behind the practice. The teacher asks, “What am I assuming about participation, and is that assumption right?” The frame can change.

Single-loop learning is faster and easier. Double-loop learning is slower and harder, and produces deeper change. A reflective practitioner uses both, as the situation demands.

The questioning stage also includes viewing the situation from different perspectives (the student’s, a colleague’s, the literature’s) and asking why repeatedly until a useful answer emerges.

Stage 3: plan

Once the questions are clear, plan the response. This is where the teacher develops hypotheses about what might work and picks a strategy to test them.

The strategies available include:

1. Reflective journals or diaries
2. Meetings with a mentor or critical friend
3. A reflective practice blog
4. Action research projects
5. Video review or observation by a peer

The “so what?” question is useful here. So what will I do, given what I have learned? The answer should be specific enough to act on. “I will be more student-centred” is not specific. “I will replace the second example in the Tuesday lesson with a worked problem from a Karachi context” is.

Stage 4: act and do

Reflection without action is incomplete. The act stage is where the plan meets the classroom.

This stage involves:

1. Testing assumptions. Treating the new approach as a hypothesis, not a settled answer.
2. Behavioural experiments. Trying the change for a specified time, with a clear way to tell whether it worked.
3. Asking “now what?” What did I just do, and what did I see?

The act stage produces new data, which feeds back into stage 1 of the next cycle.

Stage 5: review

The review stage closes the loop. The teacher asks “what happened?” and “what next?” The answer to “what next?” becomes the starting point for the next round of collection.

A common mistake is to skip the review stage. The teacher tries something new, sees that it worked or did not, and moves on. Without a review, the lesson learned does not stick.

Van Manen’s three levels of reflection

Within the cyclical process, reflection can sit at one of three depths. Van Manen described three hierarchical levels, each going deeper than the last.

Technical reflection

The most basic level. It focuses on what works in the classroom. The teacher applies knowledge to achieve specific instructional outcomes, and evaluates actions on whether they succeeded or failed.

A technical reflection sounds like: “My questioning sequence broke down at step 3. I will reorder it next time.”

This level is necessary. Without it, the mechanics of teaching never improve. But staying only at this level keeps reflection on the surface.

Practical reflection

The next level. It focuses on the learning experience of the student, not only on the teacher’s technique. It moves beyond technical rationality into investigating, questioning, and clarifying the goals and assumptions behind teaching activities.

A practical reflection sounds like: “My questioning sequence broke down because I assumed students would build on the prior example. They did not, because the prior example was not meaningful to them. The deeper issue is that my examples come from contexts they do not share.”

The practical level produces sharper teaching because it questions what the teaching is for, not only how it is done.

Critical reflection

The highest level. It focuses on what knowledge is of value and to whom. Teachers at this level do not only consider goals, activities, and assumptions; they reflect on the larger context of education and question their practice in connection with ethical and moral issues.

A critical reflection sounds like: “My questioning sequence reflects a particular cultural model of what good thinking looks like. That model privileges some students and disadvantages others. The bigger question is what my teaching is preparing my students for, and whose interests it serves.”

Critical reflection is uncomfortable. It is also the level at which teaching changes most deeply.

Flashcard

What are Van Manen's three hierarchical levels of reflection?

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Answer

Technical, practical, critical

Technical reflection asks what works in this classroom. Practical reflection asks why and what the goals and assumptions are. Critical reflection asks what knowledge is of value, to whom, and what ethical and moral issues sit behind the teaching choices.

A complete reflective practice moves between all three levels, not staying only at the technical surface.

Using the levels and the cycle together

The five-stage cycle and the three levels are complementary. The cycle describes the process. The levels describe the depth.

A teacher early in their career may run the cycle mostly at the technical level. With time and dialogue with colleagues, the same teacher’s reflection deepens to the practical and critical levels. The cycle does not change shape; the depth at which it runs does.

A useful self-check at the end of a reflection: which level did I work at? If every reflection in a term has been technical, the practice is shallower than it could be. If a single reflection touches all three levels, the depth is healthy.