Bruce Macfarlane a & Lesley Gourlay b
As part of our lecture on observations on teaching practice, I read the paper entitled ‘The reflection game: enacting the penitent self’ by Bruce Macfarlane a & Lesley Gourlay
Bruce Macfarlane & Lesley Gourlay (2009) The reflection game: enacting the penitent self, Teaching in Higher Education, 14:4, 455-459, DOI: 10.1080/13562510903050244
Is reflection in educational practice the academic equivalent of a game show? Bruce McFarlane seems to think so, although this article dates back to 2009, the very height of the reality show boom, it still contains pertinent points to pedagogy.
He states the intention of the article is to “open up a debate about the use of reflection in the assessment of students in higher education”.
What debate? My whole educational practice is driven by reflection. Are we giving our students the tools and knowledge they need and expect? I hope so.
To win at the ‘Reflection game’ McFarlane gives 3 tips:
Tip 1: eat humble pie
Reflective exercises impose certain expectations. The requirement for us to point out the failings in our practice, anxiety, talking at, rather than to, students and all the many perils and pitfalls the modern educator faces.
He then goes on to say…
Tip 2: revelation brings conversion.
“Through penitence comes learning” Your whole perspective on teaching is changed due to an interaction from a peer or mentor, or possibly the views of a student.
Espousing various ‘commitments’ evidences your ideological conversion: to encouraging ‘deep’ as opposed to ‘surface’ learning, to ‘andragogic’ principles, to widen participation, use e-learning in your teaching and, indeed, anything else that might currently be in vogue within your university’s strategic plan (insert flavour of month).
Bruce Macfarlane & Lesley Gourlay (2009) The reflection game: enacting the penitent self, Teaching in Higher Education
His final tip,
Tip 3: toe the line…or else!
Taking issue with any aspect of this conventional pot-pourri of received wisdom is a dangerous strategy.
Questioning the ‘Status Quo’ of learning, or being happy with your currently delivery, is seen as a ‘no no’.
The line that resonates with me the most is this:
“While learning and teaching certificates are often portrayed as independent postgraduate programmes, the reality is that many are ‘aligned’ very closely with institutional expectations. Passing the certificate (which is often a condition of your probation too) requires demonstration that you are ‘committed’ to the institution’s espoused values.”
As someone who screams non-academia, this is currently my path view.
Mcfarlane then goes on to state, from his own university experience has made him increasingly doubtful of the merits of imposing this particular form of assessment on students.
“It promotes conformism to a narrow set of values which are left unexamined and can also impact negatively on students from certain disciplines (and cultures) schooled to write in a more formal and technical manner. For these students a reflective style of writing – with the need to be personal and self-revelatory is essentially alien to their disciplinary discourse. This can result in a higher relative failure (or referral) rate among such groups. “
Mcfarlanes referenced and evidenced cynicism may have been relevant at the time but here is the kicker, at time of writing, university fees, at £3000, were 66% less than the £9000 plus that they are currently (2023). Relevant? Maybe. Pertinent, definitely.
A poll from the guardian in Aug 2022 stated that
‘The poll of nearly 1,500 adults found that just over half said the current level of fees in England and Wales was bad value for money, while only one in five said it was good value.
Graduates were more likely to agree than non-graduates, with 69% of graduates saying that £9,250 was bad value, compared with 47% of non-graduates.”
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/aug/31/england-and-wales-university-fees-bad-value-for-money-survey
Lets be honest, reflection works, according to Anu Sööt and Ele Viskus:
“Developing students’ reflection on their learning is currently one of the major learning goals in higher education. Today’s students need to be prepared to function in the rapidly changing world of professional practice. In line with the above, reflection is currently a key concept in teacher education.”
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.591
The reality is, at this price, we are both educators and service providers. Our students have an expectation that we need to fulfil now more than ever. If our students want the reality show they have paid so highly to be a part of, we have no choice but to air it for them.