Abstract
Reflective practice supports critical thinking and assessment skills through analyzing one’s own life experiences, and the role of reflection in learning has been long recognized. However, drawbacks of many reflective practice assignments are their broad scope and lengthy written requirements. I propose that the reflection process is robust enough to support management student learning through short written tasks as well. Three examples of brief reflective assignments are presented suitable for management educators teaching undergraduate, graduate, or non-credit learners: (1) writing an organizational story, (2) a reflection about learning from adversity, and (3) a goal-oriented personal change. Learning outcomes and student responses have been positive, and the assignments have also been an insightful teaching experience for the instructor.
Reflective practice, the habit of looking back and analyzing one’s own life experiences, is a process that supports learning and develops critical thinking skills. The role of reflection in learning has been recognized for decades (Dewey, 1938; Richardson, 2005/2006; Schon, 1983), and the reflective observation learning style may provide an important means of deepening student understanding and engagement (Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Raelin & Coghlan, 2006). Many management educators recommend reflective practice for managerial and professional development (Dehler & Edmonds, 2006; Hedberg, 2008; Quijada, McGrath, & Wheaton, 2016). According to Whetten and Cameron (2011), learning to reflect is a key element in mastering the important management skill of self-awareness, and a literature review about management competencies and reflective practice by Segon, Booth, O’Shannassy, and Thompson (2010) notes, “In order for managers to develop, they need to reflect socially on action and experience” (p. 185).
Some scholars have noted that convincing business students to implement reflective practice may be particularly challenging for several reasons (Gosling & Mintzberg, 2004; Gray, 2007). As a professional discipline, management education must grapple with a theory/practice dichotomy and the call for demonstrable bottom-line results; reflective practice may seem like navel-gazing to some overworked managers. Part-time MBA students and executive education participants in particular may resist spending time in reflection, as many are already juggling a full-time job, school, and perhaps family obligations. Furthermore, business school curricula include many quantitative courses that require narrowly focused, linear thinking—classic “left brain” activities—but reflection draws on “right brain” processes such as intuition and creativity.
Thoughtful reflection thus represents a learning tool that requires participants to engage in more holistic approaches to critical thinking and analysis, integrating both brain hemispheres toward effective learning (Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Lindell & Kidd, 2011; Quijada et al., 2016). As Hedberg (2008) notes, “When we reflect, we give the learning a space to be processed, understood, and more likely integrated into further thoughts and actions” (p. 2). The assignments discussed here seek to teach course concepts through using reflection, drawing on Argyris’s (1991) construct of double-loop learning. The exercises were developed to encourage students to consider and challenge their underlying assumptions and values through reflecting on their own experiences.
Assignments to foster reflective practice are used in numerous ways, ranging from independent written analyses to in-class exercises (Cunliffe, 2004; McNeely, 2000) to personal journals (Betts, 2004). The focus of reflective practice may be an academic subject (e.g., Leadership), the individual himself or herself (My Role as a Leader), or the broader context (Why Are Leaders Important in Organizations?). Reflective learning may involve individuals, groups, or organizations (Segon et al., 2010; Smart & Csapo, 2007), and it may be done privately or collectively (Hedberg, 2008).
One major drawback of many reflective assignments is their scope, in that they require intensive, frequent reflection, and corresponding lengthy assessment over time (Verkler et al., 2001). Not all courses lend themselves to a long reflection assignment and not all instructors have time to review reams of reflective text. I propose that the process of reflective practice is robust enough to foster engaged student learning, even in small doses (Smart & Csapo, 2007). The assignments presented here provide an option for management instructors seeking opportunities to teach class concepts through brief reflective tasks. Student learning objectives for using these exercises include the following:
Connecting management class concepts with a professional or personal experience
Reflecting on this experience to analyze what happened, why, and the potential for change (Argyris, 1991)
Developing self-awareness in recognizing the student’s place in the experience
The appendices (available at http://journals.sagepub.com/home/mtr) outline the assignment directions, provide learning outcomes, suggest guidance for debriefing, and offer a sample rubric to assist in instructor grading. The three tasks include writing an organizational story (Appendix A); a reflection about learning from adversity (Appendix B); and an individual change intervention (Appendix C). Instructions for each assignment are intentionally “generic” to allow for instructor use in multiple contexts. Appendix D discusses some of the challenges of these reflective assignments, and Appendix E offers a grading rubric that may be adapted to each exercise.
Reflective Assignment #1: The Organization Story
The first application of reflective practice involves writing a brief organizational story. Stories foster learning because they enable participants to communicate about their experiences, concerns, and dilemmas they face (Abma, 2003; Schor, Sims, & Dennehy, 1996). Organization narratives provide an opportunity for sense-making about management issues such as a leader’s goals, an employee’s behavior, or an organization’s culture (Gray, 2007; Parry & Hansen, 2007; Watson, 2001), and they often identify commonalities across experiences (Martin, Feldman, Hatch, & Sitkin, 1983). Appendix A outlines the parameters for Assignment 1, in which students use a personal experience in an organization to which they have belonged (worked, studied, or volunteered) to write a reflective organization story.
Reflective Assignment #2: Learning From Adversity
Many life lessons deal with some variation of overcoming challenges: the “using lemons to make lemonade” metaphor. The second reflective practice application focuses on lessons learned from adversity, an example of critical incident analysis (Gray, 2007). Participants are asked to reflect on a situation, either personal or professional, in which they were less successful than anticipated, and to consider what lessons were learned in coping with these difficult circumstances. Appendix B presents the assignment parameters, learning objectives, and examples of student responses about learning from challenges.
Reflective Assignment #3: The Personal Change Intervention
Appendix C outlines this reflective project, which asks students to identify something in their own lives they would like to change, either professionally (e.g., resolving a conflict at work) or personally (e.g., begin training for a marathon). This assignment demonstrates the process of change, in that planning for and actually implementing change are different (Berggren & Soderlund, 2011). Appendix C includes examples of students’ personal change goals and debriefing guidance as well as change outcomes from a sample of 92 students from three MBA classes.
General Instructions for Implementing These Assignments
I have used these three reflective practice examples for nearly a decade in different management classes, as one of several required assignments for each course. They provide an alternative learning technique to the standard business class fare of in-class examinations and team projects. The projects have worked well for classes of 20 to 50 students, and for undergraduate Introduction to Management courses as well as MBA graduate courses in Organizational Behavior, Organizational Change and Development, and General Management. The projects are also suitable for noncredit executive education, and they can be applied in most organizational contexts (e.g., a volunteer nonprofit or a corporation) and in an e-learning format as well.
Like any teaching tool, these assignments should be used appropriately. Given the sensitive nature of personal reflections, I suggest the projects be implemented as confidential individual written assignments. Ideally, they can be combined with an in-class or online debriefing session to link the assignment objective with student reflection. The instructor may summarize (in advance) the themes chosen by the (anonymous) participants, and use these summaries to guide class discussion. While many students love to share their own experiences, the debriefing must maintain confidentiality as well as respect for the inevitable differences in perspective. Note. Occasionally, a student paper may present the instructor with a difficult personal situation (such as a reported suicide attempt) requiring outside guidance from other trained professionals.
Learning Outcomes and Implications
Learning from these assignments may be assessed in multiple ways, including different evaluation frameworks (an instructor’s grading rubric vs. student reports), as well as different approaches to implementation. These were graded projects, so the sample rubric in Appendix E offers suggestions for reviewing students’ work for evidence of critical reflection. One exercise variation I have tried is assigning the same personal reflection paper twice—once at the beginning of the course, and again at the end of the course. This technique allows for direct comparison to a baseline—by instructor and students—of measurable learning achieved. Assignment #3, the Personal Change Intervention, was developed specifically to analyze the link between learning (cognition) and doing (behavior): reflecting on the progress of considering a course of action, then planning it, implementing it, and finally sustaining it over time (consider one’s annual New Year’s resolutions).
Another performance metric is student response, and reactions to these three brief assignments have been quite positive. Students consistently rank the projects favorably (between 4 and 5 on a 5-point Likert-type scale) in their regular end-of-term teacher/course evaluations. Many also comment on the important role of self-reflection in self-knowledge (Hedberg, 2008; Schon, 1983). For example, one student reflected, This intervention challenged me . . . as I assumed the role of an internal change agent while [concurrently] being the change I wanted to see. This dual role has been an awesome learning experience, as simultaneously seeking to change others and myself proved tricky yet highly rewarding . . . and though not all of the rewards of refreezing have come to fruition, there is no doubt that not a single one of us [in the class] wants to go back to where we were 10 weeks ago.
Furthermore, the exercise debriefing process has provided numerous “teachable moments.” The wide range of perspectives shared offers a useful springboard for classroom discussion about differing points of view based on age, work experience, and socioeconomic background. For example, many of my undergraduate students are international, and their reflections about competition, capitalism, and work values enrich our debriefing sessions with their multiple perspectives. Depending on classroom demographics, debate may also ensue about management topics such as motivation or work/family priorities. To illustrate, one married older student shared the following reflection, which generated much class discussion: A by-product of this project has been my renewed patience with my husband . . . the poster child for resistance to change. He does things a certain way, his mother does them that way, and his grandmother does them that way (some powerful forces against change). But what I’ve also realized is how difficult it is to get someone to change when they don’t believe “it,” whatever that “it” is, needs to be changed. I’m like a new CEO or manager coming in to introduce change to three generations of my husband’s family. . . . I’ve learned that it’s not enough to show others the way or provide concrete data that show there is a better way. They have to personally feel it, believe it, perceive it, and take ownership of it before a change occurs—and that can take some time.
Finally, these assignments were interesting for me. Not only did the analyses provide some thought-provoking insights, but I also found them an opportunity to connect with students in a more personal way. Many students thanked me in writing for the assignment and the experience: for example, “Thank you for the opportunity to work on myself. I don’t always like what I find out, but it always helps” and “I found this assignment to be of great personal value, and thank you for the challenge.” As McNeely (2000) argues, using students’ personal experiences can make teaching “easier, richer, more enjoyable, and more fun” (p. 520).
Footnotes
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Acknowledgements
Helpful comments provided by the MTR editors and reviewers are gratefully acknowledged.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
References
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