Docentendag Wiskunde, 27.01.

11
www.ru.nl/fnwi/bko

Theo Smits, FNWI

Jose van Alst, IOWO

Creating a reflective report

1. Introduction
As a university lecturer you attend to your professional development. To demonstrate this ability
you are asked to present a reflective report in your UTQ portfolio. In this document, you will find
some guidelines which can help you with writing this reflective report.

2. Why reflect?
Reflection upon your actions and experiences is seen as the key element of professional
development. Lifelong learning is considered a necessity nowadays as new requirements are
regularly set for the profession in or because you engage in new tasks and responsibilities.
Reflecting upon your actions is not easy – this also applies to academics. Research shows that
lecturers often evaluate and adjust their teaching, but this does not mean that they evaluate and
possibly alter their own process of learning and development. It appears that a lecturers’ learning
development is predominantly an ad hoc and unfocused process.
What do you need for reflection? First and foremost it requires, time and detachment.
Additionally, reflection requires various frameworks: theoretical concepts, models, and criteria.
Because of the fact that most university lecturers have not completed a teacher’s academy, these
frameworks, which help lecturers improve and think about their teaching, are lacking. Lastly,
reflection also requires the courage to ask questions, to think outside of the box, and to learn by
experimenting and discovering.

3. Definition
There are various definitions and descriptions of ‘reflection’. We use the following definition:
“Reflection is a metacognitive skill, in which the person gains new insights and knowledge about
him- or herself on the basis of an experience. By analysing the situation and thinking about the
knowledge that was used, the feelings it brought forth, and your behaviour, you can create new
knowledge to be used in another, similar situation.”

Source: Vermunt, J.D.H.M. (1992). Leerstijlen en sturen van leerprocessen in het hoger onderwijs: naar procesgerichte
instructie in zelfstandig denken. Amsterdam: Swets en Zeitlinger.

4. How to reflect: 4 steps and 4 perspectives

Reflection cycle
How does the process of reflection work? Reflection is a cyclic process, in which we can
distinguish four steps. The names of the steps may vary. We use the following steps:
Step 1: Experiencing the situation?
Step 2: Explore the situation
Step 3: Analyse with aid of the perspectives and give meaning to what happened
Step 4: Integrate your findings and determine how you will deal with the situation the next
time it happens (improve)
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By means of these steps, you will switch from ‘doing’ (step 1) to ‘thinking about what you do’ (step
2), to ‘thinking about how you think’ (step 3), and back to ‘doing’ (step 4). The fourth step also
functions as a new, first step, but with more knowledge and competence.
Steps 2 and 3 are the most difficult steps of the reflection cycle. In order to further explore your
experiences and give meaning to them, you will use the four perspectives below. You will then,
as it were, make a circumscribing movement, in which you analyse the same experience from
different perspectives.

Perspective 1: Effects on learning (students)

Think about what the effects are of what you do and do not do on students’ learning process.
Observe how students react. Vary in your approaches. Regularly discuss your teaching with
students.
Perspective 2: Academic environment (e.g. colleagues)
Think about the influence of the academic environment on the situation you have chosen to
reflect upon. You can think of: course content, study phase, student- population, educational
philosophy, general work methods, behaviour and beliefs of colleagues, available facilities and
time, etcetera. It may be useful to consult documents from the programme or faculty in which the
educational philosophy of the study programme is specified. Examples of this are the study
prospectus, the Education and Examination Regulations, self-evaluation reports, and information
material for students.
Perspective 3: Educational knowhow (literature)
The themes (questions, dilemmas) that you will encounter as a lecturer have often already been
explored by others. Prevent yourself from trying to reinvent the wheel and make use of the
available educational/didactic knowledge.
Perspective 4: Your vision on being a university lecturer (yourself)
After exploring how others (students, study programme/colleagues, literature) think about a
similar experience, think about matters such as: which approach best fits with the lecturer I aim to
be? What meaning do I wish to give to being a lecturer in such an experience?
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5. What can I reflect on?

The following themes are, among others, suitable for UTQ reflection:

 the focus on students’ learning in your teaching

 the significance of learning outcomes in your teaching
 interaction with and between students
 the students’ preparation
 participation of students
 build on your students’ motivation
 dealing with different learning methods and different wishes for guidance
 academic level of your teaching
 coherence of the courses
 quality of the examinations
 cooperation and coordination with colleagues
 your method of evaluating and improving
 efficiency and use of time
 developing a course

If you also wish to use the portfolio for a senior UTQ, you are advised to choose a theme that
shows the professional extent, your role as an inspirer of colleagues, substantive or
didactic profiling and innovation, or coordination of the education.

 embedding current developments in the field of studies in the programme

 curricular strands (horizontal, vertical) of the study programme
 differentiation in (academic) level in the various years of the study programme
 desired competences from the professional field
 substantive or didactic profiling and innovation
 quality assurance of larger curriculum components (semester, year, etc.)
 quality assurance of examinations and assessments
 quality assurance and implementation of improvements
 offer frameworks which colleagues can work with
 guiding and coaching colleagues
 participation in teaching working groups, the curriculum committee, the Examination
Board, etc.

6. A template for your reflective report

In accordance with the four abovementioned steps of reflection, you can use the following format
for your reflective report:
1. A description of your experience, your approach, and the applicable theme
2. An overview of (your observations of) the ‘responses’ and perspectives of students,
relevant components of the study programme, reactions of colleagues, and answers or
suggestions from educationalists with regard to this theme.
3. An analysis of these perspectives (giving meaning) towards a fit with the lecturer you aim
to be, and how this relates, or does not relate, to your educational philosophy.
4. Description of the way in which you adjusted your approach and your experience after
doing so [OR in case you have not been able to complete the reflection cycle: the way in
which you will handle a similar situation from now on].