Reflective Practice and Professional Development

Stage theories of professional development suggest movement through different phases, from some sort of (potentially difficult) induction to more confident displays of professional expertise. Primarily using teacher development as an example, the role of reflective practice in career development is explored in this chapter, especially its role in encouraging progression from experience to expertise. Self-reflection is not guaranteed to lead to professional development; input from 'educators' (supervisors, mentors and other colleagues) is normally required. Some scaffolds that can be used by educators to guide analysis and reflection include Brookfield's lenses, Professional Standards, practical experiences, educational frameworks such as Bloom's Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligences, role reversal, and knowledge of how people learn. Ways to use these scaffolds are discussed.