Student Perceptions of Reflective Practice - Research Proposal Example

This concept entails the view that when students peruse their work and reflect on it, it will lead to greater learning and critical thinking skills (The Higher Education Academy, 2010). Self and peer assessment, group work, personal development, and problem-solving are techniques utilized in reflective practice. Reflective practice about teachers is also an important concept, as instructors can improve teaching methods and improve effectiveness (The Higher Education Academy, 2010).

The critical reflection of a person’s work improves significance (Armstrong, 2000; Bain, Ballantyne, Packer, & Mills, 2002; Laskey & Hetzel, 2010; Schön, 1983, 1987; Wagner, 2006). Activities that are used to foster reflection have been used to help students discover themselves in the context of life in a more meaningful and practical way (Laskey & Hetzel, 2010). Researchers, for this reason, have suggested the use of the reflective practice in an online environment (Logreco, 2008; Sivyer, 2007; Wagner, 2006). However, the examination of student perceptions of reflective practice in an online learning environment has been researched by different academics focusing on reflective writing (Palmer, 2008; Wright, 2010).

Reflective learning is a major tool used in experiential learning (Guthrie, 2010). For students to use experiential learning, teachers and instructors are encouraged to use critical thinking techniques. When media, such as the internet are used, these instructional techniques can be put to greater use by addressing a group of diverse students. With the advent of technological tools, such as the Internet, instructors must use tools that are current and relevant and make the most use of these developments (Held, 2009). In 2009, Allen and Seaman in their survey report of 2500 United States institutions reported double-digit growth for online enrollment in post-secondary schooling. This shows that students have started to prefer online educational methods to a great extent.

Due to the increased popularity of online courses, it has become vital that online courses be assessed for their effectiveness. However, the focus of this paper is the use of the reflective practice in online education and how students perceive its effectiveness. Reflective practice is a pedagogical tool that develops a higher level of thinking and enables students to learn from experience (Guthrie, 2010). Reflection in education focuses on preparing students to become problem solvers and idea generators, and not just rote learners (Held, 2009). Many scholars have advocated reflective practice in traditional classroom settings (Dewey, 1933; Schon, 1983; Laskey and Hetzel, 2010). However as online education is relatively a new phenomenon, it has been a source of debate with a high number of dropouts in online courses; reflective learning can be a method through which students’ interest can be retained online (Allen and Seamen, 2008) (Guthrie, 2010).

With the increase in online learning (Allen & Seaman, 2010) the need to understand effective online pedagogy is heightened (Guthrie, 2010; Palmer, Holt and Bray 2008; Held 2009). One pedagogical tool, reflective practice, is an art form and a powerful tool that can be used in a face-to-face setting to transform a student and his or her educational environment (Cao & Nietfeld, 2007; Chan Chong 2009; Gardner, 2006; Lazear, 2003, 2004; Osterman & Kottkamp, 2004; York-Barr et al., 2005). Researchers also have indicated that, when applied, actively engaging students in reflective practice in an online environment is found to bring about great benefits (Logreco, 2008; Overby, 2009; Partridge, Baker, & McAllister, 2008; Shoffner, 2009; Sim & Radoff, 2008; Sivyer, 2007). Further studies have indicated that students have perceived personal success while using reflective practice within a face-to-face and online learning environment  (Palmer, 2008). However, researchers have asserted that additional exploration is warranted in exploring student perceptions of reflective practice in content area online courses, such as music, math, and reading before stating that the use of the reflective practice is a sound online instructional strategy (Guthrie, 2010). Therefore, the specific problem is to explore student perceptions of reflective practice within online reading courses to establish whether the use of reflective practices in online curricula is a sound pedagogical approach (Osborne, 2009).