Guided Analysis and Reflection: An Emerging Construct

As was mentioned in the explanation of reflective practice, reflection or reflective teaching must be a central part of the teacher/learning process. Reflecting upon one's experiences permits new learning to occur. In its absence one runs the risk of relying on routinized teaching and, as we have discovered, not developing. Reflective teaching means the ability to describe, analyze, explain, and reflect on what you are doing while simultaneously adapting your instruction so that it best matches the needs of the students. Donald Schon (1983, 1987) called this "reflection-in-action" and considered it to be a milestone skill for professional practice. But reflection is not necessarily automatic. Fortunately, it can be developed. Just as instruction can be adapted to the different needs of students, so reflection can be differentiated and guided by the clinical educator or mentor according to the needs of the young adult learner.

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