Topic 3: Facilitating critical reflection in a classroom

Incorporating critical reflection in the classroom is a composite process. In many ways, it involves an extension of the self-reflective process outwards. While the two processes (self- and group- critical reflection) share some methodological elements, when you facilitate critical reflection, it would be helpful to be mindful of the difference between being reflective and being critically reflective

According to Brookfield (2015), being reflective includes all the mechanics of questioning assumptions, finding inconsistencies and alternatives and acting on improve your practice. What the qualifier “critical” adds is a clear focus on uncovering and challenging the broader power dynamics that frame practice and those hegemonic assumptions that while we embrace as being in our best interests, they are in fact working against us. Critical reflection thus takes the reflective process beyond the level of our practice to question ideological framings that we might encounter in our broader community/social/public lives.