Taking baby steps .....

At the start of session 2 of Facilitating Student Learning, we reflected on the last and very first FSL session. We discussed why the tutors leaving the room was so important and effective. By leaving the room, it made us talk to each other and find out about one and others interests also why we have here. This activity allowed us to bond with each other through conversation. Taking this into a teaching environment would be beneficial, especially working with a new intake of first year students as this will make them talk to each other. By doing this it will make them bond and feel comfortable within the new, foreign environment. This will create a cohort identity in a safe environment for them to learn and engage in. I plan on using this style of task work in my teaching to help make the student feel like they are in the right place where they can freely talk and take ownership of their learning alongside each other and with me as their teacher.  

Reflective practice within clinical, educational and counselling environment over the recent years has been shown to enhance professional development. (Miles, 1998) suggested that reflection is the key to the development of effective coaching practice. Timing of reflection is key, within sport most reflection takes place on action; this is reflection after the event that is deliberate and conscious and will in turn improve future practice. In sports that require quick reaction, large motor skills such as gymnastics and ice-skating reflection-on-action but small refined skills such as darts Reflection-in-action; which is during an event, with rapid interpretation to guides to further action. A case study by (Faull and Cropley, 2009) looked at a 19-year-old senior international level triathlete who had competed for three years, has held multiple national championship titles with assumption of the London 2012 Olympics. It goes on to discuss the athletes typical training programme consisting of high intense training of three differing sessions (one swimming, one bike and one running session). Each session lasting a total of between four to six per day. After each session he had no formal or informal way of assessing his performance. The participant was introduced to self-reflection processes such as Gibbs’ reflective cycle and recording them in a reflective diary. The results of this study indicate the benefits of using a reflective process on more negative situations like non-productive training sessions. By using a reflective process, it encourages athletes to engage in active problem-based learning rather than allowing them to fester and further influence following training sessions. I aim to use this style of reflective work with the first-year students as it will benefit them in hopes to help them have a form of written stress release when exams and revision are coming up. I also aim to incorporate this style of reflective work with my elite junior squad at gymnastics. I believe this will be beneficial to them to reflection on how competitions have gone recording; what they are proud of, what they have achieved, what could have been better and their goals for next time or further in the future. 

Faull, A. and Cropley, B. (2009) ‘Reflective learning in sport: a case study of a senior level triathlete’, Reflective Practice, 10(3), pp. 325–339. doi: 10.1080/14623940903034655.

Miles, M. B. (1998) ‘Finding Keys to School Change: A 40-Year Odyssey’, in International Handbook of Educational Change. Springer Netherlands, pp. 37–69. doi: 10.1007/978-94-011-4944-0_3.