Reflecting On Reflection
Niall Sclater,
Virtual Learning,
Oct 15, 2008
There's something wrong with this picture, in my view, but it's a bit hard to put my finger on it. It's worth a look:
![](http://sclater.com/img/reflection-model-diagram.jpg)
The observation sort of sits there by itself. I'm not sure you should 'contextualize' observations, or whether observations simply occur in a context. I'm pretty sure inferences from effects to causes are problematic. I think it is questionable to pick a theory that follows from one's own 'position' (whatever that is). And I think justifications for changes should lead to improvements, not the other way around. Are ll the arrows in this digram simply backwards? Well - no, I think that this is how a lot of research out there is actually performed. And, expecially in the last few months, I have begun to see a deep gulf between houw research in our field ought to be conducted, and how it is conducted. These are discussion questions for now - but in the months to come, they will be the topics of more pointed criticisms.
![](http://sclater.com/img/reflection-model-diagram.jpg)
The observation sort of sits there by itself. I'm not sure you should 'contextualize' observations, or whether observations simply occur in a context. I'm pretty sure inferences from effects to causes are problematic. I think it is questionable to pick a theory that follows from one's own 'position' (whatever that is). And I think justifications for changes should lead to improvements, not the other way around. Are ll the arrows in this digram simply backwards? Well - no, I think that this is how a lot of research out there is actually performed. And, expecially in the last few months, I have begun to see a deep gulf between houw research in our field ought to be conducted, and how it is conducted. These are discussion questions for now - but in the months to come, they will be the topics of more pointed criticisms.
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