Students need to know how to learn whether it be through social interaction, experience, from theory or through reflection (Lappia, 2011). This view is supported in the work conducted by Becher (1994), Davis (2003) and Letherby (2006) in which they intimate that today’s students are not as academic as students of the past. Letherby (2006, p.251) suggests there is an increase in students entering HE who ‘have low attention spans – able to ‘txt’ but not write a sentence, and Internet (but not library) savvy – and sometimes choose HE because of a lack of other choices’. To combat these deficiencies, higher education providers are focusing more on generic study skills and the development of employability skills in preparation for the world of work.
Reflective practices enable the learner to stop and think about what one has done, is doing or is about to do. Watton, Collings and Moon (2001) use the description given in the Harry Potter novel ‘Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire’ to provide an ideal starting point with which to explain reflection. In the novel Dumbledore (Headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts) is having a conversation with Harry about having too many thoughts.
‘Harry stared at the stone basin. The contents had returned to their original, silvery white state, swirling and rippling beneath his gaze. “ What is it?” Harry asked shakily.
“This? It is called a Pensive,” said Dumbledore. “ I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.”
“Err,” said Harry who couldn’t truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort.
“At these times” said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, “ I use the Pensive. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into a basin, and examines them at one’s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.’
(Rowling, 2000, cited in Watton, Collings and Moon, 2001, p.3) Whilst Rowling’s description is set in the context of wizardry, it does allow the reader to grasp the importance of reflection and to understand why so much has been written on the subject. Boud et al. (2006, p.194) provide a less fictional definition ‘Reflection is an assessment of how and why we have perceived, thought, felt and acted’. An enquiring mind leads to an
understanding on the experience that may not have been evident in practice. Indeed, cognitive psychologists believe that reflection contributes to learning as much as having an experience (Raelin, 1997). Using reflective processes as part of the WBL experience enables the learner to see the workplace as a learning environment, which can be used to enhance their capability and performance (Graham, Rhodes and Shiel, 2006, p.172).
The current system used in the Department of Engineering and the Built Environment at Anglia Ruskin University has a rigid structure and there is little flexibility where students can be imaginative. The skills identified by the students have a similar context and there is limited variety in the evidence provided. A model which allows students to identify their own skill descriptors related to their area of professional practice has the potential to see a greater analytical and constructive synopsis of their learning achievements.
The paper presented by Costley and Armsby (2008) criticising WBL in higher education demonstrates that there are reservations in certain areas with the substance of WBL courses and module content. One of the concerns centres on the assessment of experience gained in work practices, which is not always subject/discipline specific. WBL by its very nature is transdisciplinary and does not sit in a single paradigm. ‘Where WBL is seen as lying outside the disciplines it can be viewed as a threat to existing systems’ (Costley and Armsby, 2008,
p.14). This statement suggests that for WBL to be meaningful and worthwhile it must be relevant to the course that the student is studying.
Courses taught at university, in vocational areas such as construction
management must satisfy the relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Statements in Construction, Property and Surveying and as a professionally accredited course the CIOB (2013a) Education Framework. These two documents indicate quite clearly what is expected in terms of content and level for an honours degree in construction management and as Costley and Armsby (2008, p.14) indicate ‘are likely to present obstacles and form boundaries to recognising first hand
experiential learning because they are designed to assess specific learning taught on campus.’
Where WBL is based on generic learning outcomes that are directly related to professional practice, specialist subject based tutors find it difficult to make judgements if they are from a pure academic background. Costley and Armsby (2008) suggest that these ‘academically focussed’ tutors are specialists in theoretical knowledge and are comfortable in this area but do not have the practical expertise to judge the value of WBL and the way this unfamiliar
knowledge is presented and hence its equivalence to academic work. There is still a feeling amongst the higher education sector that WBL has a pre-
occupation with ‘vocationalism’ and as such higher-level approaches to
knowledge and learning are not being met (Costley and Armsby, 2008, p.18). This negative view does not see the value WBL can bring and how through reflective and critical analysis higher-level skills can be achieved.
There is much written on the role of critical reflection in learning (Kolb, 1994; Schön, 1983) but little in the use of reflection in WBL. A study by McAlpine and Weston (2000, cited in Harvey et al., 2010) on reflection in experience-based learning revealed that reflective practice can lead to a change in knowledge gained from that experience however an increase in knowledge does not always see a change of behaviour. Perhaps the alternative view of Atherton (2009), which indicates that learning is not always about a change of behaviour, has enhanced credibility.
There are numerous ways in which reflective practice can be encouraged in a WBL environment that enable students to ‘reflect upon their learning, to
understand their own learning processes and thus to allow them to become more autonomous’ (Stewart, no-date, p.1). Reflective practice allows the learner to identify how they can improve their performance in the workplace by giving them the opportunity to think for themselves and make decisions, which influence their learning thus creating autonomy and the opportunity to record progress. This enables the student to see the progress they have made beyond their current academic level, which further encourages increased performance, both at university and in professional practice.
Costley and Dikerdem (2011) see WBL as a form of practitioner learning, learning in practice (the workplace). Students need to continue to demonstrate practical competence in areas such as ‘co-operation, critique, reflexivity,
pragmatism and flexibility’ (Costley and Dikerdem, 2011, p.18). WBL needs a reflective and evaluative approach and the use of self-assessment through these reflective practices is a good habit to grow (Helyer, 2010). The student needs to be aware of the concept of reflexivity. Whilst having its roots in
research, the basic principle of being involved in an activity e.g. work placement means that reflective analysis of the activity may be influenced by pre-
conceived ideas and/or experiences which may result in a biased account of the WBL experience.
Reflexivity is connected to actions and making sense of those actions. The process is used to describe how accounts of events, which took place, are constructed and to facilitate the process of knowledge development (Colombo, 2003, par.14). Students’ reflective accounts have the potential to provide a rich discourse of deep learning. In WBL, students should be encouraged not only to describe their workplace experience but they need to describe their emotional responses as well (Bradley, 2011, p.49).