Learning Outcomes
- Understand why you should reflect on what you do both as you do it and after you’ve done it
- Use reflection techniques
- Use different lenses for reflection
Why Reflect?
One of the best ways to become better at what you do after you’ve finished your studies (and also during your studies!) is to regularly question what you are doing, why you are doing it, whether it works, and whether something else might work better.
You can reflect in action (while you are doing things, such as writing an essay, writing an exam, problem-solving while you create an artefact) or reflect on action (after you’ve completed the essay, the exam, or the artefact). As you reflect, you can use errors and problems as opportunities, not as things to get stressed about.
How to reflect?
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- Mindmaps
- Brainstorming
- Affinity diagrams / card sorting
- freewriting
- trial and error
- …
Reflection on action can happen in the weirdest places – what works for you?
When reflecting, make sure that you question your assumptions as well (double loop learning). For example, many of you in the course assumed that scientific user research = questionnaires.
Use Different Lenses
Different lenses in photography change how the world is depicted. In thinking, different lenses shape how we approach a question.
The lenses suggested by Brookfield (1998) are:
- Our autobiography as learners and designers. How have we worked so far? If all we’ve done is code apps, then our first instinct will be to use apps to solve the problem,
- Our users and customers. What do they think about our efforts? It’s important that we create opportunities for anonymous, honest feedback.
- Our colleagues. What do other designers, makers, computer scientists, data scientists think?
- Theoretical Literature. “Theory can help us “name” our practice by illuminating the general elements of what we think are idiosyncratic experiences. It can provide multiple perspectives on familiar situations. Studying theory can help us realize that what we thought were signs of our personal failings as practitioners can actually be interpreted as the inevitable consequence of certain economic, social, and political processes. This stops us falling victim to the belief that we are responsible for everything that happens […]” (Brookfield, 1998).
Readings
Brookfield, Stephen (1998): Critically Reflective Practice. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions 18(4). Mainly for teaching, but also very useful for designers
Smith, M. K. (2001, 2011). ‘Donald Schön: learning, reflection and change’, the encyclopedia of informal education. An introduction to the thinking of Donald Schön (please spell his name with the correct umlaut for me, please!)