Critical reflection as an essential part of developing higher education teachers to be future-ready – Why and how?

Abstract

Awareness about the benefits of critical reflection to support the development of university teachers is growing in the higher education field. This paper explains how critical reflection is enacted within the academic development program in one Danish university. This is done through a structured process of observations, focused dialogue among colleagues, and narrative reflections. In order to gauge the success of the program, narrative reflections were assessed using a rubric to evaluate the teachers’ reflective processes. This aimed to give some indications of whether the program enhanced teachers’ ability to critically reflect on their practice. Evaluations of the teachers’ narrative reflections show that while some aspects of critical reflection were evident, teachers’ approaches to testing the accuracy and validity of their assumptions could be expanded and enhanced.