Critically reflective dialogues in learning communities of professionals

Abstract

Communities in which professionals share and create knowledge potentially support their continued learning. To realise this potential more fully, members are required to reflect critically. For learning at work such behaviour has been described as critically reflective work behaviour, consisting of six aspects: challenging groupthink, critical opinion sharing, an openness about mistakes, asking for and giving feedback, experimentation and research utilisation. We studied whether and how these aspects can be distinguished in dialogues of seven different communities of veterinary professionals (critically reflective dialogues). Our exploration of the nature of critically reflective dialogues resulted in an analytical framework. Within each aspect four different modes of communication were identified: interactive, on an individual basis, non-reflective and restricted. We assume that professionals use learning opportunities most in the interactive mode of communication. The framework was employed to study the extent to which dialogues showed these modes of critically reflective dialogues. The results demonstrate that in these communities the modes of communication within aspects were largely non-interactive (i.e., individual, non-reflective). The developed framework discriminates between communities in terms of their critically reflective dialogues. Interventions to improve the effectiveness of learning communities should focus on enhancement of members addressing each other's reasons and reflections.

Implementation Process of a Canadian Community-based Nurse Mentorship Intervention in HIV Care

“…We found that HCP participating in learning communities could share and create knowledge that supported continued learning. This behavior added a social dimension to their reflection and has been described by others as critically reflective workplace behavior (de Groot, Endedijk, Jaarsma, Simons, & Van Beukelen, 2014). The nurses who participated in our study endeavored to make their practices more evidence based, and explored and constructed meaning collaboratively in an effort to decrease the stigma and discrimination that their clients received in their health care.…”

Editorial

“…This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). research concerning occupational education issues, it seems indisputable that, to create opportunities for professional learning, it is necessary to develop education and training (de Groot et al, 2013;Rønnestad & Skovholt, 2001. However, this does not necessarily presuppose elevation from an occupation to a profession.…”

Promoting Gender Equality in Educational Settings: The Role of Computer Supported Cooperative Learning

“…Second, web2.0 technologies (like educational blogging) facilitates peer interaction (Redecker, Ala-Mutka, Bacigalupo, Ferrari, & Punie, 2009). When providing information to each other or constructing explanations, students practice self-reflection (de Groot, Endedijk, Jaarsma, Simons, & van Beukelen, 2014). The process of expressing ideas into words may be beneficial for students in terms of clarification of argument and writing skills.…”