Abstract
The term “reflective practice” was popularized by Donald Schön in his 1983 book titled, The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Schön’s ideas have since shaped teaching and professional development in many disciplines including Business, Nursing, and Education. The goal of reflective practice is to help professionals, in this case outdoor environmental educators, become more effective teachers. To do this, a reflective practitioner purposely examines their teaching practice, looking to improve their craft, and confront discovered bias. In this chapter, based on the current literature and our experience as reflective practitioners, we explain what reflective practice is, provide a rationale for why it is important, and present practical strategies for educators to enhance their reflective practice. We encourage becoming a reflective practitioner in order to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to see beyond our own experience, knowledge, and assumptions which shape our teaching.
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For convenience, we use the terms educator and teacher interchangeably within the paper. We intend these broad terms to include outdoor environmental educators, facilitators, instructors, and guides.
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Asfeldt, M., Stonehouse, P. (2021). On Becoming a Reflective Practitioner. In: Thomas, G., Dyment, J., Prince, H. (eds) Outdoor Environmental Education in Higher Education. International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75980-3_28
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