Over the past year I have had the pleasure of being part of a PGCE student-tutor collaborative research project, aiming to have a better understanding of how student teachers engage in reflective practice. Interestingly, as an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) practitioner, the project has also helped me reflect on how I support student teachers’ reflective practices. As a result, I have been considering:

• How am I helping the student teachers to understand what is meant by reflective practice and why it is seen as an important part of learning to teach?
• Am I creating a safe space for students to be able to try different models and tools to support their reflective practice? After all, reflecting is a deeply personal experience and finding an approach that works for the individual can help them find meaning and insight.
• How can I facilitate student teachers’ reflective practice through our professional conversations? For example, am I able to provide students with a new line of thought or shape their reflective practice into a more positive experience, where both strengths and limitations are considered?

Whilst reflective practice, as suggested by Schön (1983, 1994),is often considered to be a cornerstone of learning to teach, supporting student teachers to engage in reflective practice is not always a straightforward process. Reflective practice is not a simple activity (Brooks, McIntyre and Mutton 2023) and the existence of a vast array of approaches and reflective models attest to the complicated and varied nature of reflective practice in ITE (Welsh Government, 2015).

Aiming to better understand how student teachers engage in reflective practice, I was one of four members of the tutor team at the Open University in Wales’ PGCE Partnership who undertook this collaborative research project with our student teachers. As a project team we wanted to:

• find out about students’ reflective practices,
• explore different reflective practice strategies with the students,
• collaborate to find ways to support reflective practice.

At the point of writing this blog I can look back at what was learnt overall and consider how the project helps inform my practice as an ITE tutor.

Firstly, the project enabled us to collaborate with a focus group of eight PGCE student teachers. By holding two separate workshops we found ourselves engaging in rich, open and honest professional conversations with the student teachers. The collaborative elements of this project helped make sure that students’ viewpoints were at the forefront of our exploration of reflective practice. The collaboration with students allowed us, as tutors, to gain a much deeper insight into how students undertake their reflective practice whilst juggling a busy, post-graduate qualification.

Interestingly, different approaches worked well for different students and for different situations. Some students even used a range of tools to support their reflective practice, including written learning journals, voice memo reflections and professional conversations with school-based mentors.

Secondly, as part of our project the student teachers extended their knowledge of reflective tools by exploring 15 existing reflective practice models. Each student was tasked with selecting one model to use in their reflections on practice learning for a period of up to three months.

As tutors, we found the students’ process of selecting and reviewing the models an insightful one. Overall, all eight student teacher participants were drawn to similar reflective models. It became clear that less complicated models (such as Brookfield’s lenses) provided student teachers with a clear focus for their thinking whilst also keeping the model manageable in terms of workload and time. Additionally, having prompts within the reflective practice model (such as Borton/Driscoll’sReflective Practice Model) helped student teachers consider their reflections from different angles or lenses, aiding them to consider their teaching experiences in a more holistic sense.

Thirdly, it became apparent that mentor and tutor support played a key part in how student teachers approached their reflective practice, as encapsulated by Student B: “The feedback, advice and support of experienced and supportive mentors has been key to developing my skills as a reflective practitioner during the PGCE.”

Three student participants confided that their reflections on teaching experiences had often tended to focus on negative aspects such as what needed improving or what did not go well. These tendencies left Student C feeling “negative” and was a “demotivating” experience. In contrast, having reflective professional conversations with mentors, tutors or peers could offer students a new way of thinking or a “new lens”, providing a more positive perspective on their experiences. In conclusion, Student C explains: “I believe the most important part that I will take forward in my practice is to ensure I am involving others in my evaluations”.

Personally, this project has helped me realise that whilst reflecting on practice is a personal experience, the voices of others can have a powerful impact. The prompts and questions we offer student teachers during reflective, professional conversations can offer a new and more positive way of thinking.

Finally, I have seen first hand the importance of including student voices in research around their ITE experiences. After all, education is a collaborative process. When looking at ways to develop ITE practices our student teachers can provide us with important insights, a better understanding of barriers, and can play a key part in finding better ways of working.