THE I POEM: A TOOL TO AID REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Dr Elizabeth Dinse, Careers and Graduate Employability Adviser at the University of Central Lancashire, provides an insight into her PhD which explored assumptions and professionalism in IAG practice. Here, she shares her findings into the nature of reflective practice and discusses a tool to aid to reflective journaling.

n 2006, I applied for a PhD studentship. I had been exploring my own doubts in my outreach practice as an Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) practitioner and my enquiry developed out of critical insights on my own ‘whiteness’ and my taken-forgranted assumptions. This resulted in me discovering my own reflexive voice, which was captured in my journal.

REFLECTING ON REFLECTIVE PRACTICE As my research progressed, in my thesis – Taken-forGranted Assumptions and Professionalism in IAG practice – I questioned both myself and our practice as careers professionals. I engaged with practitioners across our sector, including those working in roles in HE, FE, schools and colleges, on the topic of reflective practice. I also presented at several professional conferences and workshops during the early research and data collection phase.

My research unearthed numerous findings: • Although practitioners described themselves as reflective and used self-reflection, this was insufficient to unearth their takenfor-granted assumptions. • Reflective practice had itself become taken-for-granted and did not achieve what it advocated. • Time pressures in the workplace had an impact on practitioners’ capacity and/or opportunity to reflect. • Practitioners did not appear to use tools or processes to assist their reflective practice.

SEARCHING FOR TOOLS While doing my research I was mindful that I was also searching for a tool that would help other practitioners with their reflective practice, especially when it came to writing a reflective journal. When I was analysing some of my research I used a voice-centred method of data analysis, known as the Listening Guide Methodology (Gilligan et al, 2003) and I realised that this helped the first-person voice to emerge and appear powerful. As I progressed and used the tool more, I realised that this could be the aid to reflective practice that I was looking for.

My research concluded that the I Poem aspect of the Listening Guide Methodology: • Draws attention to practitioners’ self-statements. • Enables practitioners to see the wood for the trees and to identify what might otherwise have been overlooked or seen as ‘innocent’ and ‘irrelevant’ emotions and negative language (Bolton, 2010). • Can also help to foreground implicit, taken-for-granted elements of practitioners’ world views that were previously hidden within their writing.

Therefore, I concluded that the I Poem can be used to aid reflective journaling and helps the writer return to his/her journal and unearth their first-person voice to add a further layer to their reflective practice.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE Since the completion of my PhD, my findings and knowledge have been used to develop several resources. Through the support of a writing group at The University of Central Lancashire, I have started sharing my findings with a wider audience. I also decided to self-publish from my thesis via Amazon. My first publication, Reflective Practice Made Easier: A new concept in reflective journaling, is a handy diary/journal with a bit of a difference. It has a short section discussing reflective practice and also offers different concepts for exploration. The second is A reflective journal...to self discovery, a lined journal which includes space to write. Both share new ideas to help gain a deeper insight into journal entries.

There has been a wide range of interest in my research and I have started to share it further with academics at my own university, via lectures for our BA and MA students who are studying Reflective Practice modules, and with our Partnership Colleges that deliver PGCEs as an aid for NQTs. My resources have also been shared at a recent iCeGS and CDI research conference, by academics who deliver careers guidance courses to students, and an academic colleague at the University of Cumbria is also interested in using the resources for a nursing module, to gain insight into lived experiences of new nurses.

AS A PROFESSION, WE NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES OF THE IMPORTANCE OF QUESTIONING OURSELVES AND OUR PRACTICE

SAFE SPACE My research concluded that reflection itself has become takenfor-granted and, as a profession, we need to remind ourselves of the importance of questioning ourselves and our practice. If we don’t, what will the impact be for our clients? The I Poem tool and the supporting resources I have developed provide a structured and safe space to reflect, offering professionals a way of hearing their first-person voice which they may have missed or not even heard in the past. At a time when many of us have more time and flexibility, why not embrace reflective practice to enhance your practice and our profession?

/in/drlizdinse edinse@uclan.ac.uk