Positive education of stoic warriors as reflective practitioners in the profession of arms

This paper traces connections between Stoicism and Positive Psychology for helping to inform and guide the education of warriors in the Profession of Arms. Peterson and Seligman advocate six core virtues and associated character strengths, which the authors illustrate from the practice of leadership education at the Squadron Officer School and The Air University. A synopsis of Costa and Kallick’s Habits of Mind is introduced to illustrate how awareness of the ways virtue and character strengths can guide the reflective warrior with wisdom and determined action. The authors also highlight insights from the work of Chris Argyris and Donald Schön on double-loop learning, reflective-thinking-in-action, and couple those insights with Dietrich Dörners’ emphasis on the advantages of simulations to offer experimentation by practitioners to better prepare them ‘think of, and then do, the right things at the right times and in the right way.’ Finally, a virtual world learning simulation developed by the authors to support student experimentation with double-loop learning on character strengths and habits of mind is described to illustrate the art-of-the-possible for the positive education of stoic warriors.     

Reflections of the student teacher

This paper explores the concept of reflection and its changing role in the journey of the student teacher. It presents part of the findings of a year-long investigation into the reflective practice of student teachers during their training year. Specifically, it investigates the reflections of the student teachers’ lessons during the PGCE (Post/Professional Graduate Certificate of Education) year at a higher education institution (HEI) in England. The strengths and weaknesses of the student teachers’ lessons are analysed and how these reflections change as they reach Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT) status.     

Reflective boot camp: adapting LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® in higher education

This qualitative study investigates the experiences of using an adaptation of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® as a reflective practice pedagogy with occupational therapy graduate-level students and faculty. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is an innovative facilitated methodology that uses brick-building and metaphoric storytelling as a form of communication and problem-solving. Participants engaged in a four-step kinesthetic experience as a means to achieve a serious objective. Results of the study indicated affirmative participant outcomes that included: accelerated group cohesion; an appreciation for inclusive learning where student voice was amplified; a language for emotional content and deeper meaning-making; and an experiential process using materials that appealed to various learning styles. A small number of participants experienced minor tension with the process provoking unanticipated reflective learning. The results of this study indicate that using the kinesthetic brick modeling methodology for reflective practice is a promising higher education pedagogical option.     

Challenges affecting the development of metalearning capacity in Taiwanese secondary school students

This paper examines the challenges faced in the Taiwanese secondary school context during the development of the students’ metalearning capacity. During two rounds of action research over the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 school years, 12 and 15 10th grade students respectively took full part in a metalearning programme as an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) elective course. The students’ reflective journals and interview responses were qualitatively examined through content analysis. The results showed that despite the effects of the programme on the students’ development of metalearning capacity, challenges remained, including (1) the cultural norms in education; (2) scaffolding difficulties; (3) assessment of reflection; and (4) linguistic challenges.     

The Meta-Justification of Reflective Equilibrium

The paper addresses the possibility of providing a meta-justification of what appears to be crucial epistemic desiderata involved in the method of reflective equilibrium. I argue that although the method of reflective equilibrium appears to be widely in use in moral theorising, the prospects of providing a meta-justification of crucial epistemic desiderata are rather bleak. Nor is the requirement that a meta-justification be provided obviously misguided. In addition, I briefly note some of the implications of these results for our use of the method of reflective equilibrium and for the best interpretation of the method.     

Stress and coping among early childhood intervention professionals receiving reflective supervision: A qualitative analysis

Reflective supervision/consultation (RS/C) is an important component of infant mental health training and practice. Given high levels of job stress reported by a variety of early childhood professionals, the present study offers a qualitative examination of early childhood intervention professionals’ perceptions of stress and coping before and after receiving regular RS/C. Thirty-one professionals received 9 months of RS/C and completed semistructured interview questionnaires at the pre-/postassessments. Questionnaires focused on job-related experiences, including what participants found stressful and how they coped with job-related stress. Inductive analysis techniques were used to identify themes that arose from the data. Relationships between themes were discovered through axial coding. Three key themes of individual, relational, and organizational stress were identified across the pre-/postassessments. Similar themes were evident in reports of coping. Following 9 months of RS/C, analysis revealed greater detail and reflection among the majority of participants. These results contribute to the literature through identification of multiple levels of stress and coping as well as areas of continuity and change among participants receiving RS/C. Future research should consider how professionals’ reports of stress and coping relate to reported self-efficacy and observed competence with young children and families.     

The magic,the life,the others: how can the imaginative dimension in reflective practice be used with student teachers? A learning experience through a self-study

In this article the author reflects upon the place imagination has in education and argues that imagination for adults is an important part of the reflective practice. The article explores the importance of going beyond the traditional way of thinking to capture the essence of understanding teaching and learning practice. The goal of this self-study is to create a way of professional development as a teacher educator which the author could utilise with teacher students. To accomplish that, the author travels to the three (imaginary) lands of reflective practice, and applies this as a way of reflective learning. The author demonstrates how reflective practices can draw together a dialogue between the embodied experience and understandings based on imaginative meanings. The author argues that reflective practice could benefit from a perspective that focuses on imaginative thoughts and more creative discussion in all aspects of education. Furthermore, to enhance students’ reflective learning one must first and foremost be able to grasp the imaginative element within oneself in order to improve students’ learning through reflective practice.     

应激条件下的双重学习系统

心理学、神经科学和行为经济学中许多研究一致认为, 人的行为由双重学习系统控制, 分别是反射性系统和反思性系统。前者是自动化的习惯系统, 反应快速, 不需要消耗认知资源, 后者是反应较为缓慢的认知系统, 需要消耗更多认知资源, 但也更加灵活, 可以有效应对外界环境的变化。这两种学习系统并行存在而又相互竞争, 共同影响人的心理和行为。究竟是哪种学习系统对人的特定行为起着主导作用, 又有哪些因素导致该系统对行为的支配, 是近年来普遍受到关注的问题。过去研究者们采用导航学习、概率分类学习或工具性学习及其计算模型, 从行为和大脑层面探讨双重学习系统在急性和慢性应激下的变化。通过回顾和分析这些研究, 我们总结出应激导致个体向习惯行为转变的生理机制, 即去甲肾上腺素和糖皮质激素在杏仁核的参与下与受体结合协同作用于双系统相关的脑区, 并从该角度出发重新梳理和解释毒品成瘾的形成。未来需要重点关注个体基因差异与应激影响学习的关系, 并采用多种研究手段以更好地揭示其背后的神经和内分泌机制。     

Childhood obesity and parental reflective functioning: Is there a relation?

Background/ObjectiveIn recent decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased, with the major implications for public health. However, the factors that contribute to obesity in children are still poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the role of parental reflective functioning (PRF) in childhood obesity.MethodIn a cross-sectional design, 120 sets of parents of 60 children (n = 30 with obesity, age range 6–11) were recruited by local paediatricians. Parents completed the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire. Children's and parents’ weight (assessed by BMI), as well as their socio-economic status (SES), were assessed to explore the contribution of PRF in the prediction of children's weight, controlling for parents’ weight and SES.Resultst-test showed significant differences with medium effect sizes in BMI, SES and PRF between parents of children with and without obesity. The best model resulted from hierarchical multiple regression analyses and showed that mothers’ PRF predicted children's BMI above and beyond the prediction by parents’ BMI and SES.ConclusionsLow maternal PRF could be an important target for intervention strategies, highlighting the need to consider parental responses to children's emotions in the treatment of childhood obesity, particularly in parents with low SES and high BMI.