assumption hunting

A snapshot of my current thoughts and feelings surrounding reflective practice.

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Seeking out and identifying the assumptions I have, the underlying biases that define my personal understandings, is a step in my reflective practice that I have only recently begun to explicitly explore. It is challenging. Discovering the unconscious biases that define the perspective through which I view the classroom, and the world, is not an easy web to untangle.

How does one seek out assumptions that are unconscious? This is a question with no easy answer, no definitive result. Hunting assumptions is a process, one in which I’m aiming to make a recurring objective in my critical reflective practice. If I take for granted that I am constantly learning, growing and experiencing the world around me; I must also take for granted that the assumptions that guide my beliefs and practices in the classroom are also ever changing.

Assumptions are not, in of themselves, bad things. Assumptions help to guide my decision making as a teacher. As Brookfield states, “informed actions…are based on assumptions that have been carefully and critically investigated.” If I accept this, the objective is not to eliminate assumptions from my teaching practice, but to better understand and analyze those assumptions through a process of reflective investigation. Such inquiry better places me to assess whether or not my assumptions have a concrete base on which to stand.

Open mindedness is a prerequisite to a successful investigation of these unconscious biases. Without an acceptance to consider all possibilities the very assumptions I seek will blind me from finding them. It is important to remember that “[open-mindedness] is not a blind acceptance of all ideas without intelligent critique. Rather it means a willingness to entertain different perspectives, coupled with an acceptance of the ‘possibility of error even in the beliefs that are dearest to us” (Rodgers). It is easy to observe benefits in being open minded, far harder is finding the strength to walk the walk, to remain open to all possibilities, even those that poke the emotive, soft center of my inner self.

Building a safe space, creating a judgement free zone, is a requirement for both individual and group reflection. However, even with such a space created, the onus of open-mindedness falls upon myself alone. It is a state of being that requires presence and a continual willingness to examine my thoughts, feelings and needs. It is a demand of reflective practice that has at times scared me. I have found that fear has caused a reflexive defensiveness that inhibits my ability to successfully discover the assumptions hidden within my practice.

Accepting ‘the possibility of error’ with myself is a challenge. Doing so in a group brings with it challenges on a greater scale. Understanding that “[reflection] is incomplete if not done in the company of others”(Dewey) is one thing. Finding the motivation and strength for open-minded critical reflective inquiry within a group can only be found within myself.

By remembering that, “no action a teacher takes can ever be experienced as universally and uniformly positive” (Brookfield) I try to preempt my fear of analyzing beliefs that guide my decisions. I try to remind myself that reflecting on my teaching leads not to a final judgement, good or bad, but rather to a greater awareness of why I make the decisions I do. It is this raised awareness, this greater understanding of the inner terrain that defines my world, in which I was formerly blind or ignorant of, that maintains my integrative motivation regards reflective practice.

Reflective practice also provides an enormous boost to the enjoyment and satisfaction I have in my job. Having peers and colleagues on which to rely, on whom I can count on not to judge, but to assist me in seeing the different perspectives that are necessary to accurately hunt down the assumptions that guide me, is invaluable.

Hunting assumptions requires much, but the benefit I have derived from doing so has been many times greater. I am looking forward to continuing this hunt and developing a greater awareness of myself and my teaching practice.

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Some questions for all you readers out there

What do you think of when you hear the words “reflective practice”? How do you maintain the motivation to develop and grow as a teacher? What challenges have you faced in doing so?

Brookfield, Stephen. “The Getting of Wisdom: What Critically Reflective Teaching is and Why It’s Important”

Dewey, John. “How We Think”.

Rodgers, Carol. “The Role of Descriptive Inquiry in Building Presence and Civic Capacity”.