Reflective Practice and a Process Called “Levelising”

John M. Peters

Co-author: Betty Ragland

Abstract

The most widely accepted concept of reflective practice depicts a cyclic process of reflection in action and on action. Building on the tradition that begins with Schön’s seminal work, this paper describes an approach to reflective practice that incorporates the perspectives and theories of others whose own views promise to increase the potential of individual reflection on and in practice. Called “Levelising,” the process begins in our routine, unexamined ways of being; from various perspectives that are themselves subject to reflection, we come to know more about what we do as individuals in order to go on together with others. There are four different points of view that individuals or groups can take on their practice when they intend to understand and change some aspect of it, including their own role as practitioner(s). Level one is pre-reflective being; level two is reflective being; level three is framing; and level four is theorizing. It is in the last level that we identify what is new about this approach to reflective practice. Incorporating multiple ways of knowing, Levelising has particular relevancy to collaborative learning, reflective practice, and action research.