Reflective Practice

“Flexibility in facilitation is not just a skill — it’s a commitment to honouring the learner’s voice.”

📃 Experience Chosen

Attending a course on franchising, particularly during the implementation stage when the instructor conducted the lesson and dynamically adjusted her facilitation based on learner engagement.

Lifecycle Stage: Implementation

⚙️ Approach 1 – Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle

Description:
During a franchising course I attended, the instructor noticed the class was highly engaged during a discussion segment. In response, she spontaneously adjusted the lesson plan and teaching methods to match the class energy and depth of inquiry.

Feelings:
I felt inspired and motivated by her responsiveness. It made the learning environment feel dynamic, empowering, and personalised.

Evaluation:
The change in method led to deeper conversations, enhanced peer learning, and a more participative atmosphere. It showed how adaptive teaching can make lessons more meaningful.

Analysis:
This experience highlighted the importance of flexibility and learner responsiveness in adult education. It made me reflect on the value of reading the room and adapting content delivery on the fly.

Conclusion:
An effective educator needs to be agile — balancing structure with improvisation based on learner feedback and engagement.

Action Plan:
In my future practice, I plan to build flexible facilitation structures that allow space for emergent learning opportunities, and develop my sensitivity to learner cues.

⚙️ Approach 2 – Brookfield’s Four Lenses

Lens of Self:
I admired the instructor’s courage to depart from her planned schedule and embrace co-learning. It challenged my belief that structure always ensures better outcomes.

Lens of Learners:
From my perspective as a learner, the adjustment made me feel seen and valued — my interests were being considered, which boosted my motivation.

Lens of Peers:
Observing classmates, I noticed increased participation, active questioning, and peer support. It fostered a collaborative environment.

Lens of Literature:
Adult learning theory supports responsiveness, flexibility, and co-construction of knowledge — aligning with constructivist and learner-centred paradigms.

💡 New Insights

Using Brookfield’s approach helped me realise the deeper emotional and relational impact of adaptive facilitation. While Gibbs helped structure the timeline and surface-level takeaways, Brookfield revealed the underlying dynamics between teacher, learner, and environment.

💭 Evaluation & Preference

I prefer Brookfield’s Four Lenses for its multidimensional insights. It encourages me to go beyond my own perspective and consider how learners and peers perceive the experience. This is crucial in my practice as I work with diverse adult learners and aim to design responsive, inclusive learning spaces.

Moving forward, I hope to continue using Brookfield’s method for in-depth reflection and pair it with Gibbs’ model for clear sequencing and actionable planning.

📌 Impact on My Practice

This experience sharpened my awareness of:

• The emotional impact of teaching decisions on learners.

• The value of integrating multiple reflection models for a fuller understanding of teaching moments.

• The importance of designing lessons that are both planned and responsive to emergent opportunities.

Next Steps:

1. Continue using Brookfield for deep, multi-perspective reflection.

2. Pair with Gibbs for clarity and actionable planning.

3. Practice reading learner cues and adjusting activities in real time.