Staying with the questions: Reflection, Fellowship and professional learning

A blog post written by Heather Pennington, Alyson Lewis, Andy McCluskey from the Learning and Teaching Academy.

As we celebrate colleagues who have recently achieved Fellowship through Cardiff University’s Education Fellowship Programme, we are also looking ahead to welcoming new cohorts beginning their own professional recognition journey.

Although every Fellowship submission tells a different story, there is one thread that runs through them all: thoughtful, critical reflection. It is the process that helps educators make sense of experience, recognise their development and identify where they want to grow next. Reflection sits at the heart of Fellowship, but it is also one of the most valuable habits we can develop as educators.

We often encourage colleagues to “be reflective”, but what does that actually look like in practice?

Reflection is widely recognised as a cornerstone of educational practice and professional development. Yet it is worth asking whether we sometimes assume reflection is happening more meaningfully than it actually is (Pennington and Lewis, 2025). Reflection is more than describing what happened or what went well. At its best, it is an ongoing habit of curiosity that asks not only what we do, but why we do it, whose perspectives shape our decisions, and what we might do differently. Morgan and Milton (2023) describe this as adopting an inquiry as a way of being.

Meaningful reflection takes time – and time is often in short supply amidst the busy workloads and competing priorities of academic life. Arguably, it is easy to stop when reflection becomes uncomfortable, particularly when it prompts us to question familiar or seemingly successful practices. Yet this discomfort is precisely where reflection becomes most valuable. As Schön (1983) suggests, professional learning develops through critically examining practice in context. This requires spaces that feel both safe and brave, where colleagues can explore uncertainty, challenge assumptions, and learn with others. Without this, reflection risks becoming a performative exercise rather than a catalyst for change.

Meaningful reflection is therefore less about producing the perfect account and more about developing a sustained habit of inquiry, one that continues to shape our practice long after gaining a Fellowship.

Reflection is not about finding the perfect answer. It is about remaining open to learning and recognising that effective teaching is always developing alongside our students, disciplines and educational contexts.

Three practical tips for deeper reflection

1. Start with questions, not answers.
   Rather than asking “Did that session go well?”, try asking “What surprised me?”, “Whose experience might have been different from mine?” or “What assumptions influenced my decisions?”
2. Make reflection part of your routine.
   Reflection does not require lengthy writing every week. Short notes, conversations with trusted colleagues, audio recordings or annotated teaching materials can all help develop a sustainable reflective habit.
3. Reflect with others.
   Some of our richest insights come through dialogue. Mentoring conversations, peer observation and professional communities provide opportunities to test ideas, challenge assumptions, and see our practice through different perspectives.

Practice spotlight: Andy McCluskey from the School of Healthcare Sciences shares how reflective practice has shaped his own educational development and Fellowship journey. Through his experiences, Andy explores how reflection can become an authentic part of everyday practice rather than simply another professional requirement.

Watch Andy’s short video

References

Milton, E. and Morgan, A. 2023. Enquiry as a way of being: a practical framework to support leaders in both embracing the complexity of and creating the conditions for meaningful professional learning. Professional Development in Education 49 (6), pp.1072-1086. (10.1080/19415257.2023.2251122)

Pennington, H. and Lewis, A. (2025)  Walking the Talk: Making space for reflective practice in education development  | The SEDA Blog

Schön, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. New York: Basic Books