Raising the Bar on Criticality: Students’ Critical Reflection in an Internship Program

Abstract

Critical reflection promotes the questioning of assumptions, the rendering visible of the otherwise invisible. This article describes and analyzes the teaching and learning of critical reflection in the context of an internship program at the University of Sydney within the framework of completing a reflexive report for assessment. The authors review the literature on critical reflection and the frameworks they favor for their team-teaching approach. Their specific teaching strategies are outlined, and their students’ writing is examined for evidence of indicators of critical reflection and transformative learning. They speculate that their teaching strategies, combined with what the students themselves bring to the classroom, along with the unique workplace experience provided by an internship program, led to genuine critical reflection and transformative learning for most, though not all, students.