Schön’s (1983, 1987) work on reflective practice created a fertile context for the introduction of Boyer’s (1990) assessment of the scholarship of teaching. Boyer’s insights held appeal for faculty dedicated to teaching, and changed the way many universities evaluate professors. Unfortunately, instead of expanding in depth and complexity, the evaluation of teaching has become increasingly synonymous with student ratings. When evaluation is limited to those, it can conflict with the process of reflective practice and weaken the project of developing a scholarship of teaching. This paper explores a qualitative approach to reflective practice for developing the scholarship of teaching.

I seek to explain how reflective practice might be couched in a framework of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) (Cooperrider, 1987, 2003). Appreciative Inquiry encourages the construction of rich narratives as a foundation for reflecting on career development. I use this approach with faculty who ask for help, particularly when developing their teaching portfolios.

Constructivism:  Piaget’s theory of constructivism (Piaget, 1957, Piaget and Inhelder 1973) holds that learners build their thinking skills while developing their understanding of the world. The process is interactive and iterative, incremental and cyclical as individuals “accommodate” what they have “assimilated.” Knowledge is appropriated as subjective experience. In this paper, narrative is considered a tool for constructing self-image. Drawing metacognitively on their experience, adults construct an autobiography that builds: a sense of control (as protagonist); meaningful relationships; affirming accomplishments; rational development; and valued life-goals.

Reflective Practice:   Schön (1983, 1987) used Polanyi’s (1967) notion of tacit knowledge to argue that action is a way of knowing. He claimed that we could learn by reflecting while acting (even when not fully cognizant of our rationale or goal) through operative attention (Wittgenstein, 1953). In this paper, the process of autobiography (a form of reflective narrative) is the medium of action.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI):  Appreciative inquiry (AI) reflects on what makes individuals and communities (family, workplace, etc.) thrive. AI attends to this positive core, displacing negative thoughts and attitudes. Research has demonstrated that AI helps to transform organizational culture (Cooperrider and Whitney 1999).

AI follows four stages (“the 4D cycle”):

(i)   Discover what makes an individual/community thrive;

(ii)  Envision desired goals;

(iii) Construct what is needed to achieve the goal;

(iv) Sustain accomplishments and identity.

Narrative Therapy:  Narrative therapy (White 2007, White and Epston 1990) rests on the belief that viewing our lives as stories can be constructive and transformative. Many are unaware that they have created (or “authored”) their self-image, and that accordingly they can re-author it by questioning the validity and priority they have given to characters and events in their narratives.

A Case Study:

Arnold* was a newly appointed professor serving his probationary year. He was an experienced researcher who had been excited to take a teaching contract. However, at the end of his first year, unfortunately some of his students gave him negative teaching evaluations, and his Head of Department (HoD) informed him that she could not recommend his appointment. Arnold appealed to the Dean who referred him to me in Faculty Development and extended his probation for a further year. He was demoralized by the negative feedback, so I introduced Appreciative Inquiry to help him reflect positively on his work. When I invited him to tell me his story I soon learned of his research background (discovery phase) and encouraged him to pursue this, even though he had been advised to focus on his teaching.

With my encouragement Arnold pursued research plans (envisioning phase), re-authoring his identity as a teaching professor to incorporate his research strengths. Quite quickly he published in a reputable journal, and I recommended he bring it to the attention of the Dean. At the end of his second year, the Dean was satisfied with his progress and his contract was renewed. As his confidence grew and his student evaluations gradually improved, Arnold began to establish himself as the lecturer responsible for student research. He started a journal club, and contributed to the development of a new masters program (constructing phase). Currently, Arnold is applying for grants for student research projects. As these projects come to fruition, his credentials as a professor will be further strengthened (sustaining phase).

* The case study was adapted to illustrate this paper. Identities have been obscured to protect confidentiality.

Against the current trend of reducing faculty evaluation to student ratings, the use of reflective practice through a framework of affirmative inquiry provides a constructive approach to the scholarship of teaching.

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The presentation of this paper was made possible by a grant from St. George’s University’s Graduate Studies Professional Travel Fund.