ABSTRACT
Reflective learning is an important type of learning both in formal and informal situations-in school, higher education, at the workplace, and in everyday life. People may benefit from technical support for reflective learning, in particular when supporting each other by reflecting not only upon their own but also upon other people's problems. We refer to this collective approach where people come together to think about experiences and find solutions to problems as "collaborative reflection." We present three empirical studies about the effects of prompting in reflective learning tools in such situations where people reflect on others' issues. In Study 1 we applied a three-stage within-group design in a field experiment, where 39 participants from two organizations received different types of prompts while they used a reflection app. We found that prompts that invited employees to write down possible solutions led to more comprehensive comments on their colleagues' experiences. In Study 2 we used a three-stage between-group design in a laboratory experiment, where 78 university students were invited to take part in an experiment about the discussion of problems at work or academic studies in online forums. Here we found that short, abstract prompts showed no superiority to a situation without any prompts with respect to quantity or quality of contributions. Finally, Study 3 featured a two-stage between-group design in an online experiment, where 60 participants received either general reflection instructions or detailed instructions about how to reflect on other people's problems. We could show that detailed reflection instructions supported people in producing more comprehensive comments that included more general advice. The results demonstrate that to increase activity and to improve quality of comments with prompting tools require detailed instructions and specific wording of the prompts.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Reflection is an important cognitive process in workplace learning; however, it occurs only rarely on its own and therefore needs additional support. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the effect of software applications (apps) that aim to support reflection on hospital staff's actual reflection behavior. In doing so, we also analyzed the relationship between reflection and the job satisfaction of health care professionals. METHODS: Reflective learning was introduced in the ward of a neurological hospital by providing apps that aimed to foster particular aspects of individual and collaborative reflection. Data were collected repeatedly: once before the introduction of the apps and again 2 years after the initial measure. We used a questionnaire with subjective ratings of reflection and job satisfaction. Response rates were 34.4% (167/485) for the first and 40.6% (210/517) for the second measure. RESULTS: Collaborative reflection was increased (P=.047) after the provision of the apps (2010: mean 2.84, SD 0.72; 2012: mean 3.06, SD 0.63) in contrast to a control group of other wards of the same hospital (2010: mean 2.68, SD 0.67; 2012: mean 2.63, SD 0.68). In addition, we revealed a positive correlation between collaborative reflection and job satisfaction (r=.61, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide evidence for an effect of the apps on hospital employees' reflection behavior. Apps that foster reflective learning can increase health care professionals' reflection about work experiences and support them in discussing experiences in teams or with their supervisors. The relationship between collaborative reflection and job satisfaction suggests that opportunities for joint reflection on work experiences in a hospital have further impact over and above fostering reflective learning per se. We discuss the limitations of our study and provide suggestions for both future research and the development of Web-based apps.
