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Discourses on Professional Learning pp 113–139Cite as

Reflection and Reflective Behaviour in Work Teams

Part of the Professional and Practice-based Learning book series (PPBL,volume 9)

Abstract

Despite many routinised and rule-based workflows, there are often unique features and new experiences in the workplace. These deviations originate from exceptional cases or lasting changes. It is not until these experiences are reflected on that they lead to learning in terms of modified beliefs, mental models and knowledge. This need for reflection and reflective behaviour is of particular importance within work teams, and both require and benefit from the reflection skills of its participants. Starting with learning as problem-solving and the need for reflection, we will focus on the purpose of reflection to solve challenges (problems) and break-up routines. Afterwards, we discuss individual reflection and its connection to team reflection and team reflective behaviour because individual reflection is the basis of team reflection and benefits from it. Based on the discussion of the individual and team level, we look at the organisational level and focus on exemplary contextual settings and methods of reflection in team settings and their implementation in work settings. With this, we look at the connection between team reflection and organisational learning and offer a brief insight into the challenges and boundaries of reflection in teams. After showing the relations and difficulties of team learning and organisational learning, we conclude our chapter with the recognition that a comprehensive analysis of reflection has to consider the individual, social as well as the organisational perspective when it comes to team reflection.

Keywords

  • Organisational Learning
  • Reflective Practice
  • Workplace Learning
  • Reflection Process
  • Organisational Perspective

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Fig. 7.1
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Business Education and Educational Management, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Thomas Schley

  2. Department of Human Resource Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Marianne van Woerkom Ph.D.

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  1. Thomas Schley
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  2. Marianne van Woerkom Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Thomas Schley .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Educational Science, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany

    Christian Harteis

  2. Department of Business Education and Educational Management, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Andreas Rausch

  3. Economics and Business Education II, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

    Jürgen Seifried

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Schley, T., van Woerkom, M. (2014). Reflection and Reflective Behaviour in Work Teams. In: Harteis, C., Rausch, A., Seifried, J. (eds) Discourses on Professional Learning. Professional and Practice-based Learning, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7012-6_7

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