Using reflective thinking to develop personal professional philosophies

Reflective thinking, closely related to critical thinking, is discussed as an essential teaching-learning process to help students in introductory pro fessional courses develop personal professional philosophies. Reflective th inking opportunities used by nurse educators and teacher educators include students' own experiences, actual case studies, and media presentations. Us ing reflective thinking to develop personal professional philosophies helps students view themselves as future participants in their chosen profession s. Educators in professional fields such as education and nursing have a wide variety of objectives for their introductory courses. However, one major ob jective in such courses is that students develop an articulated personal ph ilosophy about their future careers. Educators see this development as esse ntial for understanding the profession and its societal context as well as the individual professional role. For education and nursing, fields involvi ng continuous personal interaction with others, students especially need to identify their values and beliefs about the world and the people they will serve. Each individual's overall personal philosophy must then be compatib le with the ideals and standards of the profession. Reflective thinking seems to be an essential part of developing complex und erstandings such as one's own personal professional philosophy (Brooks & Br ooks, 1993; Henderson, 1996). Reflective thinking also is an integral part of professional practice (Schon, 1983). Teaching and nursing both involve r eal-world people and problems, rarely if ever, having easy solutions, Witho ut an ability to reflect and use an articulated philosophy as a guideline i n that reflection, practitioners are forced into haphazard, reactive patter ns of behavior when faced with professional dilemmas. For beginning educati on or nursing students, the instructors' classroom exercises involving refl ective thinking help promote the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes, and s kills necessary for effective career work in the future.