<p>The objective for this study is to examine whether it is possible to use the method of reflective equilibrium in order to enhance the usefulness of public debates as a support for political decision-making. Since public debates from political quarters are seen as an important tool for policy-making, the need for a rational assessment of the views put forward in such debates are important. And since reflective equilibrium aims for coherence between judgments on different levels – intuitions, principles and theories, which all are put forward in public debates – the point of departure for this theses is that this method could be useful for the matter of bringing some kind of structure to public debates.</p><p>The analysis in this study shows that there actually are similarities between the method of reflective equilibrium and the course of public debates, since they both are characterized by the fact that viewpoints are mutually scrutinized in the light of one another. Further, it is argued that a more systematic applying of the method of reflective equilibrium would further the justification force of the outcome of public debates, since the method stresses the need of rationality and the importance of taking all relevant opinions into consideration. Therefore, the conclusion is that applying reflective equilibrium to public debates could make the political decision-making more democratic.</p>

<p><strong>Sammanfattning</strong></p><p>För att dagens elever ska kunna möta de krav som samhället ställer på läskunnighet behöver de kunna ta till sig innehållet i det de läser med god läshastighet och förståelse och de behöver kunna reflektera kring det lästa. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ta reda på hur ett antal elever upplever hur deras reflektionsförmåga och läsförståelse påverkas av att arbeta med skönlitterära texter och textsamtal utifrån en metod som kan kallas <em>reflekterande läsning och</em> <em>skrivning</em>. Anledningen till detta är att jag vill ta reda på om arbetssättet passar att implementera över lag i den skola jag arbetar för närvarande.</p><p>                      Genom en litteraturgenomgång av språkets betydelse för människans utveckling, läs- och skrivutveckling, några olika didaktiska metoder och kvalitativa intervjuer med sex elever i år 9 redogör jag i detta examensarbete för hur man didaktiskt kan arbeta för att utveckla elevernas reflektionsförmåga och läsförståelse. Jag tar också upp svårigheter och kritik som framförts om den didaktiska metoden. Resultatet visar att fem av de sex eleverna upplever att de blivit bättre på att reflektera kring skönlitterära texter och att dessa reflektioner kan leda till en bättre förståelse för det lästa. Utifrån det resultat jag fått fram och den litteratur jag läst, anser jag att metoden, med några små justeringar, går att implementera från förskoleklass och uppåt.</p><p> </p><p>Nyckelord: reflekterande läsning och skrivning, läsförståelse, reflektionsförmåga</p> / <p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>In order to meet the requirements on reading acquisition of today’s society, students must know how to understand what they read and keep up their reading speed. They also need to know how to reflect upon what they are reading. The purpose with this examination is to find out how a number of students experience their ability to reflect upon fiction and how their reading comprehension is being improved by reading fiction and working with book talks through a didactic method called <em>reflective reading and writing</em>. The reason for doing this is that I would like to find out whether this method is suitable to implement at the school where I am working at the present.</p><p>                      By studying literature about the importance of language to man’s development, reading and writing acquisition, some different didactic methods and interviewing six students in year 9, I report in this examination on how you can work didactically to develop the students’ ability to reflect and their reading comprehension. I also report on difficulties with and critique on the method. The result shows that five of the six students experience a better ability to reflect upon fiction and that these reflections can lead to a better reading comprehension of the texts they have read. From the gained result and the literature I have studied, I am of the opinion that this method, with some adjustments, can be implemented as early as from pre-school class.</p><p> </p><p>Keywords: reflective reading and writing, reading comprehension, ability to reflect</p>

<p>Nondirective counseling is to listen, support, and advise, without directing a client’s course of action. It has been influenced by humanistic theories in the tradition of Carl Rogers, but techniques used in nondirective counseling are common in many forms of psychological counseling and treatment today. There are, however, few conclusions as to what the results of training nondirective counseling are. The purpose of the present thesis is to examine effects of nondirective counseling training, and to analyze how such effects are moderated by the characteristics of clients. Three quasi-experimental or experimental studies (Paper I­III) are presented. In Paper I, trained and untrained insurance company employees were compared on their Reflective listening (RL; a subskill of nondirective counseling) skills before and after a training program. Training increased RL, and the skills were transferred to authentic settings. Trained employees were, however, not evaluated differently than untrained. In Paper II, psychology students were compared before and after RL training of three time lengths. All training times increased skills equally, but clients disclosed more information to those with longer training, the students remembered the information better, and external judges perceived the therapeutic relationship as better, especially if the judge was socially competent. In Paper III, two nondirective counseling techniques, RL and open-ended questions, were evaluated by judges who differed in social skills and cognitive ability. RL received positive ratings, whereas open-ended questions did not, and the judges’ ratings were moderated by their social skills and cognitive ability. In the Discussion, it is proposed that even short training has effects, that trained skills generalize to authentic contexts, but that the usefulness of the examined subskills of nondirective counseling depends on client characteristics such as social skills and cognitive ability.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 427-434).

Abstract Two preschool teachers served as participants in this instrumental case study with the purpose of: (1) identifying the emergence of new understandings and processes of joint, shared activity, (2) examining the ways in which the use of two diverse methods (electronic and audio journals) influenced and mediated critical reflective practice, and (3) examining the link between reflection and action. There were two major findings. First, the use of multiple methods to engage in reflection was found to be critical to encourage and support effective, rich reflection. Second, teachers changed the conceptualization of their professional relationships and of reflective practice. When their collaborative reflections were put into action, change in professional relationships and practices occurred. From these findings, two themes emerged. The first theme encompassed the relational and structural aspects of the reflective setting that influenced reflective practice. The second theme involved the use of multiple tools or methods that mediated their processes. Included in the discussion are the ways structural and relational features of the school setting (and research design) influenced teachers’ ability to engage in continual reflection leading toward new knowledge, skills and dispositions. The use of diverse tools was shown to contribute to the participants’ abilities to reflect deeply and critically. Implications for the practice of collaborative reflective practice in early childhood settings include the reorganization of the school context to insure time, space and methods that promote shared reflective experiences.

Nondirective counseling is to listen, support, and advise, without directing a client’s course of action. It has been influenced by humanistic theories in the tradition of Carl Rogers, but techniques used in nondirective counseling are common in many forms of psychological counseling and treatment today. There are, however, few conclusions as to what the results of training nondirective counseling are. The purpose of the present thesis is to examine effects of nondirective counseling training, and to analyze how such effects are moderated by the characteristics of clients. Three quasi-experimental or experimental studies (Paper I­III) are presented. In Paper I, trained and untrained insurance company employees were compared on their Reflective listening (RL; a subskill of nondirective counseling) skills before and after a training program. Training increased RL, and the skills were transferred to authentic settings. Trained employees were, however, not evaluated differently than untrained. In Paper II, psychology students were compared before and after RL training of three time lengths. All training times increased skills equally, but clients disclosed more information to those with longer training, the students remembered the information better, and external judges perceived the therapeutic relationship as better, especially if the judge was socially competent. In Paper III, two nondirective counseling techniques, RL and open-ended questions, were evaluated by judges who differed in social skills and cognitive ability. RL received positive ratings, whereas open-ended questions did not, and the judges’ ratings were moderated by their social skills and cognitive ability. In the Discussion, it is proposed that even short training has effects, that trained skills generalize to authentic contexts, but that the usefulness of the examined subskills of nondirective counseling depends on client characteristics such as social skills and cognitive ability.

“There is no need to reinvent the wheel” – a cliché, often told when you want to come up with something new that in someway can be connected to something that already exist. This study shows the opposite – that inventions emanate from what is given. It can be a detail, a problem in a thing - a wheel - or a situation that catches the inventor’s attention. It is something that seeks a solution or something that generates an idea, a hint or a clue of something new and useful. The art of invention emerges from the ability and skill to broaden the seeing and put thinking, substance and tradition into motion. An old radio dial generates a new ergonomic steering wheel. The connection of memories between a chestnut, a cello and an early morning at a water pump creates three works of art. The epistemology of this study is based on a dialogue between voices from different times and traditions. Some voices are normative examples, drawn from a dialogue between Swedish inventors. The others are those of philosophers from the Age of Enlightenment, fetched from their original writings. Through that dialogue, perspectives and ideas of inventors and classical philosophers meet and are compared. A deeper understanding thus emerges that shows the essence of invention and in fact the essence of all creative work: i) Freedom – in thought and in action ii) Dialogue - to test and try new ideas and things in the ever changing circumstances. iii) Doubt - not taking established fact and assumptions for granted iv) Action – testing and breaking established praxis and rules. The study also illustrates the need for an alternative scientific form and expression concerning studies in the fields of invention, innovation and other practical work. Invention can not be captured or shaped by exact measurements, concepts, definitions or abstract models. It takes place in the borderland between fact and fiction, where technique, aesthetics and philosophy are one working entity. The strive for knowledge is endless and without limits and it is nurtured by wondering, searching and ambiguity. With inspiration from the dialogue seminar method used within KTH Advanced Programme in Reflective Practice – this study point out the actuality and vitality in using the classical philosophical writings, dialogue and analogical thinking as a scientific method within higher education.

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of using metacognitive strategies embedded in explicit&ndash / reflective NOS instruction to improve NOS understanding of pre-service science teachers. Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) (Schraw &amp / Dennison, 1994) and Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-C) (Lederman et al., 2001) were used both at the beginning and at the end of the study as a pre-test&ndash / post-test, comparison group, quasi-experimental design. A total of 33 pre-service science teachers (PSTs), 24 were female and 9 were male agreed to join the study voluntarily. These students were selected for this study while they were enrolling at their 5th semester in which they attended Methods of Teaching Science I course offered by the faculty of education at Middle East Technical University. Participants were divided into two groups namely comparison and intervention group. Explicit reflective NOS instruction was used in both groups, but metacognitive strategies additionally used in intervention group. Data analysis demonstrated that explicit reflective NOS instruction enhanced the development of understanding of NOS in both groups. Results also showed that metacognitive strategies improved the metacognitive awareness of intervention group participants. Although four of these metacognitive strategies and explicit reflective NOS instruction in present study provided a substantial increase in NOS understandings of PSTs in intervention group, chi-square analysis showed statistically no significant difference between comparison and intervention group participants&rsquo / post-test results.

“There is no need to reinvent the wheel” – a cliché, often told when you want to come up with something new that in someway can be connected to something that already exist. This study shows the opposite – that inventions emanate from what is given. It can be a detail, a problem in a thing - a wheel - or a situation that catches the inventor’s attention. It is something that seeks a solution or something that generates an idea, a hint or a clue of something new and useful. The art of invention emerges from the ability and skill to broaden the seeing and put thinking, substance and tradition into motion. An old radio dial generates a new ergonomic steering wheel. The connection of memories between a chestnut, a cello and an early morning at a water pump creates three works of art. The epistemology of this study is based on a dialogue between voices from different times and traditions. Some voices are normative examples, drawn from a dialogue between Swedish inventors. The others are those of philosophers from the Age of Enlightenment, fetched from their original writings. Through that dialogue, perspectives and ideas of inventors and classical philosophers meet and are compared. A deeper understanding thus emerges that shows the essence of invention and in fact the essence of all creative work: i) Freedom – in thought and in action ii) Dialogue - to test and try new ideas and things in the ever changing circumstances. iii) Doubt - not taking established fact and assumptions for granted iv) Action – testing and breaking established praxis and rules. The study also illustrates the need for an alternative scientific form and expression concerning studies in the fields of invention, innovation and other practical work. Invention can not be captured or shaped by exact measurements, concepts, definitions or abstract models. It takes place in the borderland between fact and fiction, where technique, aesthetics and philosophy are one working entity. The strive for knowledge is endless and without limits and it is nurtured by wondering, searching and ambiguity. With inspiration from the dialogue seminar method used within KTH Advanced Programme in Reflective Practice – this study point out the actuality and vitality in using the classical philosophical writings, dialogue and analogical thinking as a scientific method within higher education. / QC 20100826

The objective for this study is to examine whether it is possible to use the method of reflective equilibrium in order to enhance the usefulness of public debates as a support for political decision-making. Since public debates from political quarters are seen as an important tool for policy-making, the need for a rational assessment of the views put forward in such debates are important. And since reflective equilibrium aims for coherence between judgments on different levels – intuitions, principles and theories, which all are put forward in public debates – the point of departure for this theses is that this method could be useful for the matter of bringing some kind of structure to public debates. The analysis in this study shows that there actually are similarities between the method of reflective equilibrium and the course of public debates, since they both are characterized by the fact that viewpoints are mutually scrutinized in the light of one another. Further, it is argued that a more systematic applying of the method of reflective equilibrium would further the justification force of the outcome of public debates, since the method stresses the need of rationality and the importance of taking all relevant opinions into consideration. Therefore, the conclusion is that applying reflective equilibrium to public debates could make the political decision-making more democratic.