Exploring the effects of scaffolded reflective learning on student teachers' design performance and reflective thinking

Abstract

Solving design problems requires designers to engage in a continuous process of reflection, gradually clarifying the problem and seeking the optimal solution. Promoting student to reflect on their design solutions through well-designed reflective learning activities and scaffolding is a key approach to improving design performance. However, few empirical studies have explored the design of iterative reflective learning activities for design tasks and their impact on design performance and reflective thinking. Therefore, this study presented a scaffolded reflective thinking model based on previous research and implemented a three-stage reflective learning activity with different scaffolds at each stage to help student teachers solve an instructional design task. Thirty-three student teachers participated in the study. A mixed methods approach of content analysis, statistical analysis, and epistemic network analysis was used to analyze their instructional design artifacts and reflective journals to investigate student teachers' design performance and development of reflective thinking. The results showed significant improvements in the quality, fluency, originality, and elaboration of student teachers' instructional design artifacts. Their reflections focused mainly on task-related content and problems in the design artifacts. The progression of their reflective thinking from descriptive to dialogic reflection was evident, with more in-depth reflection on problems, content, and potential solutions observed in the later stages. In addition, this study revealed a positive correlation between student teachers’ reflective thinking and design performance and identified the three key roles of scaffolding in enhancing reflection and design performance. These findings highlight the importance of iterative reflective practice and scaffolding in solving design tasks and provide valuable educational implications for improving design performance.