Abstract Book of the 3rd International Education Conference
Year: 2025
[PDF]
Reflact [Sic]: An Interdisciplinary Framework for Meaningful Teaching-Learning Experiences in Complex Contexts
Dr. Astrid Dobmeier, Dr. Veronika Sweet
ABSTRACT:
What makes us believe we could teach our students anything? What if we challenge the perception of linear teacher-learner relationships? In our contribution, we invite you to see yourselves as learners encouraging meaningful experiences. Building on reflections, we adjust our actions. Hence the title of our interdisciplinary framework: reflect + act = Reflact. The framework has won several awards in the German-speaking university context.
Today, knowledge is accessible 24/7. Therefore, we see teaching faculty as curators and learning process facilitators. Nothing new! However, according to feedback we have received over ten years of teaching, students rarely or never experienced this attitude in their previous semesters. With Reflact, students report stronger trust-building with their respective learning peers, an encouraging learning atmosphere, and higher motivation to learn – even for exams and portfolios.
Building on this irritation, we ask: What does it take for frameworks such as Reflact to claim a paradigm shift in university learning? We share our reflections on two sub-questions derived from system theories, cybernetics, learning organisation, work / organisational psychology and systemic team / organisational development: 1. How can both students and faculty benefit from previous experiences in their complex surroundings, regardless of their discipline? 2. How can Reflact be a successful approach to transformation in higher education teaching, scholarship and research across nationalities? With a systemic mindset in the workshop, we create shared learning processes where trust can grow. The more mutual trust there is in education, the more everybody strives in ever-changing transformations across the globe.
Keywords: systemic teaching, interdisciplinary framework, self-reflection, cybernetics, learning organisation