One can judge an argument by how well thought-out the positions are, what kinds of reasoning and evidence are used to support it, and how consistent the way one argues on this topic is as compared with other topics.

–  Stage 7, The Reflective Judgement Stage

How is it possible that people have such different views about this subject?

–  The English Language as a reflective Judgement Component in the Intercultural Erasmus Exchange to and from Poland

It is the view of researchers in education that students need to be prepared to solve complex problems. Complex problems are, in brief, problems which arise because of the interaction between multiple factors which are connected in ways, not immediately obvious. Solving complex problems requires what is termed reflective judgement. Reflective judgement is different from merely reflecting.

Researchers, for example, Ramirez-Montoya and colleagues, in a systematic review of published papers on complex thinking in education, explain that complex thinking will be required in a “continuously changing and challenging world” with advanced technology.

According to them, for students to succeed in a complex world, teaching must become student-centred (teaching adapted to the student). Students must change from being passive recipients to active learners (take action to seek answers and initiate self-development). Students must also apply their learning to real life scenarios, contexts and challenges. One example, done in a secondary school here a number of years ago, was when students were tasked to design their dream holiday with a given budget.  Finally, they must also develop complex thinking and research skills to suggest solutions to existing societal problems. They and others suggest that this type of preparatory system is termed “Education 4.0”.

Students are familiar with reflecting or reflections. For example, they might be asked to think back on how they performed on an assignment and how they could have done better or why did they did well so they can do well again. In this sense, reflection is to look back to understand.

Reflective judgement differs in that it requires the student to also look wider and further. Education researchers, Patricia King and Karen Kitchener came up with the Reflective Judgment Model (RJM), which explains what reflective judgement is. There are three main stages. These are pre-reflective thinking, quasi-reflective thinking and reflective thinking.

Pre-reflective thinking as the term suggests is to source for an existing solution to a well-defined problem – I know what the problem is. This is not a novel problem; others have faced the problem and there is a specific name for this type of problem. Even though I don’t know the solution now, I can easily find an existing solution by asking someone or searching online.

Quasi-reflective thinking applies when there may be more than one correct answer to a problem. The answers may not be immediately obvious because of a lack of information or because existing information lends itself to differing interpretations. The final answer will be one which is correct for the person arriving at that answer, for the circumstance unique to that person.

Reflective thinking, which comprises stages 6 and 7 of the RJM, is necessary for problems which are unfolding dynamically. Here, the decision maker has a view of the matter and is aware that reasonable people can disagree. There is no existing correct answer because the question itself is not clear. It is imperative for the decision maker to take on board, especially conflicting views alongside with their justification and know the difference between cogent and passionate arguments. The decision maker has to calculate the odds of different outcomes and be aware that the player changes the game. The final answer can only be ascertained after a holistic and thorough assessment of available evidence and a balancing exercise of different considerations. Having constant regard to the values of who the decision maker represents will be invaluable in the process.

It turns out that proficiency in the English language aids the development of reflective judgement ability.

Researchers Odrowaz- Coates and Perkowska – Klejman set out to establish if the English language proficiency of European students who participated in a student exchange programme known as the Erasmus Programme, had any bearing on how well they were able to exercise reflective judgement. According to them, Erasmus “students are expected to communicate in English because it is considered the Lingua Franca of European academia”.

They enrolled 125 “exchange students from and to Poland”. Participating students other than the Polish, were from Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

These students were asked to give written answers to a Reflective Judgement Interview, developed by Patricia King and Karen Kitchener. The interview required responses to “five cognitively ambiguous problems”. One example of such a problem was centred on the issue of nuclear energy. The students had to answer questions such as “When two people differ about matters such as this, is it the case that one opinion is right and one is wrong?” Two others analysed their responses for the level of reflective judgement demonstrated on a scale of 1-7.

The researchers found that higher reflectivity was associated with greater proficiency in English (as a foreign or non-native language). Older participants were more reflective. Participants who had been exposed to a “foreign language environment in childhood” exhibited higher reflectivity in their responses to the cognitively ambiguous problems.

To operate effectively in a complex world, students must become aware that it is not possible to study to a test when what will be tested has yet to be decided. They could well have to both set the test (define problems) and answer it. It will be helpful for them to indulge their curiosity and build knowledge on a wide variety of issues. They will also need analytical ability which requires, among other things, being able to recognise what is relevant to the analysis. So, they can form their own questions when they are researching anything they are curious about and seek answers to those questions.

Students must learn not to be overly invested in any one side of an issue for instance by wagering all on a win-lose paradigm since this would impede the finding of effective and appropriate solutions. This would require a mindset shift and emotional management skills.

Complex problems are likely to involve multiple stakeholders with differing interests and perspective-taking exercises will be helpful.

Also, a problem can be sui generis.

What it is like, is not what it is.

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