Reflex, Refraction and Reflection: A Prism for Dialogue

Abstract

This paper develops and refines the concepts of reflex, reflection and refraction as a framework for analysing and designing reflective dialogue in higher education. The argument responds to a practical problem identified across prior studies of blended and in-class learningthat students frequently participate in practical activities without moving beyond routine action unless the activity is deliberately slowed down and analysed. The paper therefore asks: how can educational activities be designed so that students have something to reflect on, a framework within which to reflect, someone to reflect with, and a purpose for reflection? Methodologically, the paper is based on a qualitative document analysis of a corpus of prior studies in Danish higher education that examined dialogue, reflection and lecturer scaffolding in hybrid learning settings. The analysis used iterative coding to identify recurrent forms of reflection, pedagogical arrangements and mediating conditions that supported reflective dialogue. Three cross-case conditions were identified: the sequencing of online and in-person dialogue, the use of structured dialogue formats such as rubrics and question prompts, and the use of technological affordances aligned with students’ communicative needs. On this basis, the paper proposes a three-phase model in which reflex denotes undisturbed routine action, refraction denotes a didactic interruption that decomposes experience into analytically manageable elements, and reflection denotes the subsequent synthesis of experience and theory. The paper further develops a typology of hard, soft, diffuse and absorbed reflection to describe different degrees of lecturer involvement. The contribution of the paper is a clearer conceptual vocabulary and a design-oriented framework for linking practice, dialogue and theory in blended higher education.