International collaboration supports Reflective Practice in MONHE

The M.A. in Open and Networked Higher Education (MONHE), offered within the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta, continues to develop its engagement with research-informed reflective practice through sustained international collaboration. Within the study-unit Reflective Practices (ACA5062), led by Prof. Michelle Attard Tonna, Dr Felicity Healey-Benson (University of Wales Trinity Saint David, University of Gloucester) is contributing her Cards of Insight framework, derived from hermeneutic phenomenological research into higher-order thinking in higher education. The wider MONHE programme is supported through the leadership of Dr Maria Cutajar.

This marks the second collaboration between MONHE and Dr Healey-Benson. Engagement with a previous cohort informed the development of the reflective chapter within her recent monograph Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Higher Education: An Ontological and Phenomenological Exploration (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026). The framework now returns to the programme in applied form, embedded within the study-unit assessment and supporting dialogical, practice-based reflection at Masters level.

Unlike conventional reflective toolkits that rely on procedural models or checklist-based evaluation, the Cards of Insight are designed as dialogical provocations. Structured across interconnected thematic subsets, they invite educators to dwell with lived tensions, relational nuance, and professional positioning over time. Their integration within ACA5062 demonstrates how phenomenologically grounded research can inform Masters-level reflective practice in applied contexts.

Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Higher Education: An Ontological and Phenomenological Exploration.