Reflection
There are many definitions in the literature of reflection, most however agree that it is an active, conscious process
Reflection is often initiated when the individual practitioner encounters some problematic aspect of practice and attempts to make sense of it.
Dewey
Dewey (1933) defined reflection as:
An active persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusion to which it tends.
Dewey worked as an educationalist and developed his concept of reflective practice and reflection through experiential learning theories. He concluded in his work that the experience the individual lives through can be described as a dynamic continuum - and that each experience influences the quality of future experiences.
Boud - the learner's point of view
Boud et al (1985) take a different perspective and define it as:
A generic term for those intellectual and effective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to a new understanding and appreciation.
Boud and his co-writers view reflection from the learner's point of view. They emphasise the relationship of the reflective process and the learning experience against what the learner can do.
Schön - types of reflection
Schön (1987) in his work identifies two types of reflection, these are reflection-in-action (thinking on your feet) and reflection-on-action (retrospective thinking). He suggests that reflection is used by practitioners when they encounter situations that are unique, and when individuals may not be able to apply known theories or techniques previously learnt through formal education.
Others
Greenwood (1993), however, identifies weaknesses and inconsistencies in Argyris and Schön's work as they fail to follow their own recommendations. This, she argues, has resulted in the implementation and prescription of dubious strategies for the promotion of what Schön refers to as enlightened professional artistry. Often formal education cannot answer the complex questions of clinical practice and there remains a gap in knowledge gained. Schön, however, argues that wisdom can be learnt by reflection on dilemmas that are encountered in practice and that by using reflection-on-action practitioners can continue to develop their practice.
Reid (1993) in her definition also noted reflection as an active process rather than passive thinking. She states:
Reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice.
Kemmis (1985) agrees with Reid that the process of reflection is more than a process that focuses 'on the head'.
...hat has worked and what hasn’t. If a student for example is taking blood for the first time and something goes wrong, they don’t find the right vein. Reflective practise would help that student to understand what he/she done wrong while carrying out the procedure and how they could stop that from happening again. Not is only reflective practice good for pointing out the bad factors of something but can also be there for when a procedure goes exceptionally well. If a health professional finds a certain technique works better than what’s in place already, reflective practise is a good way to shear the information you found with other colleges so they can carry out that particular producer. Gibbs 1988 is an example of reflective practice, he uses six stages when doing reflective practice which include Description, feelings, evaluation, analyse, analyse and actions plan.
One reason for Reflection being used is to give practitioners the chance to change an aspect within their setting, which they feel can be improved in order to help the development of children within their practice. Reflective practice is about improving practice and coming up with theories to support the improvement (Holmes, 2011, p.7). Reflective practice using critical reflection will allow the practitioners to identify what they do well and what they need to improve on within their Early Years settings. It can also give practitioners the opportunity to develop their professional identity, and work at improving their working environment (Forde et al, 2006, p.65, 66). By allowing practitioners the chance to improve their working environment, it can have a huge influence on the children and their development within the Early Years. For example, a teacher looking back and being reflective over their lesson, will allow them to make amelioration for when they teach that lesson again, thus leading to further learning development of the
Reflection is a significant component of pre-registration education (Davis et al.2000). Hillard (2006) claims that for practitioners to learn from an experience they need to go beyond description and should reflect on their experiences in practice as this could potentially uncover any underlying influences, motivations and knowledge. Reflecting on an experience could then be identified as a process to bridging the gap between theory and practice (Bulman & Schutz, 2004).
Reflection is turning experience into Learning. Reflection is a conscious, dynamic process of thinking about, analysing, and learning from an experience that gives insight into self and practice.
and the value of professional practice and what it requires. We see an example of said
utilise a range of skills such an emphatic reflection, self-reflection and reflective communication to reflect on practice
Heron (1977) refers to the process of reflecting as a ‘conscious use of the self’. Once one becomes consciously aware of their actions, it is easer to recognise the reason for doing them in the first instance. The first stage of this process is to acknowledge our actions by reflecting we reveal to our selves how we act, such actions are spontaneous and without forethought attention.
Without agreement on what reflective practice is, it is difficult to decide on teaching‑learning strategies. Reflective practice may be a developmental learning process (Williamson 1997), may have different levels of attainment (Wellington 1996), and may be affected by a learner’s cognitive ability (James and Clarke 1994), willingness to engage in the process (Bright 1996; Haddock 1997), and orientation to change (Wellington 1996). However, there does seem to be some agreement that critical reflection consists of a process that can be taught to adults. Brookfield (1988) identified four processes central to learning how to be critically reflective: assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation, and reflective skepticism.
(this bit in brown doesn’t make sence explain the point u trying to get acorss it dusnt have to be the authors exact words but it needs to make sense). In addition to this Ixer (1996) published an article to criticise: “There is no such thing as reflection” which attempted to stop the unquestioning acceptance of the concept of reflection from academics and professionals. Students are required to demonstrate their ability to reflect in practice yet reflection is ill defined therefore problematic to assess (Ixer, 1996).
Reflection is a key part of our personal development plan that is significant from both academic and employment perspectives. It investigates and someway measures our present level of skills and knowledge by looking back to reflect our latest performance and monitoring future improvements (Gallagher K., 2013, p. 23-24).
Reflection encourages the student to acknowledge and act upon their strengths and weaknesses in their ability to make clinical decisions (3). As the student reflects it allows them to focus their attention on areas where they have both succeeded and struggled in the clinical setting and apply direct relation to how much knowledge they have gained from the experience (3). Furthermore, whilst it also also allows the student the ability to pose questions, seek clarification of specific events, find meaning and discuss matters of concern and interest with their preceptors in their reflective writing (3). Nonetheless, it is not until the student has achieved the additional knowledge that they will fully understand the limitation of their own practice (3).
The use of a model when reflecting is vital as it is easy for the health practitioner to overlook their experience without making any sense of it. Making use of a model enables the nurse to have a meaningful structure in the process of their reflection, it enables for an identified output or the opinion of one’s overall performance which makes way for an action plan; vital in the process of reflective practice (Stonehouse, 2015). According to Stonehouse (2015), there are many diverse models of reflection, yet the most popular and perhaps successful reflective models firstly include Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle, a cycle which focuses on experience, reflection, conceptualisation and planning and secondly Gibbs (1988) reflective cycle, which includes a series of questions which encourages the nurse to thoroughly examine an event, inciting critical thought. Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle is an experiential learning cycle which consists of four diverse stages in relation to the skill of reflection which the nurse can enter at any point. These four stages include the following; ‘concrete experience’ where the nurse has an experience, ‘reflective observation’ where the nurse reviews and reflects on the experience,
Reflection within early year’s settings and schools allows for the practitioner to think about the work that is being completed either whilst doing it or after it has occurred, the reflection allows for seeing how the work has gone or whether it needs to be changed for future practice. Schön is a key writer about reflection and illustrates the differences between reflection in action, reflection on action and reflection whilst completing the task. The above critical skills help all practitioners to develop understanding as they hugely impact on others lives, if this skill is not engaged in then practice could be effected (Leeson, 2004).
Schon (1983) began with work on the reflective practitioner. ‘Reflective’ differs from the term reflexivity; reflectivity is looking back on your ...
The reflective dimension is the journey of self-development through a critical analysis of one’s thoughts, behaviours and values. Reflection allows you to relate your inner self to the environment around you. It encourages social responsibility and constant improvement as you learn from experience and acknowledge success. (Olckers, Gibbs & Duncan 2007: 3-4) Reflection can boost learning by stimulating awareness of our feelings and practices. This allows health professionals to cope with unfamiliar circumstances and conflicts.