LibGuides: Reflective Practice Toolkit: What is reflective practice? (2024)

Reflective practice

Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning.

- Donald Schon

What is reflective practice?

Imagine that you come home at the end of a really bad week where everything possible has gone wrong. When you walk in the front door you are confronted with a time machine which can take you back to Monday morning so you can live the whole week over again. You use this opportunity to think about everything that went wrong and what you could do (if anything) to correct things as well as trying to repeat the things that you have done right. It may not seem like it but this is reflective practice- the act of thinking about our experiences in order to learn from them for the future. In real life you probably don't have access to time travel but you can still work towards being a reflective practitioner. We can all undertake activities to think about our experiences, learn from them and develop an action plan for what we will do next.

Reflective practice was something which developed in disciplines such as teaching, medicine and social work as a way to learn from real life experiences. People in these areas would think about encounters with their students, patients or clients, how these worked and what lessons they could take away. Over time many other areas have adopted the principles of reflective practice, including universities. You can use reflection when studying, for example when preparing group work or when working on assignments. It is also useful beyond academia when you are applying for jobs, as part of a professional qualification or just as a way of thinking about your role.

Although a definition of reflective practice has been included above this is only one part of a larger process. Reflection is a very personal thing and different people will define it in different ways. Itis important to remember that there is no one 'correct' way of defining what reflection is or how it should be done as a lot of this will depend on your own circ*mstances.

LibGuides: Reflective Practice Toolkit: What is reflective practice? (2024)

FAQs

What is reflective practice reflective practice toolkit? ›

Reflective practice is 'the process whereby an individual thinks analytically about anything. relating to their professional practice with the intention of gaining insight and using the lessons learned to maintain good practice or make improvements where possible'.

What is the reflective practice? ›

Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning.

What are the 5 principles of reflective practice? ›

In the model presented in Figure 1, five principal skills are illustrated: Being, Speaking, Disclosing, Testing, and Probing. The skill of Being is central and pervasive, cutting across the other skills, for it represents one's presence and vulnerability in creating a reflective climate in the group. ...

What are the 5 R's of reflection? ›

The 5R framework for reflection will guide you through Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, and Reconstructing to make sense of a learning experience.

What are the 4 C's of reflective practice? ›

They are reflection in action, reflection on action, and reflection for action. The chapter also presents the 3Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic) and 4Cs (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity), and discusses the kind of instructional effects each has on the learner.

What is an example of reflective practice effectively? ›

An example of reflective practice is an athlete who, after every practice, thinks about what they did well, what they did badly, why they did things the way they did, and what they can do in the future to improve their performance.

What are the 3 aspects of reflective practice? ›

Reflection is an active and dynamic process:

It can involve reflecting 'on' action (past experience), reflecting 'in' action (on an incident as it happens), or reflecting 'for' action (actions that you may wish to take in the future).

What is the main benefit of reflective practice? ›

It allows you to recognize your own strengths and weakness, and use this to guide on-going learning. By reflection you will develop your skills in self-directed learning, improve motivation, and improve the quality of care you are able to provide.

What is reflective practice quizlet? ›

Reflective Practice : Definition 2. - Reflective Practice is a cycle of ongoing learning that occurs when we take the time to "stop, think and change" - Reflective practice is a way of studying your own experiences to improve the way you work .

What is the best strategy of reflective practice? ›

To implement reflective practice, try these strategies: Set a model for students' reflections. This will prompt students what to include and give you a clear framework to assess the reflection. It will also help students who are less familiar with reflective tasks and unsure where to start.

What is the easiest reflective model? ›

The ERA cycle (Jasper, 2013) is one of the most simple models of reflection and contains only three stages: Experience. Reflection. Action.

What are the 4 R's of reflective thinking? ›

The 4R Scale by Ryan and Ryan (2015) outlines four levels—reporting and responding, relating, reasoning, and reconstructing—to determine the depth of thinking in the reflection.

What is the best reflective model? ›

One of the most famous cyclical models of reflection leading you through six stages exploring an experience: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan.

What are the 3 models of reflection? ›

  • Boud's triangular representation is perhaps the simplest model of reflection. ...
  • The Johns' model was developed by analyzing conversations between individuals and the supervisors that worked with them throughout their learning experience. ...
  • The Atkins and Murphy model is commonly used to guide a deeper level of reflection.

What is a reflective tool? ›

Tools for reflection

You may need to try a few different tools and methods of reflection to find which is most beneficial to you. Common tools for reflection are: learning journals, diaries, portfolios - jotting notes down in written prose. learning journal activity.

What is the purpose of reflective tools? ›

These tools offer the ability to present detailed information about learning processes (e.g., use of time during a specific learning process) and the ability to provide guidance, for example in the form of questions that support reflection.

What are the reflection tools for students? ›

Common tools include: learning journals, diaries, log books and personal blogs – your thoughts in written prose. lists, bullet points, tables – your thoughts summarised in note form. audiovisual recordings – documenting your voice or using video recordings.

What is reflective practice in a care home? ›

Reflection is the thought process where individuals consider their experiences to gain insights about their whole practice. Reflection supports individuals to continually improve the way they work or the quality of care they give to people.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Barbera Armstrong

Last Updated:

Views: 5736

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (79 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Barbera Armstrong

Birthday: 1992-09-12

Address: Suite 993 99852 Daugherty Causeway, Ritchiehaven, VT 49630

Phone: +5026838435397

Job: National Engineer

Hobby: Listening to music, Board games, Photography, Ice skating, LARPing, Kite flying, Rugby

Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.