Reflection may well feel very familiar to you. Often, we are reflective in our practice; we evaluate how things have gone and think about why that might be, and we use this information to inform our next steps or future practice. You may be asked to write reflective pieces, which enable you to formalise this process.
At Level 6, the way you communicate this process and how you have come to make the connections you have made, helps you demonstrate higher level skill in reflection.
Why do we reflect?
Make a list of the reasons reflection might be beneficial. What does it facilitate? What impact can it have?
Reflection can present specific challenges. It can be uncomfortable to revisit times when things didn't quite go how you'd hoped. Sometimes it is difficult to be honest with yourself, or see experiences clearly. Sometimes people find it hard to identify positives in what felt like a challenging experience, and at other times it can be hard to think of areas which could be developed.
It also requires a shift in your academic writing. Often we use the first person (see the 'Writing in 1st and 3rd person' section on this pack), which can feel different. It also requires us to make connections between our own experiences, and the theories and sources which link with them. This can be tricky, but is a wonderful way of making sense of your experience and broadening your understanding.
Sometimes, a reflective model may be suggested to structure your reflective process. If that is the case, read about the reflective model and consider why it might be appropriate for this piece. Different models are used in different circumstances and for different purposes.
There are resources about reflection in general, and some of the reflective models, on the Skills Hub. You could take a quick look at them now to familiarise yourself with them: Skills Hub reflection section.
There are many more models than you will find on the Skills Hub, so you could read about others through a general search, or by reading books about reflection in your particular area (use NELSON (see glossary) to access these).
At other times, a model may not be required. In these cases, use the Learning Outcomes (see glossary) to help you decide how you might reflect and how you might communicate the reflection and the learning.
- Keep in mind the purpose of reflecting. What can you learn from your experience? How can evidence support this? How will it impact your practice?
- If it gets difficult to reflect, or to link the theory and evidence with your personal experience, come back to why we reflect, read about the ideas which have come up in your reflection, and/or come and speak with Learning Development for advice.
- Be clear about expectations - are you asked to use a model? If so, aim to understand why the model is chosen for this piece, and read about it. Then use this to help you work through the sections of the model.