Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning.
Reflecting on your actions allows you to develop a second attitude to life; learning so much about yourself and others around you, your work and the way you relate to it. I normally reflect by using the method of inward thinking but since starting the BAPP course I have really enjoyed using the method of writing a journal to reflect on certain events. This has allowed me to adjust my ways and remove some stress from my life as writing things down really helps you to see the bigger picture. It is easier to adopt the practise of daily reflection rather than leaving it for a few days when the attention to detail of events may not be so fresh in your mind. Journal writing has reminded me how important it is to reflect on a daily basis or as often as I can.
John Dewey, an educationist and philosopher saw the reflective thought 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 further conclusions to which it tends" (Dewey, 1933). He saw education as an experiential action and linked the quality of education to the level of engagement. Dewey believed the educational process to be a "continual reorganisation, reconstruction and transformation of experience" (Dewey, 1916), and that "interation with the Arts led to a unique and valuable experience" (Dewey, 1934). I love how this theory looks at the relationship between education and the arts. If children are engaged with what they are being taught then they will learn more and the teacher will reach the conclusion faster and with ease.
Dewey informed the work of Kolb, who developed the idea of a learning cycle. Kolb, like Dewey, also believes that it is important to recognise that you have had an experience and with his learning cycle your experiences can be reviewed and analysed. The entry points on the four-point learning cycle are as follows:
- Concrete Experience - doing/having an experience
- Reflective Observation - reviewing/reflecting on the experience
- Abstract Conceptualisation - concluding/learning from the experience
- Active Experimentation - planning/trying out what you have learned
Kolb's learning cycle has been very useful for me in my profession as this theory highlights your learning style. I used this method when initially beginning my journal, starting at concrete experience but then moving on to reflective observation and abstract conceptualisation, which meant that my journal writing was more valuable to my learning. By following Kolb's learning cycle you can easily touch on all forms of reflection depending on the individual. Knowing how you learn means that you can understand what you need to do in order to gain the most out of your reflective practise.
Jennifer Moon, also an educationist, looks at the processes, goals and methods of reflection on different types of situations. Her focus of interest is in the process of human learning and she believes that we need to acknowledge our experiences in order to reflect and learn from them. Moon recognises that when our reflections are put into words they are 'real' and that they have understanding and meaning in them that are important to access. Moon also said that "a learning journal is essentially a vehicle for reflection" (Moon, 2006) and I could not agree more with this statement. I have never kept a journal before starting the BAPP course and I now use a combination of journal writing methods which means that I am forcing myself to change my mindset on the way I complete the journal writing task, which should result in my journal having valuable entries which I can use to reflect on.
Donald Schon introduced the idea of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action and I have been using this method of reflection regularly without even realising! As a performer this method of reflection is key as if you were in a performance and it wasn't going to plan then you would have to think on the spot (reflection-in-action) to change your technique accordingly. These methods allow you to realise what you want to achieve and by looking over my previous blogs I can reflect on what I wrote at the time and see if I would adapt them now (reflection-on-action).
Miriam Webb disagrees with and criticizes Kolb's learning cycle method, commenting that it is not valid and that it is faulty at the core. She believes that in order for learning to happen, you do not need to experience all four entry points of the learning cycle. She says that "it concludes that all four modes are not required for learning to take place, and demonstrates that this component of the theory is rife with inherent contradiction and inconsistency." (Webb, 2003).
To conclude, I believe that the methods of reflective practice to use depends on the individual. There is no right or wrong way of reflecting on your actions or experiences and the main thing is understanding why it is important for you to reflect and finding a method that suits you best. Overall I think that as long as you are learning from your experiences and adapting to better yourself, you can't go wrong.
- Reader 2 - BAPP, Middlesex University
- https://www.cemp.ac.uk/people/jennymoon.php
- http://reviewing.co.uk/research/experiential.learning.htm#webb
- https://graysreadinggroup.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/the-reflective-practitioner-by-donald-schon/
- "Reflective Practice (Fourth Edition): Writing and Professional Development" by Gillie Bolton
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