The intention of reflective practice is to help the teacher/learning coach evolve and develop the quality of their teaching by the continuation of personal development. Although most teachers have done this for years, reflective modelling or methods have formulized a structure which can be followed and adapted to best suit their methods. It is an ongoing process which takes feelings and emotions into consideration and so it will not always have a definitive answer/ending. Since most models of reflection require subjective and objective thinking then there is a willingness to be honest to engage constant self appraisal. It asks that the teacher become flexible analytical and socially aware when addressing their chosen model of reflection.
The two reflective models I have chosen to compare are Gibbs and Rolfe.
First I will start by discussing the Gibbs reflective cycle –
In the nursing field the most commonly used cycle is the Gibbs cycle of reflection, it proposes that theory and practice enrich each other in a never-ending circle. The reflective cycle can be defined as a process that enables you to think systematically about the phases of an experience or activity by addressing the following questions in a cycle – DESCRIPTION, FEELING, EVALUATION, ANALYSIS, CONCLUSION and ACTION PLAN.
Positives of the Gibbs model -
I will be addressing these points from my own experience and views as a secondary school teacher.
At first glance the Gibbs cycle of reflection looks familiar and simple. Words like description, evaluation, analysis are all relevant to my teaching field as a Design and Technology teacher.
For 10 years I have used these words as a structured platform to guide my students in their work tasks from ks3 to ks4 and...
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...“this is the one for me”, it looked simple, had directness and outcome. By being so minimal or oversimplified it can also be too minimal and it may not always have the ability to allow the individual to be affective enough in their thought process and true feeling. Is it possible to hide truer thoughts and feelings from Rolfe’s method? Has it been targeted to a certain individual or situation where time and not pure rationalization is the key?
Rolfe’s model doesn’t really move beyond questions about whether or not the practice is working to critically examining values and how practices lead to change, commitment to quality and respect for difference.
As I mentioned the last question can make the greatest contribution and therefore may be most important and so this thinking may restrict the individual from asking more prominent questions in relation to themselves.
This task should be fun and interesting for the students. It is my hope that this activity proves to be successful for my students and helps them to understand the necessary learning objectives set forth.
I am going to use Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle. This because Gibbs is clear and precise allowing for description, analysis and evaluation of the experience helping the reflective practitioner to make sense of experiences and examine their practice. Taking action is the key; Gibbs prompts to formulate an action plan. This enables the reflective practitioner to look at their practice and see what they would change in the future, how they would develop/improve their practice.
I will be using the Gibbs, G. (1988) model of reflection to reflect upon for this essay, as this six stage cycle will guide me through the process of description to the action plan, as I find myself to be an active/reflective learner and feel that I can relate to, and learn something that is of value to my practice, and future career and lifelong learning skills through this model of reflection. Throughout this reflective account I will refer to the patient as Mr X, in order to respect confidentiality and maintain his anonymity (NMC) (2008), and local trust policies and guidelines (2009).
The ability to become reflective in practice has become a necessary skill for health professionals. This is to ensure that health professionals are continuing with their daily learning and improving their practice. Reflective practice plays a big part in healthcare today and is becoming increasingly noticed.
Felder, R. M., & Soloman, B. A. (n.d.). Index of learning styles. Retrieved from http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
Reflective practice is a process of thinking and critically analysing one’s experience to improve professional practice. Reflection on nursing situations not only promote the nurse’s professional development but also improve the quality of nursing care to patients (Gustafsson & Fagerberg 2004). According to Dolphin (2013), reflection process consists of systematic appraisal of events and examination of its each component to learn from the experience to influence the future practice. Though there are many models available to structure the reflection, I have chosen Gibbs model (1988) as it follows specific steps in a systematic way in reflection process. And also, this model emphasises the role of emotions and acknowledges the importance of emotions in the reflection process. This is a simple framework and this assignment will follow the headings as per this model. The incident I will be reflecting
Rolfe, Gary; Freshwater, Dawn; Jasper, Melanie (2001). Critical reflection for nursing and the helping professions: a user's guide. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York: Palgrave. pp. 26–35
Reflection is a key element of the human learning process. It can be used to justify aspects of practice and legitimise the knowledge gained from it, as opposed to traditional forms of learning.
As it mentioned above this reflective essay is based on the main theory on Reflection, which is the Honey and Mumford’s learning styles that was developed from Kolb’s work. This is based on four stages of specific styles of learning:
The term reflection means the examination of personal thoughts and actions. For nurses this means focusing on how they interact with their colleagues and with the environment to obtain a clearer picture of their own behaviour. This means it is a process in which a nurse can better understand themselves in order to be able to build on existing strengths and take appropriate future action (Somerville, 2004). Reflection is a way to bring your own intuition along with empirical knowledge together. Reflective practice in nursing is guided by models of reflection. Reflective practice model serves as a framework within which nursing or other management professions can work. Reflective practice model is also a structural framework or learning model that serves the purposes of a profession and is particularly applicable to health related professions. Reflective practice enables practitioners to learn to value themselves as significant people with values and feelings that are important factors in giving care. Whilst reflective practice allows the nurse to recognise the value of their experiences, they may also need support to work through a difficult situation. This is where reflection aids nurses in dealing with these challenging experiences (Johns, 1995). Reflection on experience offers nurses the opportunity to reflect on caring in practice in ways that its nature can be understood, where the skills necessary for effective caring can be developed and most significantly, where the values of caring for people can be highlighted, both to the individual nurse and the world in general (Johns 1996)
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).
Focusing on clarity in thinking. If thinking is unclear, we cannot determine whether it is accurate or relevant. We cannot tell anything about it because we don't yet know what it is all about.
Education is a very important aspect of our lives. It is our education that makes us who we are and determines what we become. Therefore, education is not something to be taken lightly. As a teacher, my goal will be to provide the best possible education for my students. Every student is unique. I must see students for who they are individually and respect their ideas and opinions. Each student has a different learning style. I must take this into consideration because I want to provide a constructive learning opportunity for every student. I believe that every student has the potential to learn.
Is thinking for one’s self worth potentially having the wrong answer? Would it be worth it for students to go through school without having to think for themselves? In the articles “Learning by Heart” by Susan Tanner and “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome” by Thomas Plummer it examples how children were taught from a young age to answer questions routinely, the way the teacher prefers. The issue with this is that the student never develops the ability to think for themselves. The articles discuss the different advantages and disadvantages for developing this skill. They provide steps and resources for one to reach independent thinking. The articles explain the positive and negative advantages of memorizing and reciting past writings. These articles share that individual thinking and memorization will help students learn more efficiently.
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.