Reflection and reflective writing Chris Doye Institute for Academic

Reflection and reflective writing Chris Doye Institute for Academic Development University of Edinburgh November 2012

What is reflection? Exploration / examination of ourselves and our actions (often written but also spoken) considered rational, unemotional* in relation to theory / wider context / other perspectives Why do it? to develop understanding / learning / skills and give us a path by which to move forward *(even though it often deals with feelings, reactions and emotions)

The basics: Experience Action Reflection

Borton’s (1970) cue questions: What? (Cited in Jasper, 2003, p.99) Now what? So what?

What does that mean? What? Describing event or process Future goals and actions Thinking and analysis Now what? So what? Drawing conclusions

Contexts and purposes Episode / experience/ process Short/specific e.g. lesson we have taught, procedure we have carried out Longer process e.g. project work, group work, course, client-practitioner relationship Critical incident Positive or negative Our own development, e.g. skills, strengths, challenges (may also be required for education or work)

What is a critical incident? Something that happened that is, in some way, significant For you personally, Or in a wider context and that you can learn from by considering it more deeply It does not have to be earth-shattering It can be either positive or negative

Skills involved Self-awareness Description / factual reporting Critical analysis Synthesis Evaluation (Atkins and Schutz, 2008, p.26) Self-awareness is the main skill that is not usual in other academic writing. 8

Preparing: Focused free write This technique can help you to start thinking freely about something. Start from the incident, experience, process you want to reflect on Write for 5 -15 minutes without stopping, just following your train of thought as if you are talking to yourself on paper Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation or anything else If you wander off the topic, don’t worry, just bring yourself gently back When the time is up, skim through for any interesting/useful words, phrases, ideas or thoughts The idea of free writing, from which focused free writing is adapted, was popularised by Peter Elbow (1973)

Exploring experience and perspective Look at the hand-outs Try one of the techniques (you will not be asked to share what you have actually produced) Share with the group Which activity did you choose? What are your reactions to doing it?

Reflective journal At the time Later reflection Write a description as you see things now Include your feelings Note down anything you might want to refer to as ‘evidence’ Note questions or things you might want to explore if they occur to you Look back objectively at what you wrote Compare you now with then: changes? Ask & answer critical questions Relate to wider context Justify what you say Learning & moving forward

Reflective writing assignments May use specific model and follow that structure Usually follows basic phases 1. Descriptive (who? what? where? when?) 2. Analytical & interpretive (why? how? so?) 3. Looking forward (where/what now?) cf Borton (earlier) Or, more complex, e.g. Gibbs

More structured e.g. Gibbs (1988) Description Feelings Action plan Conclusion Evaluation Analysis (Cited in Jasper, 2003 .p.77 but, N.B. she puts description instead of analysis!)

Description Ability to give effective account others understand what happened as you saw it: Pick relevant, significant detail: right amount Writing clear, concise, well structured Objective rather than emotional: thoughts & feelings are recorded rather than colouring account

Critical analysis/ evaluation Aims for deeper understanding Breaking down into constituent parts Identifying positives / negatives/ issues Identifying and challenging assumptions (self & other) Making connections (other experience, learning) Relating to external sources, e.g. Theory, research, case studies, wider social/political/economic context

Levels of reflection: 1 Hatton and Smith's (1995) four levels of reflection, summarised by Gillett et al. as: descriptive writing (a straightforward account of events) descriptive reflection (an account with reasons, justifications and explanation for the events) dialogic reflection (the writer begins to stand back from the account and analyse it) critical reflection (the writer puts their account into a broader perspective). (Gillett et al., 2009, p.165)

Levels of reflection: 2 Goodman’s 3 levels (1984) often referred to – roughly equate to: 1. Largely descriptive; looking at practical things in terms of responsibility, accountability, efficiency . 2. Moving out from your particular experiences – relationship between theory and practice; broader implications, issues, values. 3. Broadening out to consider implications in context of ethical / social / political influences (Goodman, 1984, cited in Jasper, 2003, pp.72-75)

Graduate attributes http://www.employability.ed.ac.uk/documents/GAFramework Interpretation.pdf

Edinburgh Award Employers want graduates: who are self-aware, who capitalise on their strengths, who will have impact wherever they work, who are committed to personal development and lifelong learning, and who can confidently provide evidence for these claims. And that’s where the Edinburgh Award comes in

Edinburgh Award: CARL For reflecting on the skills/abilities you wanted to develop during the Award: Context – What is the context, e.g. what was your role and what was the skill you wanted to develop (and why)? Action – In that context, what did you do to work towards developing the skill? Result & Learning – What were the outcomes of your actions? What went well? What stretched you? What didn’t work? What did you learn as a result? Why does it matter to you? How does it influence how you would approach something similar in the future? For reflecting on the impact you had during the Award: Context – What is the context, e.g. what was your role, its purpose and in what areas you were trying to develop personally? Action – In that context, what did you do to try to have an impact? Result & Learning – What were the outcomes of your actions? What impact did you have on the people and/or organisation(s) around you?

References Atkins, S. and Schutz, S. (2008) 'Developing the skills for reflective practice', in Bulman, C. and Schutz, S. (eds.) Reflective practice in nursing. 4th edn. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 25-54 Elbow, P. (1973) Writing Without Teachers. New York: Oxford University Press Gillett, A., Hammond, A. and Martala, M. (2009) Successful academic writing. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Jasper, M. (2003) Beginning reflective practice. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd Moon, J.(2006) Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Development. (2nd edn.) London: Routledge

Websites for further information The University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Award: http://www.employability.ed.ac.uk/Student/EdinburghA ward/ Reflective writing, university of Portsmouth: http:// www.port.ac.uk/departments/studentsupport/ask/reso urces/handouts/writtenassignments/filetodownload,73 259,en.pdf