Reflection and r eflective writing

1. Reflection andreflective writing Chris Doye Institute for Academic Development University of Edinburgh November 2012

2. 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)

3. The basics:

4. Borton’s (1970) cue questions: (Cited in Jasper, 2003, p.99)

5. What does that mean? Describing event or process Future goals and actions Thinking and analysis Drawing conclusions

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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)

10. 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?

11. Reflective journal At the time • 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 Later reflection • 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

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

13. More structured e.g. Gibbs (1988) (Cited in Jasper, 2003 .p.77 but, N.B. she puts description instead of analysis!)

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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)

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

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

19. 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 life-long learning, and • who can confidently provide evidence for these claims. • And that’s where the Edinburgh Award comes in…

20. 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?

21. References Atkins, S. and Schutz, S. (2008) 'Developing the skills for reflective practice', in Bulman, C. and Schutz, S. (eds.) Reflective practice in nursing. 4thedn. 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 ThornesLtd Moon, J.(2006) Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Development. (2ndedn.) London: Routledge

22. Websites for further information The University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Award: http://www.employability.ed.ac.uk/Student/EdinburghAward/ Reflective writing, university of Portsmouth: http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/studentsupport/ask/resources/handouts/writtenassignments/filetodownload,73259,en.pdf