Reflective Practice: What, Who, When,

Where, & HowA Brief Overview of the

Work in Progress Discussion Paper No.4

Reflective Practice: A Way of Learning for Community Development Practitioners

Prepared by Liz McDougallMarch 2014

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Reflection: What is it?Reflection, in its simplest form, is when we

give something “serious and careful thought”.

‘Thinking carefully’ is not only about what happened but deeply exploring experiences, giving meaning and examining “possibilities and options” to inform action.

Reflection is not an end point but a continuous process.

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Reflective Practice: What is this?

Reflective practice is what practitioners do when they actively engage in an intentional process of learning. It is an iterative (repeating) process of reviewing a “practice

experience in order to describe, analyze, and evaluate to inform and change future practice”.

Reflection involves: self-awareness understanding the experience applying/transferring the learning from one situation to

another

NOTE: This process does not always offer a solution but brings understanding and clarity to situations that could otherwise remain an obstacle to practice.

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Who, When, Where?Reflection is not a new concept. We do it all the

time in our work and in our everyday experiences. No one discipline owns reflection.

Reflection can happen at any time, in any place, and with anyone. It can be: undertaken prior to action (anticipatory reflection),

during action (reflection-in-action), and/or after the action (reflection-on-action)

done privately (self-reflection), with another person (one on one) or in a group (guided group reflection)

applied to adverse events/experiences as well as positive ones

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Why Do It? Overall, being a reflective practitioner can

enhance community practice. It gives us a lens from which to view the

complexity of our community work and grants us the space to pause and critically analyze our practice, exploring: where things are at in our day-to-day work what directions hold promise what may need to be reconsidered

This sharpens our capacity to view community change as it unfolds and allows our practice to be flexible and responsive.

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Why? Some Other ReasonsSpecifically, reflective practice has the potential

to enhance our professional and personal growth.

Examples of professional growth – bridge the theory/practice gap, foster the application of knowledge, permit the resolution of practice-related concerns through a deliberate process.

Examples of personal growth – improve self-esteem and self-awareness and increase interpersonal effectiveness.

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Reflective practice tells us that “not paying attention to our behavior is not an option…our behaviour has a

major impact on those we work with; reflection, adaptation and changing is a necessity in practice”.

Reflective practice provides a mechanism to challenge our established ways of thinking and practicing (“habits of the mind”) that we may not be aware of.

It gives us permission to step back and take a closer look at the role(s), beliefs, values and assumptions we bring to situations and their impact.

It may lead us to change our perspective and/or undertake different actions in situations.

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How is it Done?There is no one right way to reflect.Reflective practice is active and experimental – the

best way to learn about reflective practice is by doing it! HOW TO GET STARTED? read some literature on reflection find some-one (or a group) to reflect with use a reflective model/framework to help you get started practice reflective writing work on your basic reflective practice skills

KEY INGREDIENT: Have the courage to challenge and change.

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Basic Reflective Practice Skills

5 basic skills underlying reflective practice:① description② self-awareness ③ critical analysis ④ evaluation ⑤ synthesis

These skills provide a helpful guide to review values, challenge assumptions and consider broader social, political, and professional issues.

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Reflective Model/Framework REMINDER:

There is not a standardized approach to reflection, no one right way (no recipe or formula). However, using a reflective model can stimulate and frame the reflection experience.

CAUTION: Don’t get boxed in or restricted by a model. A model is simply

a guide that helps with exploration, regardless how one chooses to reflect.

KEY: What matters is going though the entire reflective process. Don’t stop at describing the experience, don’t get marred in

endless analysis, don’t jump to solutions. The richness comes with moving though the process.

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Reflective Practice Pilot Model

?So What?

?What?

?Now What?

GeneralizingDeveloping real-world

principles + understanding(Synthesis)

 

SharingExchanging reactions +

observations(Self-Awareness)

ExperiencingThe activity phase

(Description)

ApplyingPlanning effective use of

learning(Learning in Action)

ProcessingDiscussion patterns(Evaluation & Critical

Analysis)

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Sample Template for Reflective Practice (For Template see Work in Progress Discussion Paper No. 4, pg. 27)

This template is based on a simple ‘WHAT’, ‘SO WHAT’ and ‘NOW What’ model.

Questions under each heading: provide prompts or cues to deconstruct and reconstruct experience help to understand what is brought into practice help analyze experiences from many angles to make sense of what

happened act as a springboard for dialogue allow for both structured and creative reflection guide deeper exploration of practice

REMINDER: No need to answer all questions, there is no set order. Go with the flow - the process is fluid!

To locate original sources for quotes in this PowerPoint, please refer to the Work in Progress Discussion Paper No. 4 and its bibliography– thank you.