reflective writing papers

reflective writing papers

The Importance of Reflective Writing Papers

1. Introduction

There is increasing evidence that regular reflection leads to increased learning. This paper outlines the importance of all forms of reflective writing and emphasizes the value of maintaining reflective journals in educational settings. At their most basic level, reflective journals are a way of thinking in a focused and organized manner about what one is doing. Schon (1983) identified two types of reflection and they can be used for different objectives. He called these types reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action. The former gives you the opportunity to revisit an event and the feelings it provoked and consider it in an objective manner. This type of reflection is what most people would describe as evaluating which involves looking at a piece of work and identifying what went well, what didn’t, and what might you do differently next time. Reflection on action is more focused on problem solving; considering what you are doing while you are doing it and planning your next step. Johns (1995) goes on to identify the four types of guided reflective writing and matching them to different educational objectives. The first type is descriptive which is used to gather information, for instance about a patient’s symptoms. It is matched to the objective of acquiring knowledge or understanding. The second is dialogic which is aimed at revisiting an event, for instance a decision that didn’t go to plan, and would be used to try to understand the reasons for that event. This is matched with the objective of developing understanding. The third is informed and evaluative judgment which is comparing past and present experiences and it is aimed at judging the value of the experience. This is related to the objective of applying knowledge. The final type of reflection is action research and it is aimed at solving a problem or making an improvement. This is matched with the objective of changing or improving practice. Another model of reflection is Gibbs (1988) model which was developed from an educational perspective and influenced by Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle. This model is only one of many and the reader is directed to more comprehensive comparisons (Fook et al, 2006) Recreating reflective practice). Gibbs model is fairly simple and encourages a clear description of the situation, analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience, analysis to make sense of the experience, and conclusion what else could I have done. This model is easy to use and can be linked with many different situations and objectives making it very appropriate to students.

2. Benefits of Reflective Writing

First, the process of reflection when writing these types of papers will over time enable you to develop more creative and flexible ways to deal with the situations you are assessing. This is because while the ideas and thoughts that you are expressing within the paper are developing, the process of thinking about a particular topic will allow different aspects of the memory to arise, which may possibly be at a subconscious level. Writing about the event and the material learned will be very effective in understanding it. This particular benefit of reflective writing will help the student in the personal and professional life in following and constructing their own beliefs on various issues. It is also important as a student or a professional to be aware of why they are making decisions. Too often a decision is made without a logical or valid answer. This sort of decision is usually made without critical thinking. Critical thinking is an important aspect in decision making, and reflection will develop the ability to think critically. Finally, while a record is never enough of what we have done, reflective writing will help you build learning upon the experiences that you have recorded in the paper, and this will involve further reflection to improve the comprehensiveness of the learning. It may often be useful for one to keep a record of the reflective writing in a diary or journal.

3. How to Write a Reflective Paper

Identify the audience or purpose of the writing. It is always useful to establish who the audience is and what it is they expect to read. This is especially true in a paper where you are trying to persuade the audience of the merits of a position. It is also useful in a paper where you are trying to put forth an idea which can be used in practice. For example, if your sociology teacher has asked you to write about an issue affecting the local community, and your goal is to persuade the reader that public transportation is insufficient, a proposed solution is to have your audience don the “community member hat”. Describe the issue using the language and concepts which they would understand. This should also be done if the purpose of the paper is to affect a change in behavior. Brainstorm a list of things you learned from the semester. This might be a separate list or one similar to the one mentioned above. Frequently the purpose of writing a reflective essay is to assess the effectiveness of an event or course of action in your life, and by doing so you’re working to find the greater lesson. Organize the paper. According to the Purdue Owl website, the easiest way to do this is to map the essay’s ideas via a written narrative. Using this method you can get an idea of an unfolding story-like progression for the topics you have listed. Once you’ve done this, writing the essay will be about simply filling in the gaps!

4. Tips for Effective Reflective Writing

Tips for writing Time management is the key when it comes to writing reflective papers. It is not something that can be done at the last minute, or in a few sittings, and will show in the quality of work produced. As mentioned earlier, the more preparation that is done the better the paper will flow, and the more it will make sense to the reader.

Preparation At the beginning of the course, explain to students what reflective writing is (see above), and how it relates to what they are learning. Brief them on the expectations you have of the paper e.g. length, depth of reflection, use of evidence etc. Reflection and dislocation is one of the important aspects in adult learning of which reflective writing is involved. This is because adults have a vast scope of experience to draw upon, so it is important for them to understand where this piece of work fits in with their past experience, and its relevance to their future. Encourage students to make reflection a regular habit with this type of work, and to keep some form of diary or journal to store notes on their thoughts and experiences in relation to their learning. This can be a beneficial tool when it comes to writing the actual paper, as the more notes a student has, the easier it will be to recall events and to visualize the task.

Reflective writing is an area to create descriptive abstracts. It is often a daunting area for many people. Most students only start to gain and understand new knowledge once they start to apply it in their work environment. Consequently, it is important to facilitate students to make links between the new learning and what they may have learned in the past. One way of doing this is to get students to write a reflective paper based on their experiences, but it can be a challenging piece of work for many students if they are not prepared. The following are some ideas on preparation for reflective papers, and suggestions and tips to aid in the writing process.

5. Conclusion

The fact that reflective writing is so artful and personal makes it an exciting and influential part of field instruction. It is interesting to note, from the ELIP course and personal experience, that reflective writing papers from college level classes might be more influential than those from graduate classes, where one might expect students to be more mature in their field. It is at the undergraduate level where students are beginning to learn about their professions and make sense of their identities within their fields. Reflective writing papers are a way for the student to articulate and illustrate what it is they are learning and how they are coming to understand their profession. Because of this, many students in the University of Oregon’s field instruction programs, while not initially thrilled about a writing assignment, have noted that they are glad to have completed it and that it has been an influential part of their learning process. As a tool to help students document their process in understanding and learning certain tasks, skills, and lessons, it can facilitate an easier transition from knowledge learned to knowledge used. In this sense, the reflective writing paper is an aid to the student as well as new professionals in the field. It will show the progression of understanding, help to identify and correct errors in perceptions, and further confirm what has been learned and how it can be applied in practice.