what is reflective writing example

what is reflective writing example

The Importance of Reflective Writing

1. Introduction

In the current context of educational practice, reflection is often touted as a means of engaging students in critical thinking and metacognition. Throughout the academic year, in a variety of subjects, students are often simply asked to reflect on an activity that they have just completed. Frequently, the teacher poses a question and students are asked to respond to it. However, the reflection activity is often confined to the question and answer format, and does not allow for further exploration of the issues, learning and knowledge construction. This kind of activity does have a place in consolidating learning and checking understanding, however it is not the kind of reflection we are talking about in terms of the reflective practitioner. In this paper, we explore definitions and understandings of reflection, and consider the process of reflection in the context of educational practice, inviting you, the reader, to pause, and consider your practice.

2. Benefits of Reflective Writing

A key skill that employers are looking for is the ability to learn from experience and to improve on ways of working. A good reflector has all the qualities of a good employee and can aid their own personal development to become more aware of their thought process and how they approach certain tasks. Reflective writing not only does this, but assesses own limitations and strengthens areas for development and at the same time providing evidence of using their initiative. It is believed that this type of learning is more beneficial than just being told what to do. However, some students find this sort of learning threatening because it tests their accountability; reflective learning helps students to understand accountability and to make learning a more rewarding experience. This is the same in the professional world; all professionals should be accountable for their actions and to learn from mistakes in order not to repeat them. The ability to reflect and learn from experience is invaluable to personal development and continued improvement.

This essay is a chapter in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 2, a peer-reviewed open textbook series for the writing classroom. Reflective writing has positive effects on the students’ personal and academic development. It is a pedagogically sound tool that can help students maintain a critical distance from the materials they are learning in class in order to question and challenge the underlying assumptions and knowledge in the discipline. The act of reflection is a great way to increase confidence and become a more proactive and qualified professional. In addition, it aids in the development of general professional and academic skills. At the University of Hull, there is an employability strategy that supports and encourages all students to develop a range of skills and experience that will help them to enter into a chosen career.

3. How to Engage in Reflective Writing

Think about the experience you are going to reflect on. Take some quiet time to think about the experience in your mind. You may wish to write this on a piece of paper. Always keep the piece of writing in a safe place to grow later and better at it may bring back some powerful emotions. It is important to capture those emotions. They are the keystone to the process. Now ask yourself what you experienced, what was the significance of this to you and in some cases others. This will help to record the information and secure it for the next steps. This first step often helps people to identify the issue or experience which they want to reflect upon. Time is a needed in the next few steps. So it may be an idea to revisit your plan after a few hours, days or even weeks. Add any new information or change the existing wordings as the passage of time can lead to a change in perspective: Which is the next step. Now create an outline that evaluates the writing you’ve chosen to reflect on. The outline is a guide as to where you’d like to be at certain points in the reflection. It serves as the map in the forest. Without it you could be lost. Now you are ready to start the writing. This second step can be the most difficult as it is here that people often get confused with descriptive writing and critical analysis. This is the most important distinction in writing. Take some time in this descriptive phase to consider all the points of the experience. What was going on at that time? What are the different things you thought and felt. You are trying to bring everything to the table where it can be sifted, compared and understood. This can be accomplished often through free writing that is, writing whatever comes into your head without worrying about mistakes. Others may find discursive writing to be easier. Both are useful.

4. Examples of Reflective Writing

During the course of this case study, the concept of an interface between design and technology has been a subject. The literature published on the topic ranges from opinions of interface designs to case studies of successful and unsuccessful implementations of design and technology. I have tried to analyze the different stances that design and technology are separate entities, which should not affect one another and can exist independently, and the stance that technology should inherently affect the design process and have design itself as a target for technological development. These concepts have been covered in literature from different disciplines and are sometimes difficult to contrast. This has been a theme that we have been addressing all semester. Particular concepts of this include the analysis of what a designer’s work from technology could produce and whether there is a difference between design and ‘art,’ which was noted as an interesting inclusion of the artist character in the Riven design document. Differentiating technology and design was labeled as a difficult task, which would be made easier by focusing on the differences in desired outcomes and where technology dictates design work. This has been a fruitful analysis.

5. Conclusion

Receiving feedback from a teacher or a peer and using it to improve our work is a common practice, and well-developed tasks aim to produce such reflective thinking. It is described as assessing our own beliefs and thoughts for the purpose of personal understanding and improvement, and has become an important aspect of education. There are various methods for reflecting on different topics and it is important to use the most effective method to get the best quality of results. Reflective thinking often requires time, and using a method where there is a tangible output can aid the students’ assessment of the situation and assist in the development of new ideas. Educators and scientists have investigated reflective thinking and its most effective methods, and they have suggested a number of fundamental ways that people learn through reflection. One way is to be involved in a small group discussion that is aimed at finding a solution to a problem. As learning is achieved through sharing thoughts, it can be an effective way to reflect on a past experience. Another suggested method was by keeping a diary or an electronic journal. As it often requires solitude and puts an emphasis on creating a clear record of events and learning, it can be a very effective method of reflection.