which item describes the function of reflective writing?

which item describes the function of reflective writing?

The Importance of Reflective Writing

1. Introduction to Reflective Writing

Reflective writing should be an ongoing, in-depth process and an integral part of learning. The goal of reflective writing should be to increase a learner’s awareness of the nature of learning and development and enhance their academic and professional capacity. Writing and rewriting reflection at various different stages of your work on a number of different topics and adapting your reflection to the requirements of different assignments will serve you well. It will allow you to show consideration of diverse concepts and theories and demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of learning involved in a piece of work. This will often lead to a significant improvement in higher-level critical thinking and analysis often seen in more complex assignments. However, reflection should not only be oriented towards a product. Reflection in action (thinking and reflecting as you are doing something) and reflection on action (thinking about something after it has been done) can be useful processes of reflective learning. Don’t restrict your reflection to written work. Try discussing or explaining to others the complex process of learning and development that you have come to understand. This is likely to deepen your understanding and you may find that the comments of others provide new perspectives on your learning.

Reflective writing helps a learner think about how they have developed as a learner. Reflective writing is an excellent way of understanding the complex learning and development process that is involved in the creation of any piece of work. However, many learners find it difficult to pinpoint these learning and development processes. They often underestimate the complexity of learning and development that has occurred and they frequently oversimplify their understanding. So, how can reflective writing be defined? Here is a commonly used definition of reflective learning and reflective writing: “Reflection is an intentional phase of learning which allows persons to better understand the work they have completed and the complex learning process they have undertaken. This is often best captured in writing through systematic and structured reflection.” This leads to another frequently asked question: What does a good reflective writing look like? This is a difficult question to answer because reflection is a personal process. Everyone has their own good reflective practice. Some learners may find it helpful to use a defined model of reflection, Gibb’s Reflective Cycle for example, to help them structure their thoughts. Others may simply start writing and see where it takes them. Whichever method is chosen, it is likely to take considerable time to produce a good reflective piece. Learning and developing in your reflection and being critical of your past work is recommended. Reflective writing is something that can be worked on throughout your time at University. It is an excellent transferable skill that will serve you well for the rest of your academic and professional career!

2. Benefits of Reflective Writing

Improve learning – McWhorter (2002) argues that “When we engage in reflection, we have an opportunity to see connections between what we already know and the new information we are taking in, the reasoning process involved in drawing conclusions from evidence, and the problem-solving process that is a pre-eminent goal of critical thinking” (p. 31). Clearly, thinking about what we have learned and relating it to our course or our lives in some way is crucial in the development of our understanding. Develop critical thinking – If students are writing about their experiences or reporting them, they are thinking about how they think or how they did something. Critical thinking is important in any kind of learning or knowledge seeking because it enlightens the learner as to how they can apply what they have learned in a given situation. Schoen (1987) proposes that through reflective practice, using materials such as reports and decision-making, one can increase the effectiveness of their actions and the appropriateness of their skills. Soaked in reflective writing is the development of deeper understanding of the student’s part through innovation and testing of possible ideas before applying them. It provides the bridge, linking what has been learned in one setting to knowledge which may be used in a different situation. This is translated to the development of problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Enhance professional learning and practice – Reflective writing is a mandatory part of various health professional education programs. These students are required to reflect on various clinical experiences which is, in fact, a type of experiential learning. Clinical experiences often present learning experiences that are unplanned and occur in the absence of specific learning objectives. Reflection practices in this context are to purposefully search for an A-N link and in doing so often reveal a range of implicit understandings that would otherwise remain hidden. A study which examined a continuing education program on a post-registration nursing course found evidence that reflective practices have positive outcomes on confidence in practice and theory development. This inference of reflection on professional confidence and identity can also be related to the education of undergraduate students. Changes in the level of confidence affect students’ enthusiasm for learning, willingness to accept new challenges, and investing time in the work in question. Heutagogy – self-determined learning, is an important aspect for students and professionals alike, and reflection brings a deeper aspect to any kind of learning.

3. Techniques for Effective Reflective Writing

One effective technique to aid reflection is to write situations or scenarios from the experience. In doing so, the writer should consider why the events happened and consider their reactions to the events. By doing this, the writer is able to take a closer look at the event and their performance within it, thus being able to form a clear idea of the events that led to the outcome. This is beneficial when the outcome was not what was expected as the writer can ascertain why things did not go to plan. Writing this type of scenario is more than a description of events; an appraisal of the events should be included, showing well considered thought. This will enable the writer to make a link between what has been learned about a situation or a subject and the actual experience. By integrating theory and practice the writer will be furthering their understanding of their field of study.

4. Examples of Reflective Writing

Here’s a student nurse reflecting on the development of professional identity: I begin by reflecting on how I started this degree with high hopes and aspirations, with my sight set on a specific area within the nursing profession. But as I have been introduced to the different fields of nursing and learning from a variety of experiences, I have found myself developing new interests and discovering a side of myself that I had never known. People keep telling me how they see me as a midwife. My thoughts regarding this proposal were that they are insane.”

“I love how the purple and black lids on the eyes of the little girl sitting opposite me. She’s absorbed in her task. To her, it’s all fun, nothing too serious. It seems she’s forgotten that I’m the school counselor. I find myself reflecting on how far I’ve come as a counselor. I still feel like a fish out of water. I accept that I’ll probably always feel this way in one form or another. Change has been a constant in my professional life. I feel that change equals learning and I’m a lifelong learner. I’ve not been aware at times, how significant events in my personal life have influenced my employment choices. They usually result in taking one of two paths. I am gaining wisdom and understanding of my clients when I take the path that is congruent with my personal values. Values and ethics are my ongoing theme and I ponder on these whenever I become aware of being at crossroads with myself.

5. Conclusion: Embracing Reflective Writing for Personal Growth

In social work education, reflection is often used to understand complex and ambiguous situations. Stephen Webb states that the more someone becomes an expert in their field, the more likely they are to face situations of this kind. Reflective writing is a way to approach these situations and make some sense of them. It provides a sort of framework for asking the right kind of questions and paying attention to a certain situation, and in doing this, there is more likelihood of finding a solution or a deeper understanding of the situation. An understanding of the situation can come in many forms and there are various types of reflective writing that can be used to achieve this. Understanding an experience and what it means is often an aspect of reflection that people take for granted, yet it can be a useful and conscious process that is done for a specific reason. This is a form of instrumental learning and it can be invaluable to a budding social worker.

Reflection is a natural process that often happens without any conscious awareness. It’s when we learn from our experiences, think about them, and learn from them. It is a fundamental form of personal growth and learning. However, its meaning varies but it remains to be the most important key to emotional health. Our emotional health is based on the ability to express and manage our emotions, and the ability to have flexibility and close relationships in the world around us. Reflective writing has been a key tool in achieving emotional health for years. It first surfaced as a form of exploration of oneself and it has grown over the years to being a way to explore social work. This essay outlines a few different ways that reflective writing can be beneficial to social work and how it has been implemented in social work education. Various types of reflective writing are explored and it is posited that the technique of creative writing can be an effective way of engaging in an emotional and creative exploration in social work education.