 |
Key Points
|
What is reflective writing?
Reflective writing is about thinking deeply, being honest, and showing growth. It challenges you to examine your beliefs, connect your worldview to what you are studying and share how your views have changed or remained the same. You may be asked to reflect on:
How do I plan it?
|
Start with a brainstorm using the mind map below. |
|
|
Description: What was the experience? A class, a reading, an interview or event? |
|
|
Feelings: What were you thinking and feeling before and after?
|
|
|
Evaluation: What worked / did not work well. |
|
|
Analysis: Why? Connect to theory.
|
|
|
Conclusion: What did you learn?
|
|
|
Action Plan: What next? How can you improve?
|
|
Adapted from: Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic.
How do I structure it?
Reflective follows the same structure as all academic writing. Paragraphs have one main idea that is clearly introduced and that are supported with theory and in-text citations. The only difference is that you also discuss some of your own experience and beliefs and connect these to what you have been studying. For example, a reflective essay will have an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Reflective writing can also be used in case studies, journals, discussion forum posts and presentations. There are many ways you could structure a paragraph this is one way.
|
Example 1: Reflection on conducting an interview Throughout the interview I used a variety of probes which proved to be effective. Probes enable the interviewer to ask respondents to extend, elaborate, add to, exemplify, provide detail for, clarify or qualify their response, thereby addressing richness, depth of response, comprehensiveness and honesty that are some of the hallmarks of successful interviewing (Cohen & Manion, 2018). As Fowler (2019) points out one limitation of probing is that it can be an opportunity for bias to creep in. I was well aware of this when preparing from my interview, so in order to try and limit this I used the technique of anticipated prompts. Anticipated probes are pre scripted and can be used to try and minimize bias (Cohen & Manion, 2018). I found this be very useful in the interview as it kept me on track. When the participant gave examples of their experiences it made it easier for my to draw out the themes. However, I could have spent more time preparing the anticipated probes as during the interviews a few themes came up that were unexpected, and I panicked a little as I did not have any appropriate probes prepared. This is an area I plan to improve on in the future.
|
First sentence introduces the main idea in the student’s words.
Student links what they did to the literature.
Student reflects and evaluates their own interview. Student links to the literature.
Student reflects and evaluates what they did. Plan for next steps |
|
Example 2: Discussion Forum Post: Reflection on a framework Learning about the universal design for learning framework was initially a bit overwhelming but, in the end, helpful. Like many of the students in class, I wondered how educational institutes find time to apply these guidelines. However, I found the video interviews helpful. I was motivated by others' stories. For example, many educators pointed out that applying the guidelines in small steps can help all students (CAST, 2024). Making a few changes at a time, instead of everything all at once, can be a way to overcome feeling overwhelmed. However, I still imagine it could be a very time consuming and complex task, and they did not mention how to go about getting support or resourcing from management. I would like to learn more about examples of where universal design principles have been applied to learning materials.
|
First sentence introduces the main idea. Connects to the in-class experience.
Supports with a reference.
Critical analysis
Plans for next steps. |
|
Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle Stage |
Sentence Stems |
|
1. Description: What happened? |
The experience I am reflecting on is … During this event, I was involved in … The main events were … The task I was working on involved … At the time, I was responsible for … This situation is similar to (theory/concept), which describes … |
|
2. Feelings: What were you thinking and feeling? |
I felt … when this happened because … My initial reaction was … I was surprised by … At the time, I thought … Looking back, I realize my feelings about this were influenced by … According to (Author/Concept), such feelings often occur in situations where … |
|
3. Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience? |
One positive aspect of the experience was … What worked well was … A challenging aspect of the experience was … I found it difficult when … The most rewarding part of this experience was … This outcome aligns (or contrasts) with (theory/literature), which suggests that |
|
4. Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? |
This experience helped me understand that … A key issue that arose was … I can relate this to the theory of X which suggests that … This links to the concept of …, as described by (Author). This situation taught me that … because … This reflects (theory/literature), which highlights … |
|
5. Conclusion: What else could you have done? |
Looking back, I realize I could have … This experience showed me the importance of … I now see that a better approach would have been to … One thing I have learned is that … This reflection has made me aware of … Based on (Author/Concept), I could have addressed this situation by |
|
6. Action Plan: If it arose again, what would you do? |
If I were in this situation again, I would … To improve in the future, I will … Next time, I plan to … This experience has motivated me to develop my skills in … Moving forward, I aim to … Future actions will incorporate (theory/literature), which emphasizes … |
