Reflection On and In the Workplace for Students

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. What is Reflection?
3. Types of Reflection
4. Definitions of Reflection
5. Becoming a Reflective Practitioner/Worker
6. Kolb's Learning Cycle
7. Time for Reflection
8. Keeping a Reflective Diary
9. What is the Purpose of Reflection?
10. Where do you Put the Reflections in Your Portfolio?
11. What Makes Good Evidence?
12. Learning from Significant Events
13. Tools for Reflection
14. Individual Reflection
15. 2: Roles For Reviewing In Pairs
16. Reviewing for Two: Walking And Talking
17. Reviewing for Two: Changing Partners
18. Summary
19. References

Individual Reflection

The presence of others can support individual learning in many ways, but it is also good to provide individuals with some personal time and space to reflect - away from the distractions of others. However, being alone is no guarantee of high quality reflection: when alone, attention can wander or people get stuck in a rut as they keep going through the same patterns of thought or visiting the same dead ends. But find the right setting or technique for individual reflection and you can help people see with fresh eyes, or lead them to 'aha' moments, or help them break out of 'same-old' thinking. Here are just some options for 'reviewing for one':

1. Unstructured Reflective Writing: using log books, diaries, journals, notebooks.
2. Structured Reflective Writing: responding to a questionnaire or to a standard template of questions or headings following a particular sequence.
3. Graphic Reflection Techniques: creating diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, patterns, drawings, collages or photos to capture reflections.
4. Scavenger Hunt: searching for symbolic objects that answer reflective questions
5. Solo: time alone without distractions and space to think, or to read feedback notes from other group members, or as a challenge in itself - to live alone and close to nature with time to reflect.
6. Guided Reflection: listening to a monologue that includes pauses for thought
7. Silence: context is all important, but well timed silences in suitable settings can result in deep reflection.
8. Reflection Time: following a stimulating story, performance or experience.
9. Thinking Time: before making a reflective statement about recent events.
10. Preparation Time: before making a presentation about personal learning to the group.

Some of the above individual reviewing techniques can work surprisingly well, but often the best way to make a breakthrough is reviewing with another person, for example a colleague.