Reflective practice as a 21st Century Professional entails:

• purposeful thought about beliefs, thoughts or actions in order to improve or learn

• a deliberate and conscientious process

• mindfully contemplate past, present or future actions

Throughout this unit, you are being asked to engage in:

• reflection for action: before engaging in an activity (e.g. ePortfolio digital objects)

• reflection in action: during the learning activity (e.g. as you are designing and creating your ePortfolio digital objects)

• reflection on action: reviewing and synthesising (debriefing) the learning activity for future performance (e.g. after you share your ePortfolio digital objects)

• Integrating new ideas with present knowledge

• Valuing your past experience

• Recognising your strengths and areas for improvement

• Identifying your knowledge and skills

• Articulating your feelings

• Articulating and revising your opinions

• Examining your assumptions about yourself and others

• Planning realistic career / educational / personal goals

• Helping your practice

• Acting independently

• Becoming an active learner

• Gaining a sense of ownership of work and development

• Extending your professional knowledge

• Developing your self-awareness

• Enhancing your self-esteem

• Appreciating the significance of your experience

• Interacting with and gaining insights from your peers or others

When approaching one of the reflection provocations, clarify for yourself:

• I know

• I think I know

• I don't know

Do you know yourself: 

Kolb's Learning Cycle (Leurs, 2011)

When you think about the provocation are you more inclined to:

• DO – maybe you're an Activist: learn by doing
  "Let's just give it a go and see what happens"
  "Can I try this out?"

• FEEL – maybe you're a Pragmatist: care about what works in the real world
  "How will it work in practice?"
  "I just don't see how this is relevant..."

• REVIEW – maybe you're a Reflector: like to think about what they're learning
  "Let me just think about this for a moment"
  "Let's not rush into anything"

• THINK – maybe you're a Theorist: like to understand how the new learning fits into your 'framework' and into previous theories
  "But how does this fit in with X?"
  "I'd just like to understand the principles behind this a bit more"

Randomly pick a body part and consider the different sensory responses you have to a topic, idea, or question:

• Brain: What thoughts do you have? What did you learn through your experience?

• Ear: What was a good idea you heard? What was something that you really listened to? Was there some feedback that was difficult for you to hear?

• Eyes: What was something new that you saw in yourself or others? What vision do you have for yourself or others? What qualities do you want to see in yourself? What was an important observation you made?

• Feet: What is something you'll 'walk' away from after this topic / question? Do you feel you have a balanced understanding or is there something else you need to know more of? Which direction would you like to explore?

• Hand: In what ways did you feel supported by others? Who is someone you'd like to give a hand (of applause or high five) for a job well done?

• Heart: What is something you experienced that pulled at your heart strings (heightened or activated your emotions)? How did you feel?

• Liver: Do you have an example of being able to 'break down' something into smaller parts or understandings? Was there a moment when you were able to build or 'metabolise' a new piece of knowledge?

• Lungs: Was there a moment you needed to take a deep breath, an experience that challenged you? Was there an experience when you felt like you wanted to yell aloud or scream?

• Nose: Did you stick your nose (inquired) in someone else's business? What was something that 'stunk' (smells or feels bad)? Does something 'smell fishy' (you're still questioning) about what you learned?

• Spine / Bone: What do you consider the backbone (strength) of yourself, your peers, or others? What is integral to the success of learning? What is a strength you have identified in yourself or others? Have you thought of areas where you could develop strengths?

• Stomach: What pushed you outside of your comfort zone? Were there any sick feelings you have felt before? Was something hard to stomach (difficult to understand, tolerate, or digest) for you?

1. Read the provocation.

2. Set a timer for 2-3 mins.

3. Find a space to sit or lie down with your eyes closed, and take a deep breath in counting 1, 2, 3, 4, then a deep breath out counting 1, 2, 3, 4.

4. Let your mind wander till the timer ends.

5. Write, draw, or record audio and/or visual reflections on what you explored in your daydreaming – emotions, relationships, personal experiences, future goals, etc.

Is there an image, existing, created, or mashedup that best represents you feelings, vision, thoughts, or attitudes towards an idea, question, topic, or provocation?

1. Reporting and Responding
   Report what happened or what the issue or incident involved. Why is it relevant Respond to the incident or issue by making observations, expressing your opinion, or asking questions.

2. Relating
   Relate or make a connection between the incident or issue and your own skills, professional experience, or discipline knowledge. Have I seen this before? Were the conditions the same or different? Do I have the skills and knowledge to deal with this? Explain.

3. Reasoning
   Highlight in detail significant factors underlying the incident or issue. Explain and show why they are important to an understanding of the incident or issue. Refer to relevant theory and literature to support your reasoning. Consider different perspectives. How would a knowledgeable person perceive/handle this? What are the ethics involved?

4. Reconstructing
   Reframe or reconstruct future practice or professional understanding. How would I deal with this next time?What might work and why? Are there different options?What might happen if...?Are my ideas supported by theory? Can I make changes to benefit others?

• Description: What happened?

• Feelings: What were you thinking and feeling?

• Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience?

• Analysis: What sense can you make of the experience?

• Conclusion: What else could you have done?

• Action plan: If it arose again, what would you do?

We are all made of stars...