Embedded Files
Why do we Reflect? - Learning - Action and Identity
Why do we Reflect? - Learning - Action and Identity
Learning
Learning
Reflection plays an important role in the evaluation of what was learned and how it was learned.
It gives people the opportunity to:
plan and track their process of learning
record their discoveries
make connections with prior learning.
The act of reflection:
is a conscious search for meaning and of making meaning
enables people to distance themselves from their learning and to view it from the outside
allows people to become aware of their cognitive frameworks.
Through reflection, people develop an objective understanding of themselves as learners.
Action
Action
Reflection is an invisible process that goes on inside our heads constantly. We consciously reflect when, for example:
something significant has happened
we have a decision to make
we’re working on something
we’re stuck
we’ve just completed something
we’ve been asked to do something
we’ve encountered the unexpected or the unfamiliar
our equilibrium has been disturbed
we are encountering, anticipating or seeking change.
If this reflection is deep enough, it gives us lasting insights or knowledge—what we call experience, something we can call up subsequently to help guide our responses.
Reflection can inform action.
Identity
Identity
Reflection is a key part of our personal development and identity. It gives us self-knowledge and a consciousness regard for who we are and our place in the world.
Our reflections, therefore, can become a complex map that not only directs us towards a destination but also charts all the routes we’ve already travelled, the places we’ve been to, the resources we’ve had and how we have used them. They locate us and position us.
Reflecting on our reflections—secondary reflection—allows us to distance ourselves from ourselves. It provides us with a process to understand ourselves better.
Reflection enables us to understand ourselves better as people and as learners.
Page updated
Report abuse