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This short video (2:14 mins) from the University of South Australia explains reflective writing
What is a reflection?
What is a reflection?
Reflection is the process of proactively thinking about specific personal practices, experiences, emotions, actions, issues, motivations, processes, and outcomes to determine the advantages and disadvantages of an approach, the personal and professional learning that arose, and the lessons for the future. It should be explicit, deliberate, focused, and related to personal and professional growth and development. Reflection brings together theory and practice. It enables professionals to systematically find effective, practical ways of applying theoretical knowledge, in the contexts in which they work. Reflection can and should inform future action and is essential to both personal and professional development. Reflection, therefore, is a critical skill for both academic and professional life.
While there are many strategies that can be used for reflection, generally, the process of reflection answers the questions:
What happened (positive or negative) and what you personally learned?
What it means and how it changes the way you think or understand something?
What can you change or how you can apply the new learning in the future?
Reflective writing records and develops these insights and ideas and focusses in new understanding and its application to future practice.
Figure 1 illustrates the reflective process using the DIEP strategy. Image source: https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/reflective-process-0
Take a closer look at the DIEP Strategy
Take a closer look at the DIEP Strategy
One strategy called DIEP provides a way to apply the reflective process - Describe, Interpret, Evaluate and Plan. The four steps in this approach (adapted from Boud, D 1985, Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning) are as follows:
D – Describe objectively what happened. Answer the question: ‘What did I...
do
read
see
hear, etc.?’
I – Interpret the events. Consider why events happened in the way they did. Explain:
what you saw and heard
your new insights, connections with other learning
your feelings
your hypotheses and/or conclusions
Answer the question: ‘what might this mean?’
E – Evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of experience.
Make judgments that are clearly connected to observations you have made.
Answer the questions:
What is my opinion about this experience?
What is the value of this experience?
Why do I think this?
P – Plan how this information will be useful to you. Consider in what ways this learning experience might serve you in your:
course
program
future career
life generally
To learn more about the reflective process and using the DIEP model watch this short video (6:27 mins) from the University of Melbourne.
In your reflection you should attempt to:
analyse your own performance as a learner
evaluate your gains in understanding and completing tasks
verbalise how you feel about your learning
make connections with other experiences, ideas
demonstrate transfer of learning
integrate the concepts taught in courses (including the literature where relevant)
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