ARENA guided reflection

ARENA is a structured process in which an Observer ‘provides feedback’ to a Learner in a way that prioritises and guides the Learner's own reflection.

The overall aim of this approach is not just to improve specific task performance but to equip the individual with the abilities and confidence to be a reflective learner — someone who can continue to review and improve their own performance on any task.

ARENA stands for:

• Ask 1 (past) — Get the Learner to reflect

• Reinforce — Affirm the Learner's effective reflection

• Enrich — Add to the Learner's reflection

• Narrate — Contextualise ongoing learning and reflection

• Ask 2 (present and future) — Get feedback from the Learner

Although it is presented as a linear process, it is intended to be a more complex, iterative process. For example, an Observer and a Learner may progress through ARENA focusing on one reflective learning point before starting again on a different theme. Alternatively, they may progress through a number of Ask-1–Reinforce loops to elicit and affirm the Learner's own reflections before progressing to the Enrich phase, where the Observer starts to introduce their own perspectives. Observer and Learner might cycle through a number of Enrich–Ask-1–Reinforce loops as each new input from the Observer prompts new reflection from the Learner. Similarly, Observer and Learner may cycle through a number of Narrate–Ask-2 loops before they reach a shared view of the present and future benefits of the process.

ARENA is inspired by the Ask-Tell-Ask feedback model described by Judith French and colleagues. It also incorporates the three-part reflective framework created by Tony Borton (What? So what? Now What?).

ASK 1 (past)

This phase has two main purposes:

• For the Learner to be encouraged to appreciate the value of reflection and self-evaluation, and for them to acquire the skills that enable them to continue learning from their experiences unaided.

• For the Observer to ascertain what the Learner is already aware of in their own performance so that the Observer can enhance the learning and self-awareness of the Learner rather than just duplicating what they already know.

Ask the Learner…

• for their reflections and self-evaluations.

• to describe and to evaluate their own performance.

• for their evaluation criteria and comparators.

• for balanced self-evaluations — both positive and negative.

• about what they did and what they didn't do.

• about the consequences of what they did and didn't do.

• about the circumstances, the outcomes, their actions, their reasoning, their intentions, their priorities.

• ask about their intentions to change what they might do in the future

Example questions

• How did you handle this?

• What do you think about how you handled this?

• What were you trying to achieve?

• How well do you think you achieved that?

• What were the causes of what happened?

• What were the consequences of what happened?

• What was the most important aspect of that for you?

• Who or what are you comparing yourself to on this?

• What are you pleased with?

• What are you dissatisfied with?

• What could you have done more of?

• What could you have done less of?

• What was within or outside your control?

• What could you do the same?

• What could you do differently?

• Anything else?

REINFORCE

This phase involves the Observer registering the value of the Learner's reflections and ensuring that the Learner is also recognising that value appropriately. It is not just about reiterating what the Learner did well in the task being reviewed; it is also about reinforcing the positive benefits from the Learner's self-reflection.

There are various things the Observer can do

• Repetition. Restate the Learner's most significant reflections back to them to draw attention to them, to label them as valid and to enable the Learner to reflect on their reflections (meta-reflection).

• Resonance. Highlight where the Learner's reflections are in harmony with the Observer's own observations to provide external confirmation and increase learner reflective self-efficacy.

• Reframing. Help the Learner to express their own reflections in different ways, using language, concepts, imagery and examples relevant to the domain in order to enhance the application of theory to practice. 

ENRICH

This phase involves the Observer building upon the Learner's self-reflection to enable them to engage in levels of reflection that the Learner might struggle to achieve on their own. The Observer adds in their own observations and evaluations with the primary aim of increasing the Learner's self-awareness and their ability to reflect productively on future tasks. 

This element of ARENA is most akin to the more traditional understanding of feedback. However, the overriding aim here is always to ensure that the Learner is richer at the end of the process, not poorer. They need to leave the process with more confidence (in their future ability to perform the task and their ability to reflect), more resources, more understanding, more clarity, and more motivation to keep learning.

This might involve the Observer:

• Enhancing. Adding depth and nuance to the Learner's own reflections on and understanding of the task.

• Extending. Drawing attention to potentially significant things that the Learner overlooked in their own reflection.

• Expanding. Helping the Learner to think about how their learning could be applied beyond the specific task under review.

• Extrapolating. Helping the Learner to consider longer-term development needs not just immediate learning priorities.

Even in this phase, the Observer should follow an ask-first approach to introducing new observations. Once again, the aim of the Observer should be to provide the least amount of input that serves to stimulate and facilitate the Learner's own reflection.

• What? Ask the Learner about their awareness of the Observer's observation (Did you notice…?)

• So what? Ask them about their understanding of the significance or potential consequences of it (Why might that be important?)

• Now what? Ask them about their ideas for how they might address it (What could you do to address that?)

NARRATE

This phase (in conjunction with the Ask 2 phase) is about Learner and Observer co-creating a coherent and meaningful shared understanding of the process so far, which encapsulates the current state of learning and points towards potential future learning.

It is about enabling the Learner to notice how their awareness and understanding have changed as a result of reflection and to anticipate how this will affect the way that they approach the task and reflection in the future.

As part of this, one of the key aims of this phase is to ensure that the Learner understands and is able to contextualise the Observer's choices during the process. Why did they choose to reinforce particular Learner reflections and not others? Why did they choose to introduce specific enrichments and not others? How did the Observer's choices align to the primary aim of developing Learner reflection? 

This is to foster Observer accountability and transparency — to ensure that the Observer focuses on addressing the reflective development needs of the Learner and does not succumb to the temptation to satisfy any unconscious selfish needs of their own, such as the need to feel superior.

Again, the Observer could take an ask-first approach to this, eliciting the Learner's own perceptions of the Observer's rationale in order to facilitate meta-cognition and perspective taking.

As part of helping the Learner to extend their reflection into the future, the Observer can ask them to think about how what they have learnt could be applied to help them navigate possible future scenarios. This could be achieved by encouraging the Learner to develop if-then reflective implementation intentions.

• If I'm in this situation, I will try to be alert to X. (What?)

• If I notice X, I will try to evaluate its significance in the context. (So what?)

• If I decide X is important, I will consider these possible ways of addressing it. (Now what?)

Another aspect of preparing the Learner for future development is helping them to negotiate with themselves about the potential costs and benefits of continued reflective learning. 

Engaging in ongoing reflection requires a commitment of time and effort. There may also be emotional costs, such as increases in short-term feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt whilst the Learner accommodates new levels of understanding. Again this can be addressed by asking the Learner to reflect on the various challenges they dealt with during the reflective process and to develop if-then implementation intentions for negotiating potential cost–benefit questions in the future.

ASK 2 (present and future)

This phase is about allowing the Learner to provide feedback to the Observer in order to enhance future ARENA interactions between them. The aim of this is to cultivate a sense of Learner agency in the the interaction. It is also intended to encourage the Learner to engage in evaluative meta-reflection on the process.

As part of this, the Observer can ask the Learner:

• What helped most and what was potentially counterproductive.

• What it would be useful for each person to remember in future ARENA interactions.

• For any adjustments they could make in the way they approach aspects of ARENA in order to continually enhance its effectiveness and enjoyability.

Literature

Borton, T. (1970). Reach, Touch and Teach: Student Concerns and Process Education. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Driscoll J. (1994). Reflective practice for practise. Senior Nurse, 13, 47–50.

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., & Jasper, M. (Eds.). (2001). Critical Reflection for Nursing and the Helping Professions: A User’s Guide. Palgrave Macmillan.

French, J. C., Colbert, C. Y., Pien, L. C., Dannefer, E. F., & Taylor, C. A. (2015). Targeted feedback in the milestones era: utilization of the Ask-Tell-Ask feedback model to promote reflection and self-assessment. Journal of Surgical Education, 72(6), e274–e279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2015.05.016