1. Reflective Practice: What, Who, When, Where, & How
A Brief Overview of the
Work in Progress Discussion Paper No.4
Reflective Practice: A Way of Learning for Community Development Practitioners
Prepared by Liz McDougall
March 2014

2. Reflection: What is it?
Reflection, in its simplest form, is when we give something “serious and careful thought”.
‘Thinking carefully’ is not only about what happened but deeply exploring experiences, giving meaning and examining “possibilities and options” to inform action.
Reflection is not an end point but a continuous process.

3. Reflective Practice: What is this?
Reflective practice is what practitioners do when they actively engage in an intentional process of learning.
It is an iterative (repeating) process of reviewing a “practice experience in order to describe, analyze, and evaluate to inform and change future practice”.
Reflection involves:
self-awareness
understanding the experience
applying/transferring the learning from one situation to another
NOTE: This process does not always offer a solution but brings understanding and clarity to situations that could otherwise remain an obstacle to practice.

4. Who, When, Where?
Reflection is not a new concept. We do it all the time in our work and in our everyday experiences. No one discipline owns reflection.
Reflection can happen at any time, in any place, and with anyone. It can be:
undertaken prior to action (anticipatory reflection), during action (reflection-in-action), and/or after the action (reflection-on-action)
done privately (self-reflection), with another person (one on one) or in a group (guided group reflection)
applied to adverse events/experiences as well as positive ones

5. Why Do It?
Overall, being a reflective practitioner can enhance community practice.
It gives us a lens from which to view the complexity of our community work and grants us the space to pause and critically analyze our practice, exploring:
where things are at in our day-to-day work
what directions hold promise
what may need to be reconsidered
This sharpens our capacity to view community change as it unfolds and allows our practice to be flexible and responsive.

6. Why? Some Other Reasons
Specifically, reflective practice has the potential to enhance our professional and personal growth.
Examples of professional growth – bridge the theory/practice gap, foster the application of knowledge, permit the resolution of practice-related concerns through a deliberate process.
Examples of personal growth – improve self-esteem and self-awareness and increase interpersonal effectiveness.

7. Reflective practice tells us that “not paying attention to our behavior is not an option…our behaviour has a major impact on those we work with; reflection, adaptation and changing is a necessity in practice”.
Reflective practice provides a mechanism to challenge our established ways of thinking and practicing (“habits of the mind”) that we may not be aware of.
It gives us permission to step back and take a closer look at the role(s), beliefs, values and assumptions we bring to situations and their impact.
It may lead us to change our perspective and/or undertake different actions in situations.

8. How is it Done? There is no one right way to reflect.
Reflective practice is active and experimental – the best way to learn about reflective practice is by doing it! HOW TO GET STARTED?
read some literature on reflection
find some-one (or a group) to reflect with
use a reflective model/framework to help you get started
practice reflective writing
work on your basic reflective practice skills
KEY INGREDIENT: Have the courage to challenge and change.

9. Basic Reflective Practice Skills
5 basic skills underlying reflective practice:
description
self-awareness
critical analysis
evaluation
synthesis
These skills provide a helpful guide to review values, challenge assumptions and consider broader social, political, and professional issues.

10. Reflective Model/Framework
REMINDER:
There is not a standardized approach to reflection, no one right way (no recipe or formula). However, using a reflective model can stimulate and frame the reflection experience.
CAUTION:
Don’t get boxed in or restricted by a model. A model is simply a guide that helps with exploration, regardless how one chooses to reflect.
KEY:
What matters is going though the entire reflective process.
Don’t stop at describing the experience, don’t get marred in endless analysis, don’t jump to solutions.
The richness comes with moving though the process.

11. Reflective Practice Pilot Model?
So What?
What?
Now What?
Generalizing
Developing real-world principles + understanding
(Synthesis)
Sharing
Exchanging reactions + observations
(Self-Awareness)
Experiencing
The activity phase
(Description)
Applying
Planning effective use of learning
(Learning in Action)
Processing
Discussion patterns
(Evaluation & Critical Analysis)

12. Sample Template for Reflective Practice (For Template see Work in Progress Discussion Paper No. 4, pg. 27)
This template is based on a simple ‘WHAT’, ‘SO WHAT’ and ‘NOW What’ model.
Questions under each heading:
provide prompts or cues to deconstruct and reconstruct experience
help to understand what is brought into practice
help analyze experiences from many angles to make sense of what happened
act as a springboard for dialogue
allow for both structured and creative reflection
guide deeper exploration of practice
REMINDER: No need to answer all questions, there is no set order. Go with the flow - the process is fluid!
To locate original sources for quotes in this PowerPoint, please refer to the Work in Progress Discussion Paper No. 4 and its bibliography– thank you.