1. Introduction to Reflective Writing
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2. What is Reflection? Thinking about….. Pondering on…..
Asking yourself questions about…..
Discussing with yourself…
Trying to work something out…..
Making sense of things…
Learning from experience...
Helping you plan for the future…..
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3. So why is it important to reflect?
develop and understand YOUR decisions, lessons learned, and the implication of future practice.
bridge the “theory” gap: from what was learned in the past to what you will use in the future.

4. Skills & Attitudes required for reflection
Willing to learn from experience and to change things
Being open and honest
Willing to share and discuss your experiences
Being motivated to describe or analyze experiences
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5. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle*
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Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle
Description
Feelings
Evaluation
Analysis
Conclusion
Organization
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6. Description Where was I? Who else was there? Why was I there?*
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Description
Where was I?
Who else was there?
Why was I there?
What was I doing?
What happened?
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7. Feelings How was I feeling at the beginning?
What was I thinking about?
What did other people’s actions make me think / feel?
How did I feel about the outcome?
What do I think about it now?
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8. Evaluation (deciding what to examine)
What was good about the experience for me, for others?
What was bad about the experience for me, for others?
How will this reflection help me in the future? With my assignments, ideas, feelings, thoughts…
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9. Analysis (breaking down the parts to examine)
What did I do well / not so well?
What did others do well?
Did it go as expected?
Why / why not?
What theory / research helps me understand the experience?
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10. Action Plan What would I do in a similar situation in the future?
What aspects of my knowledge / skills could I develop?
How will I write and organize this?
What goals can I set myself?
What outcomes / skills do I need to focus on now?
What story can I tell about my journey to learning?
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11. Structured Reflection
What-
..is the purpose of thinking about these ideas?
..happened?
..did I see / do?
..was my reaction?
..did other people do?
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12. Conclusion Could I have done anything differently during my learning?
What are the key things I have learned–
about me?
my performance/skill
others and their performance?
How will this lesson change me and what I do in the future?
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13. So What?
How do I feel?
How might my feelings compare with other people’s feelings?
Do I still feel the same about the topic after the assignment or lesson?
What were the effects of my actions?
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14. Sample Reflection… Click to so see more writing samples...
Let’s review a sample about the notetaking experience…
“…I found the notetaking process itself to be helpful, because it forced me to listen carefully to the information. Not all the information I wrote down was important, but noting what I found helped me decide what I should re-read. However, the reliability of notes alone can be questionable. For example, the notes I took were not exactly what the book or teacher said, but really just information I thought was important or interesting...”
Click to so see more writing samples...
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15. Reflective Writing Helps you learn from experience.
Helps you build on your expertise.
Developing your reflecting skills is an important aspect of “evidence- based learning”.
Reflective writing can be used as evidence to include in your portfolio to help you achieve your learning goals.
Up next: Let’s review the Reflective Rubric…
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