Individual Written Reflection

 

 

Table of Contents

Page

Introduction                                                                                                                                 3

Reflection                                                                                                                                    6

Conclusion                                                                                                                                  7

References                                                                                                                                   8

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

                  Reflection is one of the techniques used in professional development and education to assist in learning and reinforce what is taught. It often functions as the base of professional advancement and is responsible for an individual’s ability to rationalize the experiences gained and converts what is understood into a practical strategy that promotes personal growth as well as having a positive impact on organizations. Reflection operates by integrating activities that occur in a person’s daily routine and creates awareness, assists in decision making and self-management as well as ensuring that the individual can make rational decisions. Furthermore, it helps people to cope with success or failure as it pushes the individual to appreciate achievements made as well as learn from failure by examining the steps resulting to the outcome in order to identify the root of the problem and come up with a practical solution.

            Reflection plays a major role in determining how people interact in school, society and other settings that require people to interact. The skill is however transferrable and one can learn how to best reflect on an issue so as to achieve the most desirable results. However, the ability to reflect is considered as one of the highest levels of manifestation that gives the individual better control of the human brain. While people reflect on a regular basis, it is often difficult to plan out the reflection or control it in such a way that it is beneficial. Most reflections occur but passes by without allowing the individual to ponder over it and determine the kind of impact it could have on the person’s life. As such, reflection is a skill that needs to be learnt and understood properly (Race 2002). Doing so is likely to give the individual more control over the reflection process and make it easier for the individual to have a better understanding of things that take place in society.

            Some of the common ways of enforcing reflection is through education and employment. Concerning education, students’ reflection is facilitated by the learning logs, achievement records and personal development plans that are used to assess what progress has been made as well as identify areas that need improvement. Organizations that hire people have also adopted a similar approach as the one used in schools when dealing with employees. Various teaching and training sessions are carried out to equip employees with the skills needed to become better at performing duties and enhance efficiency. Other than possessing the skills that makes one qualify for the job position, employees are also trained on reflection as way to help them assess their progress and identify areas that could be improved on to ease the workload or make performing duties more efficient.

            Reflection often occurs as a discourse between two or more individuals. Reflection can occur between teachers and their students or between an employer and the employees. The discourse helps one become better at reflecting because the feedback provided can help the parties involved identify areas that need improvement. In order to be successful however, the students or employees need to be aware of their abilities and how they are influenced by the nature of the environment they live in, and also how reflection can help to improve these abilities. In both cases, the parties involved can rely on the learning cycle developed by Kolb (1984) as it shows how reflection, if well implemented can result in improved learning or make one better at performing a task in the workplace. The learning experience consists of four stages as shown in figure 1.

 

 

                        

Figure 1. Kolb’s Four Stages of Learning

            From the cycle of learning, Kolb draws the conclusion that the four different learning styles are as a result of the habits that form when an individual gradually responds to the learning environment. In order to note the learning style, it is therefore important to pay attention to the changes that occur in different stages of the learning cycle. However, since people are influenced differently by the experiences that occur in a social setting, there are various types of learners as is evident in figure 2.

                          

Figure 2. Kolb's Learning Styles

Reflection: Importance of self-reflection

            Reflection is important as it helps people to pause and contemplate over what has been learnt and its impact rather than just progressing on without assessing development. In order to be able to review my effectiveness and develop my skills I need to reflect, rather than just carry on doing things as I normally do them. It is therefore important to contemplate over what I do and why I do it and then decide whether it is a better, or more productive, way of doing it next time. self-reflection is described as the act where one assesses personal achievements and developments to determine their impact on the individual’s life. Reflection has therefore become a crucial part of my life not just at home, but also when interacting with my colleagues.

For reflection to be successful, it is recommended that one operates on a set of questions that try to dig deeper into an individual’s daily routine. The questions act as a tool that prompts the individual to reflect further on events that occur in order to develop a better understanding of how to conduct oneself in such occurrences. Some of the questions include;

• Strengths – What are my strengths? For example: Am I a good listener? I can be an efficient leader?
• Weaknesses – What are my weaknesses? For example: I get bored easily from reading? Do I need better time management?
• Skills – What skills do I have and what am I good at?
• Problems – Is there any problems at work/home that can affect me? For example: responsibilities or distractions that may affect your study or work.
• Achievements – What have I accomplished?
• Happiness – Are there things that I am unhappy with or disappointed about? What makes me happy?
• Solutions – What could I do to improve in these areas?

Although the questions are intended to make the process more effective, the reflection process can at times reveal information that some may consider embarrassing at first or is influenced by selfish reasons. With practice however, the individual becomes more comfortable with the responses and this makes self-reflection more effective. According to Peter F. Drucker, any form of effective action that is followed up with reflection is likely to result in more effective action. This is especially because the reflection, though quiet, allows the individual to focus more on the effective action. This in turn helps the individual to identify areas that were problematic and come up with better ways to resolve any challenges that ensued as a result. The added information makes it easier for the individual to make improvements and yield better results as the information gained through reflection broadens the individual’s knowledge, level of experience and the confidence demonstrated when performing the act, or a similar one, with added knowledge.

Academic study skill

            Schools play an important role in society as help to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to survive in society. Reflection is among the various skills that students gain school and it is a product of the approach taken when teaching and setting up examinations. In a normal setting, students are taught in a classroom and provided with notes regarding the different subjects covered in the school’s curriculum. To assist the students, retain the information they gain, exams are issued on a regular basis to not only test the student’s learning, but also identify areas that need improvement. The test therefore acts as the tool for reflection as it gives both the teachers and the students the chance to assess what have been learnt. After a test, students go over the questions again, either alone or in groups, and in so doing, get the feedback that helps them to reflect on their studies.

            A good example is the academic study skills that is one of the higher education modules in our school. The module aims to equip students with the skills needed to succeed in their academics and also in life after school. The module focuses on helping students to better learn how to manage their time and academic work, while still retaining a personal life. The module teaches students how to conduct research while still acknowledging the original researchers of any work cited on the student’s work. Through it, the students not only learn how to excel in academic writing and literature, but also learning about academic integrity and what strategies can be employed in order to attain good results. Some of the strategies include the best approach to take in ensuring that work done is not plagiarised as well as the importance of giving credit where it is due.

The “Academic Study Skills” is a module that analyse several quality tools which enabled me to look at my core skills in the academic field and identify areas that I could improve. In the beginning of this module, the only skills that I possessed were those gained from the experience living with my parents and also my experience as a team leader. From all my experiences I learnt a lot regarding the importance of teamwork and communication skills. The skills were however ill equipped for all aspects of society, something I learnt at the beginning of this course.

Conclusion

From the module however, I have developed and put in practice skills I was not aware I could achieve easily with guidance and positive feedback. A good example is the case where I had to present and lead a group presentation which was part of our first assignment for this academic year. The team had 5 members with different characters traits and from the attitude portrayed by the other members, I could tell that it had the making of a very strong team. I was later appointed as team leader and my responsibilities included assigning duties and following up to ensure they were fulfilled. As team leader, my responsibilities also included being the voice of reason as I would listen to other team members contributions and determine which was the correct course of action to take. Other team members would also approach me with questions on how to tackle a specific problem before sharing the issue with the rest of the team. Being my first presentation in front of senior students, I was a bit concerned on what approach would be most suitable. The experience interacting with my team made the ordeal easier as the team had already equipped me with the skills needed to interact even with seniors. Through reflection, I was able to look back on how I handled members of my team and used similar approaches when presenting the work, we did and this had a great impact on my audience.

From the experience, I have learnt that time management is a major weakness for me. I tend to pay attention to details and try to achieve the best levels possible. I also have a tendency to take on more responsibilities than I can handle especially because I enjoy the challenge. Despite my willingness to be better however, I find it difficult to manage my time and constantly have to rush to finish projects. From the experience however, I have learnt the importance of team work and how effective it is to tackle issues as a group. Since I have a tendency to take on more than I can comfortably handle, I will try and engage in delegation rather than taking on all responsibilities to myself. I will also engage with close pears to learn better management skills. since a problem is easier to tackle as a group, I will rely on those close to me to help me come up with schedules that help me manage my time better.

           

 

 

 

References

Moon, J. (2013). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development. 1st ed. London: Jennifer A. Moon, p.1.reflective-practice-guide_tcm18-12524.pdf. (n.d.). [eBook] Grace Owen and Alison Fletcher, p.1. Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/reflective-practice-guide_tcm18-12524.pdf [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].

Citt.ufl.edu. (2019). Kolb’s Four Stages of Learning » Centre for Instructional Technology & Training » University of Florida. [online] Available at: http://citt.ufl.edu/tools/kolbs-four-stages-of-learning/  [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].

Nwlink.com. (n.d.). Kolb's Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Model. [online] Available at: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/kolb.html  [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].

Pcliv.ac.uk. (n.d.). Reflective practice. [online] Available at: http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/ehls/prescott/Practice-Education/_20.htm [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].

Open.ac.uk. (n.d.). Self reflection | The Open University & Unison in Partnership. [online] Available at: http://www.open.ac.uk/choose/unison/develop/my-skills/self-reflection  [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].

Herbert-Smith, K. (2018). The importance of self-reflection. [online] Blog.irisconnect.com. Available at: https://blog.irisconnect.com/uk/community/blog/importance-of-self-reflection/  [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].

Students. (2017). Study Well - Students. [online] Available at: https://students.usask.ca/articles/study-skills.php  [Accessed 18 Jan. 2020].