Reflective practice permits involvement of the whole person in their work, rather than separating out acceptable and non-acceptable feelings. This helps nurses fully engage with their work which, as well as increasing their interest and motivation, improves their care of patients.
Giving them the opportunity to look more closely at themselves in a safe and nurturing environment allows them to become more present for their patients and more able to respond effectively to individual needs. A range of different models of reflective practice have been developed for various professional groups Johns, ; Brookfield, ; Kolb, Typically, engaging in reflective practice involves the following steps:.
The effect of reflective practice on the individual and their practice is illustrated in the fictional example described in Box 1. Here, the nurse gains a better understanding of what causes her discomfort and why she responds as she does. This increases her tolerance of the situations that cause her anxiety and allows her to be more present for those who need her help.
Box 1. Reflective practice in action: an example of how using reflective practice can help a nurse. Mrs Green is in her 70s and has a cancer that is difficult to treat. I encourage her to stay positive, but I am never sure what to say. When I see her I feel a bit trapped and on edge. In my reflective practice group, I have been able to explore my experience further. I hate not having answers.
The doctors do not know what the outcome will be and I know Mary has been told this. Not being able to give her any clear information makes me feel powerless and inadequate. The anxiety I feel is the same as when I am under pressure - like being put on the spot in a meeting. But I also feel the added pressure of responsibility for Mary. I think she might be on her own, as no one ever visits with her. I have worked in a caring role for a large part of my life.
Making people feel better is important to me, which means I want to protect people from painful experiences. I realise I wanted to protect Mary from the prospect of losing her mother and felt it would be unbearable for her to talk about the uncertainty of the future.
I now feel more confident dealing with situations where someone is putting me under pressure and there are no clear answers. Elements of reflective practice may already be present in nursing teams, perhaps in private self-reflection or during supervision.
However, making it part of a regular, ongoing facilitated group gives the process greater focus, structure and depth. A group offers individuals the support of others and a shared experience that can help normalise difficult feelings.
It also gives a variety of different inputs and insights, which can make discussion more fruitful. The feeling of cohesion and identity given by the group is important at a time when work pressures can make nurses feel isolated or undervalued.
Containment is a process, whereby a person conveys their state of mind to others, so it is transformed into something tolerable and meaningful Spurling, Far from being about restriction or limitation, containment is an enabling process. It happens when people show by their response, tone of voice and expression that they are listening with care to what the person says Spurling, A facilitated reflective practice group allows the facilitator and the group to fulfil the containing function.
Reflective practice makes sure you are responsible for yourself and your students Reflecting on your teaching will help you to understand how your students best learn and will allow you to be accountable for their progress. By assessing the strengths and weaknesses in your own teaching, you will develop an awareness of the factors that control and prevent learning. The reflection process will also help you to understand yourself and the way you teach.
By asking yourself questions and self-assessing, you will understand what your strengths are and any areas where development might be needed. Reflecting allows you to understand how you have helped others to achieve and what this looks like in a practical learning environment. By asking your students for their thoughts and feelings on the learning, they play an active part in the learning cycle. This allows them to take ownership of their learning and also work with you and give feedback, which creates self-aware and responsible students.
Once the student starts to play an active part in the learning cycle, they become more aware of different learning styles and tasks. They become more aware of how they learn and they develop key skills and strategies to become lifelong learners.
Reflective practice encourages innovation Reflective practice allows you to adapt lessons to suit your classes. You can create and experiment with new ideas and approaches to your teaching to gain maximum success. By varying learning and experimenting with new approaches, students have a richer learning experience. They will think more creatively, imaginatively and resourcefully, and be ready to adapt to new ways and methods of thinking. Reflective practice encourages engagement Being reflective helps you challenge your own practice as you will justify decisions and rationalise choices you have made.
It encourages you to develop an understanding of different perspectives and viewpoints. These viewpoints might be those of students, focusing on their strengths, preferences and developments, or those of other colleagues, sharing best practice and different strategies.
Reflective practice benefits all By reflecting, you create an environment which centres on the learner. This environment will support students and teachers all around you to become innovative, confident, engaged and responsible. Once you start the reflective process, your quality of teaching and learning will improve. Reflection helps focus on the learning process, so learning outcomes and results will improve as you reflect on how your learners are learning.
By getting involved in the reflective process, you will create an environment of partnership-working as you question and adapt both your own practice and that of your students and other colleagues. The learning process then becomes an active one as you are more aware of what you want your students to achieve, delivering results which can be shared throughout the institution. By working with other colleagues and students, relationships become positive and demonstrate mutual respect.
Students feel part of the learning cycle and are more self-aware. All of these things together result in a productive working environment. Listen to these educators giving their views on the benefits of reflective practice. Which of the benefits are most relevant to you and your colleagues?
Educational researchers have long promoted the importance of reflecting on practice to support student learning and staff development. There are many different models of reflective practice. However, they all share the same basic aim: to get the best results from the learning, for both the teacher and students. Kolb's learning cycle David Kolb, educational researcher, developed a four-stage reflective model.
The aim is to take the learning into new experiences, completing the cycle. Kolb's cycle follows four stages. First, practitioners have a concrete experience. This means experiencing something new for the first time in the classroom.
The experience should be an active one, used to test out new ideas and teaching methods. This is followed by… Observation of the concrete experience, then reflecting on the experience. Here practitioners should consider the strengths of the experience and areas of development.
This should lead to… The formation of abstract concepts. The practitioner needs to make sense of what has happened. They should do this through making links between what they have done, what they already know and what they need to learn. The practitioner should draw on ideas from research and textbooks to help support development and understanding. They could also draw on support from other colleagues and their previous knowledge. Practitioners should modify their ideas or devise new approaches, based on what they have learnt from their observations and wider research.
The final stage of this cycle is when… The practitioner considers how they are going to put what they have learnt into practice. The ideas from the observations and conceptualisations are made into active experimentation as they are implemented into future teaching. The cycle is then repeated on this new method. It is not simply enough for you to reflect. This reflection must drive a change which is rooted in educational research.
Gibbs' reflective cycle The theoretical approach of reflection as a cyclical model was further developed by Gibbs This model is based on a six-stage approach, leading from a description of the experience through to conclusions and considerations for future events. Gibbs' model is an effective tool to help you reflect after the experience, and is a useful model if you are new to reflection as it is broken down into clearly defined sections.
Description In this section, the practitioner should clearly outline the experience. This needs to be a factual account of what happened in the classroom. It should not be analytical at this stage. Feelings This section encourages the practitioner to explore any thoughts or feelings they had at the time of the event. Here the practitioner should explain feelings and give examples which directly reference the teaching experience.
It is important the practitioner is honest with how they feel, even if these feelings might be negative. Only once the feelings have been identified can the practitioner implement strategies to overcome these barriers. Evaluation The evaluation section gives the opportunity for the practitioner to discuss what went well and analyse practice. It is also important to consider areas needed for development and things that did not work out as initially planned.
Analysis This section is where the practitioner makes sense of the experience. They consider what might have helped the learning or hindered it.
It is in this stage that the practitioner refers to any relevant literature or research to help make sense of the experience. For example, if you felt the instructions you gave were not clear, you could consult educational research on how to communicate effectively.
Conclusion At this stage, the practitioner draws all the ideas together. They should now understand what they need to improve on and have some ideas on how to do this based on their wider research. Action plan During this final stage, the practitioner sums up all previous elements of this cycle. They create a step-by-step plan for the new learning experience.
The practitioner identifies what they will keep, what they will develop and what they will do differently. Critical incidents practice moments when things have not gone to plan and outcomes for clients are less than optimal and could potentially be critical , provide opportunities for reflection and improvement but will be most effective if conducted in the spirit of improvement rather than blame.
Reflective services acknowledge that there are limitations to what can be known and that people choose the wisest actions given their limitations Cervero, Staff are not pushed to work beyond their capabilities or sphere of professional expertise.
Kinsella, E. Reflections on reflective practice. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy , 68 3 , Schon, D. T he reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic. Cervero, R. Professional practice, learning and continuing education: An integrated perspective. International Journal of Lifelong Education , 11 , Townsend, E.
Good intentions overruled: A critique of empowerment in the routine organization of mental health services. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Search this Guide Search guides. Reflective Practice. Home Why use reflective practice? When to use reflective practice Examples of reflective practice Types of reflection Toggle Dropdown Some models of reflection Writing reflectively Recommended readings Need help? Becoming a reflective practitioner The reflective process has the potential to enable the beginning health practitioner to learn from their professional experiences, to link theory and practice gaps, and to describe and understand their own feelings and influence, in clinical practice.
The reflective professional What is a reflective professional?
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