Reflective practice is a process that helps educators explore their decision making and professional experiences. Reflecting on your teaching can give you valuable insight into your strengths and weaknesses.
It also helps you see the effect of different pedagogical approaches on students’ learning, allowing you to choose methods that are most effective for your students.
John Dewey advocated for reflection as a critical element of the learning process.
we do not learn from experience, but from reflecting on experience.
Dewey, 1938
Reflective thinking is not a single event to tick off, nor an isolated experience. Reflection is most effective when it is a series of connected phases of thinking. These phases of thinking are often outlined in a cycle as we return to an initial starting point or the habit continues.
Reflective practice is:
learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and practice
Finlay, 2008
The cycle of reflection is an integral part of reflective practice, and it’s not always easy to know where to start. That’s why I’ve created a comprehensive guide that will walk you through all the steps involved in a range of reflective practice examples so that you can get started right away.
I have put together this guide to bring together a range of reflection models and approaches. In this guide, we will explore the following reflective thinking cycles and approaches:
- Gibbs Reflective Cycle
- Rolfe et al, Reflective Practice Model
- Four Lenses Approach by Brookfield
- Experiential Learning Reflection by David Kolb
- Retrospective, Introspective, Prospective Thinking
- ‘Reflection-in-action’ and ‘reflection-on-action’ by Schön
- Frequently Asked Questions about Reflective Practice
- Summary and Conclusion
Although there are many different approaches and research methods, the fundamental principle of reviewing the teaching and learning experience is to improve the outcomes for the teacher and students.
Gibbs Reflective Cycle
In the Gibbs reflective practice cycle, there are multiple steps to help structure your reflection. It involves an examination of the facts, emotions and analysis of the details. The process concludes with a review of improvements and setting the next steps.
The Gibbs Reflective Cycle has six different stages:
1 – Description
What happened?
Outline the details of a lesson or event. Record the sequence of events, the context and any relevant information. Stick to the facts and low inference details, so you are not jumping to conclusions or making assumptions.
2 – Feelings
What were you thinking or feeling?
Record your thoughts, feelings and emotions. Reflect on how you felt before the event or lesson took place. How did this help with teaching? How did it affect your students? It is essential to connect with our emotions as they can affect our teaching and learning performance.
3 – Evaluation
What was good and bad about the experience?
Reflect on the positive elements of events, lessons or interactions with students. Try not to focus too much on negative points, as this may make you feel disheartened. If any critical moments during a lesson or event need further exploration, jot them down.
4 – Analysis
What sense can you make of the experience?
What is your interpretation of the episode or lesson? What questions do you have after reflecting on this experience? This step helps educators consider alternative perspectives to look for connections between different parts of their experiences. It also allows them to explore underlying motives that may influence their judgement.
5 – Conclusion
What do you need to improve on?
In this phase of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle, you consider what you have learned from the experience. What insights can be gained? How will this affect your next steps or plans? Review your notes and look for patterns and connections. What areas of your teaching practice require more attention? Which parts need to be improved upon in the future?
6 – Action Plan
How will you improve?
The final reflection in the cycle focuses on your next steps and shifting from thinking to action. Write down a range of small steps you can take to move closer to your goals. You might also record notes on what you need to learn or where further research would be beneficial. Make sure these changes are realistic and achievable in the short term so they don’t overwhelm you.
Benefits of the Gibbs Reflective Practice Cycle
- Individual steps make the process clearer and easier to begin.
- Separate steps allow you to focus on separate types of reflection.
- Splits up description from evaluation, which encourages a deeper reflection.
- Includes the importance for teachers to connect with the emotional experience.
Next up, we explore Rolfe’s reflective thinking model.
What, So What, Now What?
Rolfe et al Reflective Thinking Model
Three simple questions that pack a punch when explored together. Use this method when reflecting on a shared experience.
The precise split between what is observed and why it might be meaningful is powerful. It helps you not get lost in the swamp of interpretation, too soon at least!
The outline of the steps below is from Liberating Structures.
- If needed, describe the sequence of steps and show the Ladder of Inference (see below). If the group is 10–12 people or smaller, conduct the debrief with the whole group. Otherwise, break the group into small groups.
- First stage: WHAT? Individuals work 1 min. alone on “What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
- Salient facts from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2–3 min.
- Second stage: SO WHAT? People work 1 min alone on “Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can I/we make?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
- Salient patterns, hypotheses, and conclusions from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2–5 min.
- Third stage: NOW WHAT? Participants work 1 min. alone on “Now what? What actions make sense?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
- Actions are shared with the whole group, discussed, and collected. Additional insights are invited. 2–10 min.
Benefits of Rolfe et al’s Reflective Practice Model
- The obvious benefit is how simple this approach is. The three-part reflective practice model is easy to remember and apply.
- The first two questions help to split the low inference and evaluation phases of reflection.
- So What? Is a great short provocation to keep us connected to what is important.
In the next section, we explore the Four Lenses Approach by Brookfield.
The Four Lenses of Critical Reflection by Brookfield
One of my favourite ways to reflect on an experience is to use vantage points to help me get a broad sense of perspective. Stephen Brookfield outlines The Four Lenses of Critical Reflection. These lenses help educators understand the context of an experience.
Self
Colleague
Student
Theory
Autobiographical lens
When we spend time in this perspective, we consider our own experiences. What were the conditions that led to this episode? How did I feel about it at the time, and how do I feel now? Consider your thoughts, feelings and emotions throughout the experience.
Colleague lens
Shift your thinking and perspective to consider the views of those around you. What would a colleague say about this experience? How have they reacted to it, and what lessons can be learnt from their point of view? Try to be as impartial and objective as possible.
Student lens
By considering the viewpoint of your students, you begin to see a whole new dimension. How would they describe this experience? What did they learn from it, and what advice could be given for improvement? This perspective can help educators understand their role in a lesson or event through a different lens.
Theoretical lens
Relate your understanding to the other approaches and lenses. What is the theoretical framework that explains this experience? What theory of learning or teaching can help to provide a relevant explanation? This perspective will draw upon your knowledge and understanding from training.
Each type of lens offers something unique for educators to consider, so try using all four lenses in one cycle of reflection. You might start by writing about an experience using your autobiographical lens, then move to your colleagues’ views. You can follow this with the students’ viewpoint and finish by drawing upon theoretical perspectives.
Benefits of Brookfield’s Four Lenses of Critical Reflection
- Provokes us to consider multiple perspectives.
- Enhances our understanding of the context and circumstances of an event.
- Promotes a sense of fairness when considering different points of view.
- Frames reflection beyond ourselves and our own experiences.
- Allows us to draw upon the knowledge and understanding we already possess.
Experiential Learning Reflection by David Kolb
David Kolb’s model of reflective practice involves four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation.
The model is based on Kolb’s Learning Cycle, which suggests that we learn by engaging in an activity or ‘experience’. This experiential learning leads to certain feelings about our subject matter.
By reflecting upon these emotions and the emotions of others involved, educators can strengthen their understanding of the experience.
Concrete Experience
The concrete experience is what you did and felt at the time. What emotions were involved? How did others think about it? Was there conflict or tension in any way? By focusing on your own experiences, educators can use this reflection to explain their actions during an event. Record your observations, feelings and emotions during the time of this experience.
Reflective Observation
Reflective observation allows us to reflect upon our thinking processes during the actual encounter through questioning strategies like: “What was I trying to accomplish?” “How successful was my attempt?” This stage helps us understand how we took action and why we made certain decisions when faced with a challenge or problem. It also encourages critical learning from that particular episode by asking ‘what if?’ questions such as: “If I had known then what I know now..”
Abstract Conceptualisation
Abstract conceptualisation is the third stage of Kolb’s model, and it allows us to analyse our thinking processes. This phase helps you to develop new strategies to deal with similar situations in the future. Some questions that help at this stage are: “What would I do differently, if given the chance?” “How could this experience be improved on next time?”.
Active Experimentation
Active experimentation involves planning an alternative route forward based on what we have learned from past experiences. It provides educators with opportunities for growth by applying new knowledge acquired through the reflective thinking cycle in a real-life scenario. Experimenting with new ideas closes the reflection cycle, as the experiments become concrete experiences that start another process.
All four stages provide valuable professional knowledge of how we learn best which will help you become more confident in your ability as an educator.
Benefits of David Kolb’s model of reflective practice
- Orientated towards taking action and experimenting.
- Helps educators understand their own learning processes.
- Encourages self-reflection and an ability to explain our actions during challenging experiences.
- Challenges us to consider new ideas and alternative ways of thinking.
Retrospective, Introspective and Prospective Thinking
This three-part model of reflective practice is designed to help educators look back on their work. This reflection cycle considers the past, present and future of an educator’s work to shape effective strategies in the future.
It also helps teachers deliberately tune into their inner-self with Introspective thinking to become more self-aware.
Retrospective Thinking
Look Back
This first stage of the cycle is retrospective thinking when we look back on what happened. What worked? What didn’t? Retrospective thinking focuses on learning from your experiences by looking at how you have done something previously or why a particular solution has been successful in the past.
Educators can use this information when faced with a similar issue in the future as it allows them to predict what is most likely to occur next time they meet that challenge again.
Introspective Thinking
Look Inward
In this second stage, introspective thinking allows us to look inwardly. Educators can use self-observation and reflection to understand their feelings about a particular situation by asking themselves questions such as: “How did I feel during that time?” Introspective questioning encourages educators to consider new ideas from the perspective of their inner-self and own beliefs.
Prospective Thinking
Look ahead
The final stage, prospective thinking is when we consider the future and how our current work impacts that outcome. Educators are encouraged to plan for change by considering different perspectives, which can help shape new learning experiences moving forwards. Proposing alternative strategies and change management through prospective thinking is particularly useful when educators face new challenges.
Benefits of Retrospective, Introspective and Prospective Thinking
- Supports our planning for change.
- Shifts our perspectives along a timeline.
- Look inward for inspiration when presented with a new problem.
- See the bigger picture of teaching practices to shape future strategies and goals.
Grab a month of prompts to kickstart your reflective practice
For more prompts and questions for these three thinking modes, download a copy of my month of reflective practice prompts and explore my Reflection Workbook.
Next up is Donald Schön’s model of reflective practice.
‘Reflection-in-action’ and ‘reflection-on-action’
Donald Schön’s model explores the difference between reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. You can tell from these two phrases that the difference relates to the time the reflection occurs.
Reflection-in-action
Reflection-in-action is when you reflect during a task to help complete it. For teachers, this might occur during a lesson when you are trying to solve a problem with your students. You reflect-in-action by pausing and reflecting on what is happening, which helps you deal with an issue at hand.
For example, if a colleague asks you for your opinion about something and instead of just answering straight away, you spend some time reflecting on what could be said to give the best possible response.
That would be reflection-in-action because you are thinking carefully so that any action can have its desired effect without causing harm or offence.
Reflection-on-action
In contrast, reflection-on-action occurs after completing a task and helps us understand our actions better by looking at them from different perspectives.
Reflection-on-action occurs when you pause after completing your task or activity to make sense of it all. Educators might use this time after lesson planning, teaching sessions, planning for assessment or preparing resources to think about how they can do better next time.
Reflections that occur post-work help us understand if our actions were successful, why we made particular choices and consider alternative approaches moving forward.
Expanded Version of Schön’s model of reflective practice
My riff on this approach would be to substitute the word ‘action’ for ‘learning’. We are familiar with this model when considering assessment ‘for’, ‘of’ and ‘as’ learning. We might similarly use reflection.
Reflection-of-learning
Reflection-of-learning is when you reflect on your own practice. For example, if you are writing a new lesson plan for the next week of teaching sessions, you might sit down at the end of this session and think about what worked well in terms of structure or content.
Reflection-for-learning
Reflection-for-learning involves reflecting on your work before undertaking it. This often happens for new challenges and may include planning time to gather resources, create assessments or think of ways to implement a change in approach.
Reflection-as-learning
Finally, reflection-as-learning relates to the learning gains and growth from engaging with reflection. This is the process of learning about your learning by looking for patterns in your thoughts and identifying how reflection changes us.
Benefits of Schön’s model of reflective practice
- A simple two-part model that is easy to remember and engage with.
- Allows for more directed reflective practice.
- Encourages educators to reflect on their actions both during and after completing tasks or activities.
FAQ about reflective practice for teachers
Q: What is reflective practice?
A: Reflective practice means reflecting on our work to improve in the future. We take time to think deeply to understand our actions and our own practice behaviours better. It’s a self-reflective process that often takes place after some event or classroom practice decision has been made.
Q: What is reflective thinking?
A: Reflective thinking is an approach where one thinks deeply about past experiences or events to gain insight into what happened so you can make decisions moving forward. It’s based on cycles of thought that help individuals gain new perspectives through introspection and contemplation. This type of deep reflection usually occurs after some experience has occurred, such as attending class, watching a documentary or just having dinner with friends.
Q: Why are reflective thinking and consistent practice important?
A: Reflective practice helps educators grow and learn, which in turn benefits their students. It’s not enough to learn new things, but you need to implement them into your practice if you genuinely want lasting results. This means taking time to reflect on what you’ve learned and then making an effort to apply it.
Q: Who benefits the most from reflective practice?
A: Many groups can benefit from reflective practices because it helps them develop critical thinking skills. For instance, students trying to learn about themselves can use reflective practice when they’re in school. At work, employees often benefit from the process because it helps them see their strengths and weaknesses, making for more success overall.
Q: How can I incorporate reflective thinking into my classroom practices?
A: Reflectives cycles are beneficial when part of continuous learning and professional development. Reflect on something that has happened or plan for something that will happen. You can use these reflective cycles to evaluate your teaching skills and your own teaching methods and then make changes if need be. There are many reflective practices that you can choose from depending on your specific needs.
Q: How do I get started with reflective practice?
A: The first step to reflective practice is to reflect on experiences you’ve had both in and out of the classroom. This helps you gain more insight into who you are as an educator, which means it’s easier to make changes moving forward if necessary. You can also seek assistance from others, including your peers or mentors, so they support your reflection process. Reflecting alone isn’t easy, but it is beneficial for educators to grow their skills even further!
Summary and Conclusion
Reflective practice is a process that can be applied to nearly every aspect of your life, from work to school and even social activities. It’s an essential skill for any reflective practitioner and to develop critical thinking.
This article outlines reflective practice cycles in detail with examples of how educators can use each cycle successfully in their classrooms or schools.
- Gibbs Reflective Cycle
- Rolfe et al, Reflective Practice Model
- Four Lenses Approach by Brookfield
- Experiential Learning Reflection by David Kolb
- Retrospective, Introspective, Prospective Thinking
- ‘Reflection-in-action’ and ‘reflection-on-action’ by Donald Schön
Reflective practice cycles are valuable because they help us learn, facilitating professional growth and learning gains.
For those who may not be sure where to start this journey toward greater reflection as an educator such as yourself, I have a Reflective Practice Workbook available in the online store.
-
Reflective Practice Workbook$25.00 AUD
I hope this article has been a valuable resource for your reflective practice, and I wish you luck on your journey toward greater self-reflection!
What are some ways you have used reflective teaching? Which of these processes do you plan to implement into your classroom practices in the future? Let me know what resonates by commenting below!
The comparative simple analysis of various reflective practices will provide early childhood educators with a series of connected phases of thinking. Intentional reflection will globally improve outcomes! Million thanks!!