Learning Styles, Time Management And Reflection

Reflection and reflective practice can be defined in many ways. Therefore, Mackintosh (2015) argues that the definitions of reflection are unclear, flawed and lack clarity. It can be argued that reflection is reviewing an experience within practice to

“Reflective learning involves assessment and re-assessment of assumptions and critical reflective occurs whenever underlying premises are being questioned”.(Williams 2001) P.29.

I will structure this essay using Gibbs Model of Reflection (Gibbs 1988). Reflective learning helps practitioners analyse their experiences and how they think and feel about them before

Effective reflection helps the practitioner to see the situation from an outsider's perspective, so that they can develop a better way to respond to a similar scenario in the future. Reflection is meant to achieve a change in practice, rather than simply repeating the same mistakes (Schon, 1983). Many different models exist for structuring the reflective process. Regardless of the framework used, the reflection models are meant to accomplish three things. They are supposed to promote reflecting on events, self-evaluation and analysis, and a plan to change actions in the future. This Reflective essay will utilize Driscoll's 'The What?' model as its structure (Driscoll, 1994). This model has three components"

Reflection is a process of reviewing and thinking critically about activities and how this affects learning of student’s. It is not just descriptions of what happened during the lesson; it’s to

This presentation will discuss key factors that impact planning personal study, such as strengths and weaknesses. Also, this presentation will include how to access and locate resources in the Learning Centre.

Reflective practice engages practitioners in a continuous cycle of self-observation and self-evaluation in order to understand their own actions and the reactions they prompt in themselves and in learners (Brookfield, 1995; Thiel, 1999). Reflective practice is considered as an evolving concept which views learning as “an active process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice.” (Reid, B 1993 cited in Garfat, T. 2005).

The aim of this essay is to give the reader an overview of the types of study skills necessary for a student to study for and attain a Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector. In it I will discuss my personal approach to study and the study skills I need to use on the programme. The essay will highlight the skills I feel are my current strengths and draw attention to the areas I need to develop. I will briefly describe and evaluate some different reflective models and in relation to these explain the type of reflective model I use and how this helps me to understand how I can improve my learning experience and my study skills in order to study more proactively.

A load of research has been done on learning and reflective practice and its effectiveness on the practitioners and one of the first people to research reflective Practice was Donald Schon in his book “The Reflective Practitioner” in 1983. Schon was an influential writer on reflection and had two main ways of identifying reflection and they were reflection in action and reflection on action.

Developing strong academic study skills in Higher Education is arguably the most important area of learning and development a student can cultivate, in order to achieve academic success. The skills that are acquired, the learning techniques that a student refines and life learning experiences are all going to develop into long-term career prospects and future career enhancement. Some of the key areas for development and discussion in this essay will include note taking/essay writing, critical thinking and analysing questions and reflective thinking skills.

Personal learning styles are highly complex and unique to specific individuals. It is often difficult to pinpoint an exact learning style. Though there are different categories, we often fine tune them to our own abilities. By examining our traits and tendencies we create a clearer understanding of how we process and learn information. With careful review, I have developed a specific analysis of my learning characteristics, including an evaluation of skill levels. Based on what I have recently learned and know from experience, I have also devised a structured plan for improvement of time management and study skills.

The discipline named “study” is a practice, Richard Foster has this practice (or discipline) described in four steps. The first step is repetition, which focuses your mind on a specific path. The second step being concentration, when concentrating on concepts it increases your learning experience. Comprehension is the third step, this talks about understanding what a person is studying to gain a new level of understanding of a(n) concept. The last and final step of the disciple “study” is reflection, this term allows a person to meditate on what has just been read and a gain a new perspective on a concept.

Within different disciplines, what is understood by reflective practice varies considerably (Fook et al, 2006). Despite this, some agreement has been achieved. In general, reflective practice is understood as the process of learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice (Boud et al 1985;

Reflective practice might be understood differently by individual practitioners. There are many different perspectives on ‘Reflection’, what reflective practice involves and how the quality of teaching and learning is impacted by reflective practice (Bengtsson, 1995).

Studying skills will help you be more successful as well, there is also to much studying. To much studying can cause stress, and dense learning habits, also pushing your self to hard may ruin learning skills and cause your self to feel bad, or not as intelligent. Study skills for tests, quizzes, and exams is very important. Evenly spreading out study time will increase memory of the subjects you learn. Taking frequent breaks will make studying less stressful. Using flash cards, web sites, computers, or just a pencil and paper are all great ways to study. Having an answer sheet to refer to, and look over when your done will also help study and learning skills because it can help you see what you did wrong and need to fix. Having a study group or club before big tests, like exams or diplomas, will help you have more fun with your friends when studying.