Reflection in Practice

Argyris and Schon (1974) suggest that practitioners often practice at less than effective levels because they follow routine. Johns (1995) implies that action can be taken through reflection to increase effectiveness in practice as reflection provides opportunities for self development as professionals and individuals (Hinchliff et al., 1993).

Whilst there are many notion for reflection the main goal is for health professionals to learn, grow and develop through practice. There are a number of models of reflection to help engage in the process of reflection. In this entry I would be using the Driscoll framework of reflection

Reflective practice is a crucial skill for anyone in the medical field to become familiar with – especially nurses. Regular reflection permits nurses to cope with the personal and professional consequences of implementing their patents vital health and wellbeing needs every day (Oelofsen, 2015). Outlined in this text is the importance of reflective practice; a reflection on the person attributes, traits and strengths and how these will assist a registered nurse.

Reflection can be defined as an active process that evaluates experiences, draws on previous learning and provides an action plan for future experiences (Kemmis, 1985). Kolb (1984) stated that reflection is required for effective learning to occur. Therefore, as a practitioner, reflection is a significant aspect of the role. This is because, a reflective individual is able to critically analyse their actions, allowing them to become self-aware. In turn, reflection gives them an insight of how they could have behaved differently to achieve a better outcome (Boud et al. 1985). The NMC (2015) advocates life-long learning by taking account of current evidence and knowledge. For this reason, without the constant application of reflection, health care professionals may find themselves practising, using outdated customs. In midwifery, it is our obligation to ensure that our knowledge is up to date. Additionally, it is vital that we are constantly challenging and improving our practice. This will ensure that women and families under our care always remain safe as well as improving the practice of midwifery.

Within this assignment I aim to demonstrate achievement of the five identified learning area and the ensuing ability to use these to act as an effective mentor and role model for nursing students within my clinical area. In order for me to show my capability in applying the theories to practice I am going to use the Gibb cycle of reflection as stated in beginning reflective practice (jasper 2003), I feel that this will help me further understand and enhance my knowledge and theory behind the clinical practice I currently undertake and how to keep improving this with each new student nurse I come to work with in the future.

This piece of reflection will focus on my experiences whilst on practice placement; I will be using the (Gibbs 1988, cited in Jasper 2003, p.77) model of reflection. Gibbs cycle is set out in order of categories made up of different headings. (See appendix 1). By using this cycle it allows me to reflect in structured and effective way. The subject of this final piece of reflection will cover the development and utilisation of interpersonal skills in order to establish and maintain therapeutic relationships.

Reflection-on-action involves reflecting on how practice can be developed or changed after the event that it will be achieved by thinking back on what we have done in order to discover how our knowing-in-action may have contributed to an unexpected outcome’ (Schön, 1983, p. 26).

I have had the pleasure of meeting some really fascinating guest speakers, all of whom enthused an infectious enthusiasm and passion for personal and business development through their insightful and inspiring accounts. However, this essay will focus exclusively on providing a reflective statement by making reference to the team working conducted via the group assignment and will discuss the concepts most relevant to collaborative working and reflective practice. In addition, this essay will seek to reflect upon individual preconceptions and supply recommendations for applying theory to practice within my personal and professional life. This process involves utilising ‘The Model of Structured Reflection’ (Driscoll, 2007) on which the very

Both experience and reflection are needed to produce new knowledge. Effective learners often are parallel processing, that is reflecting upon activities even as they are doing or experiencing new activities.

‘Reflective teaching is seen as a process through which the capacity to make professional judgments can be developed and maintained’ (Pollard, 2002)

Comparatively, Reid (1993) defined self-reflection as an active process rather than passive thinking. She stated that “reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyze, evaluate and so inform learning about practice” (p. 3). In a related study, Kemmis (1985) agrees with Reid that the process of reflection is more than a process that focuses ‘on the head’. However, reflection enables one to assess, understand and learn through their experiences. It is a personal process that results in some change for one in his/her perspective of a situation or creates new learning for the person.

This paper is my personal reflection on teaching and learning that is based on a model developed by Schӧn; reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. An action based on reflection is beneficial for the progression of my career as a nursing educator and for the quality of my teaching. When I reflect in and on action, I engage in a reflection which is targeted not only at appreciating myself as a nurse educator, but also at refining my teaching skill (Serdenciuc, 2015). Schön (as cited in Molloy & Delany, 2009) described reflection-in-action as challenging my own inherent critical thinking, analysis and evaluation of an activity while maintaining a sense of inquisitiveness. Schön (1983, p. 280) also mentioned that reflection-in-action is a process where my thinking and action should harmonize. On the other hand, reflection-on-action is a process where I revisit the action with my retrospective thinking so as to acquire insights for the future (Wieringa, 2011). When reflecting-on-action, I should keep a reflective diary to record details of the action immediately after the action (Mulholland & Turnock, 2012, p. 74).

A seminar style course aims for an active discussion amongst all of the students and ideally with minor involvement from the professor to keep things moving. As someone who has never participated in this style of class and rarely raises her hand unless participation is included in my grade, this was a struggle. If I can avoid active participation without it hurting my grade, then I’m always going to opt for that because it’s a relief. But this class helped push me towards almost enjoying these discussions. I wish it was more natural and better balanced between the students, but I’m proud that I warmed up to engaging in classroom discussions with the help of seminar. Being able to speak up in an environment where it’s both encouraged and intended to be mutual allowed me to develop more confidence and comfortability in speaking more in my other classes while pushing me to engage further with texts.

The movie has several scenes that warrant further reflection, that are specific to counseling process that deals with emotional and angry outbursts and attempts of making connections. The first scenes that warrant further reflection is the following: On day two of class she begins to think outside of the box to teach her students in a manner that will not only bring forth order in the class but also within their lives while trying to make a connection with them in a way that each one can understand and identify with. She begins class with challenging two of the students to a karate matches; after two of the students try to teach her some karate moves she tells them that they do not know shit, but if you keep trying then you will learn it (Smith 1999). This gets the students’ attention and they begin to listen to Mrs. Johnsons as she explains that starting now that all of them have a clean slate which gives them an A, and all that you have to do is try to keep it (Smith, 1999). The next scenes that warrant further reflections is when she writes two phrases on the board of “I want to die” and “I choose to die” and gives them poetry to read that is related to their lifestyles of drugs, death, and gang. She uses these two phrase and the poetry to encourage them to believe in themselves and their ability to build a foundation of educations, respect for others, and improve their lifestyle. The last sets of scenes that warrant further reflection deals with a huge physical fight

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, believed that “human being is a social and political creature, and the one who can live far away from human societies is either a beast or a god.” Plato, another philosopher from ancient Greece also claimed that “the creation of the society is a natural construction. People by nature create societies, and they only achieve its completion inside them.” However, philosopher Kant insists that “human being is a lonely animal that avoids the mob.” Again, De La Croix, the French artist, believes that “people are social human beings who hate their peers.”