Discuss the importance of reflection in relation to professional development

[MESuddaby]

Hello tillypincott,
I have read your post and I agree with you about reflective practice could be considered another form of training as it highlights weaknesses and strengths of practice for professional development. What do you think about my research of Phil Race's experiential learning model? Can you relate to this type of reflection in your own practice?
MESuddaby

[tillypincott]

Hi MESuddaby,
I completely agree with your with opinion on Phil Race’s experiential learning model. It seems to throw more light on reflective learning. Digesting offers practitioners the opportunity to learn and reflect from an experience, for example an activity where he/she could learn by doing something. Obviously both intrinsic and extrinsic feedbacks from peers and parents help you to assess what has transpired, reflect on them and learn from the experience. I think Phil Race’s theory enriches the basic principles of reflective learning and its worth pointing that out, well done.

[MESuddaby]

Hello tillypincott,
Thank you so much for your comment. Good luck with your level 3 Early Years Educator course.

[Valchoco]

Hi am on my last assignment for level 3 and I have been ask to join online forum to discuss about the importance of reflection in relation to professional development. I am still searching and want to know if something have something to say. Thanks

[Chantalcs]

Hi I'm also on unit 23 - The last unit of my studies !!!!

Here is my answer to question 3 - How does reflection relate to professional development.

I have learnt that when working with children things don't always go to plan.
I have planned activities or set up play environments with expectations of the children doing certain things in a certain way and the results have been far from what I had expected. When I reflect on this it helps me to keep an open mind and to change my expectations quickly and easily.

Reflection is a great way of progressing. Deciding whether the experience was bad or good doesn't really matter, it's about learning from it and being able to move forward professionally and personally to improve yourself.

When I leave work I tend to reflect on the day I have just had. I think about what I have done, how I have dealt with situations that have arisen, if I have dealt with them correctly, and most importantly whether I have inspired any children.

When it comes to activities that I have carried out with the children I reflect on what I have done with them and by observing the children I can decide on not only what the children may have learnt from the activity but also what I may have learnt from the children.

The term reflective practice basically means the process of thinking about the work I do in me early years setting as a play worker.

As far as theoretical perspectives on reflection in relation to professional development there are two main theories that help us to understand the reflective progress:
Kolb's learning cycle and Gibb's reflective cycle.

Kolb's learning cycle is a way of helping us reflect on what we have learnt. There are four processes that need to take place
Concrete experience - Doing something or actually having the experience.
Reflective observation - Reflect on what has happened or review the experience
Abstract conceptualisation - What I have learnt from the experience
Active experimentation

Gibb's cycle of reflection was developed from Kolb's learning cycle but it relates more towards learning through repeating processes and experiments.
The aims of Gibb's reflective cycle are challenging assumptions, exploring different ways of doing things and ideas that promote self improvement. Addressing strengths and weaknesses. [/list]

[Carowall]

Hi
I have read all the response with interest and would like to add my own findings to the thread.
Reflective Practice is the process of observation, assessment and critical evaluation of yourself or your colleagues to monitor and improve practice. Reflective practice is one of 2 key ingredients for ongoing professional development along with keeping up to date with knowledge and skills. Ongoing professional development is very important to Early Years professionals, due to changes to policies, procedures and research that can lead to new knowledge on child development or learning strategies.
The process of reflection can appear to be a daunting one. We are fortunate that there are several theorists who have studied reflection and created processes to help us reflect and develop.
David Kolb published his learning cycle model in 1984. The cycle consists of 4 processes that Kolb believes needs to take place for effective learning.
1. Concrete experience
This is taking part in an event or activity, for example teaching a phonics session.
2. Reflective observation
Here you review and reflect on the experience. Did all the children engage well with the activity? Did the session flow well? Were they any elements that didn’t work and why?
3. Abstract conceptualisation
Use your reflections to develop new ideas.
4. Active experimentation
Try out your new ideas.
The process is a cycle as once we have tried out these new ideas, we need to reflect on them.
One of David Kolb’s most famous quotes is ““Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”
Going through Kolb’s learning cycle helps us to transform our experience into knowledge.
Graham Gibbs created a more structured and detailed reflective cycle, inspired by Kolb’s learning cycle. Gibbs cycle enables us to reflect on incidents and occurrences and how the practitioner has responded to these events.
The major difference between Gibbs cycle and Kolb’s is that Gibbs model acknowledges that personal feelings can influence a situation. Gibbs cycle has 6 stages compared to Kolb’s 4.
After an incident or occurrence, which could be positive or negative, the practitioner goes through the following 6 stages.
1. Description
What happened?
2. Feelings
What were you thinking and feeling at the time?
3. Evaluation
What was good or bad about the experience?
4. Analysis
What sense can you make of what happened?
5. Conclusion
What can you conclude from this?
6. Action plan
Adapt the way you work
In 1993 Phil Race, a British educational and training developer revealed a new and innovative model of learning, “the ripples model of learning”.
The thing that makes this model unique from other reflective “cycles” is that it is not a cycle at all, but 4 processes that interact with each other like ripples on a pond. Each process influences and pushes the next, the ripples intersect with each other.
Race’s model is like Kolb’s in that they are both experiential learning models. Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience or more simply learning by doing. Where Race and Kolb differ is that Race has identified a new element in the learning process, motivation. A person needs to want to learn to be able to learn.
The 4 processes that need to take place for effective learning according to Race are:
1. Needing/Wanting – Motivation
2. Doing – Practice, trial and error
3. Feedback – Seeing the results, other people’s responses/reactions
4. Digesting – Making sense of it, gaining ownership

[zoenmya]

Hey everyone, firstly I am finding everyone's opinions on these two theories fascinating. Whilst i can see how both theories may be useful in modern practice I am leaning more towards Gibbs reflective cycle as my preferred theory. At my setting it is sometimes hard to evaluate there and then we often have to revisit what we have done later on to be able to reflect on its effectiveness something that features prominently in gibbs theory.So, after an incident (positive or negative) you think about what happened and your feelings and also evaluate the incident. Then you go on to analyse why it occurred and what conclusions can be drawn from it. Finally, and action plan is put not place so that a negative incident is avoided, or a positive incident is encouraged using all the information gained during the process of completing the cycle.

Obviously we all practice in our ways and have our own preferred theorists, I think this helps sometimes as we can use so many more theories in our settings and we are all bringing something different to the provision.

[Wisher83]

Hi good evening,

I’m also currently on the Cache Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Workforce (Early Years Educator). The last assignment question I have to complete the course requires me to discuss, using an online forum, theories about reflection.

I’d like to begin by sharing the theory of David Kolb, an American educational theorist. In 1984 he developed an ‘Experiential Learning Cycle’. This cycle consisted of 4 stages and suggested that we learn from our daily lives and the experiences they entail. By using reflective observation on a regular basis, we would learn from our experiences. The stages he developed came as follows:

• Experience – this is where our everyday lives occur. The ‘concrete’
stage happens when we do something that may be new to us for
example an EYP and their first experience with a SEN child

• Reflection – the ‘reflective’ stage by which we look back on, and think
about what we actually did. How did we treat the child? Were we able
to identify their needs?

• Conceptualise – this rather ‘abstract’ stage is where we make
generalisations and create meaning for the new experience. Did I feel
challenged? Why?

• Plan – this is the ‘active’ stage by which we test drive our
generalisations, and use the conclusions we have drawn to actively plan
for the next experience we may encounter

The suggestion is that once we have completed the entire cycle, the experience can be classed as ‘new’ and we can then learn from it.
Influenced by David Kolb was Graham Gibbs, an American Sociologist and Psychologist. Like Kolb he also had a staged theory about reflection but with 6 stages. Instead of using new experiences to learn, Gibbs believed in learning through repetition (Iterative learning). Like the EYFS he suggested that it was important to explore new ways to do things, combine thinking with actions and always try to improve. His stages were as follows:

1. Activity - This includes the who, what, where and when
2. Feelings – during the activity, what were your thoughts about what was
happening? Was it expected? Did those feelings change?
3. Evaluation – this is where you would look into your strengths and
weaknesses, and good/bad points of the activity. Did you encounter any
barriers? How could you overcome them?
4. Analysis – this involves comparing the theories which led you to the
activity, to the outcome. Did practice prove theory?
5. Conclusion – how do you feel it went? Could you have made any
improvements?
6. Action plan – if you were to do this again would you do it differently? If
so, how?

Going through this cycle forms the basis of learning through repetition, much like studying for an exam. The more times you go through something, the easier it will be to understand. It is also very similar to the reflection process that has been used at the end of each session sheet for this course, helping me to build on each experience, just tweaking areas as I have gone along. Continuing to improve our work can only be beneficial in becoming reflective practitioners, benifitting ourselves, the children and their families and the settings we work in.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[practitioner1987]

Hi everyone, I am also on my last unit of my Early Years Educator course and have found this forum and thread very informative.

Joining in with this discussion on the importance of reflection in relation to professional development. I feel that reflection and reflective practice involves observing, questioning, evaluating and then using that information to make improvements to your own practice and perhaps your colleagues in your setting as well. Reflective practice is important as it allows us to monitor our own practice, evaluate how effective we are, look into what our strengths and weaknesses are ensure that we are continually learning and improving our practice. During my studies I have found my sessions sheets and reflective practice I write after each activity allow me to develop as I look at where I can improve, how the activity went, how did the children enjoy it? It gives you an opportunity to look at improvement and by doing this continually it ensures continually enriching the children and their families.

The theories of reflection I found were:

Kolb's experimental learning cycle - in summary Kolb believed in a cycle of on-going reflection represented by a four stage learning cycle starting with Concrete Experience where you immerse yourself in the experience and look at what happened, next is Reflective Observation where you look at what you noticed about the experience an what it made you think about, the third part of the cycle is Abstract Conceptualization which is where you look at how you might change things and lastly is Active Experimentation where you may try out new ideas. Kolb believed effective learning is seen when a person progresses through all of these cycles, resulting in new experiences.


The other theory is Gibbs Cycle of Reflection which was developed from Kolb's Experimental learning cycle. Gibbs model relates to learning through repetition, the reflective process follows the 6 steps of the model so that each step informs the next. The aims of using Gibb's reflective cycle are to:
Challenge your assumptions, explore new ideas or different ways of doing things, promote self-improvement by identifying your own strengths and weaknesses and to link theory and practice to combine doing with thinking.

Thanks for everyone's previous thoughts and opinions, feel free to share you views on my post.

[practitioner1987]

Hi everyone, I am also on my last unit of my Early Years Educator course and have found this forum and thread very informative.

Joining in with this discussion on the importance of reflection in relation to professional development. I feel that reflection and reflective practice involves observing, questioning, evaluating and then using that information to make improvements to your own practice and perhaps your colleagues in your setting as well. Reflective practice is important as it allows us to monitor our own practice, evaluate how effective we are, look into what our strengths and weaknesses are ensure that we are continually learning and improving our practice. During my studies I have found my sessions sheets and reflective practice I write after each activity allow me to develop as I look at where I can improve, how the activity went, how did the children enjoy it? It gives you an opportunity to look at improvement and by doing this continually it ensures continually enriching the children and their families.

The theories of reflection I found were:

Kolb's experimental learning cycle - in summary Kolb believed in a cycle of on-going reflection represented by a four stage learning cycle starting with Concrete Experience where you immerse yourself in the experience and look at what happened, next is Reflective Observation where you look at what you noticed about the experience an what it made you think about, the third part of the cycle is Abstract Conceptualization which is where you look at how you might change things and lastly is Active Experimentation where you may try out new ideas. Kolb believed effective learning is seen when a person progresses through all of these cycles, resulting in new experiences.


The other theory is Gibbs Cycle of Reflection which was developed from Kolb's Experimental learning cycle. Gibbs model relates to learning through repetition, the reflective process follows the 6 steps of the model so that each step informs the next. The aims of using Gibb's reflective cycle are to:
Challenge your assumptions, explore new ideas or different ways of doing things, promote self-improvement by identifying your own strengths and weaknesses and to link theory and practice to combine doing with thinking.

Thanks for everyone's previous thoughts and opinions, feel free to share you views on my post.