Why reflection is important

Exercises like this are designed to make you think critically about past actions, within the context of what is happening in the present and what may happen in the future. Structuring a reflective response to an event embeds good practice for future continuous professional and personal development activities. Developing an ongoing ethos of reflection means that an individual begins to automatically challenge and question why tasks were undertaken in a certain way rather than how they were carried out, and furthermore they will become accomplished at recognizing that they are learning and building skills continuously; it is not a standalone process.

Employers have much to gain from encouraging staff to actively reflect on their work practices, as Cox , p. Barnett describes the traditional view of HE where critical thinking and all things cerebral are championed and prioritized. This concept can be applied to all professions and work activities, as it allows for individual complexities and characteristics.

Whilst reflective practice can be a solitary pastime, peers have a definite role to play in helping and supporting each other.

Mentors can become inspirational role models. Within such groups and networks students can explore issues arising from reflective practice with their peers and utilize debate and discussion in a safe and supportive environment. This can be helpful when the reflection prompted by what is happening at work is contradictory, or becoming too challenging and rather than empowering the work-based learner, it is worrying them.

Having a supportive group to discuss this with can make all the difference. The ethos of action learning Revans, includes this idea and claims that support and insightful questioning from peers can help the worker to move beyond what seems like a blockage, to constructive and active reflection. This is particularly helpful if a learner feels they cannot discuss what is bothering them with colleagues at work. They can feel secure in a non-judgemental CoP where they are all operating confidentially.

One of the other major benefits of taking part in such CoP is that a great deal of learning occurs socially with other people and whilst much reflective practice can be undertaken alone it is more productive to share the learning outcomes of it with others — the learning might have happened already — via experience at work — but it can come to life and be given meaning through sharing it with others who use and adapt it. Such sharing also allows for different cultural and professional translations to enrich and transform the learning, taking it to many different and new levels Smith and Smith, The jobs market is changing, and will continue to change.

This is due to many variables, some of which have been discussed above. They include a fast-moving technological world, a global recession and many more graduates from higher education.

In the UK participation rates for individuals up to the age of 30, have risen from 12 per cent in to 30 per cent in the early s, 39 per cent by and 49 per cent in Parliament briefing papers, Graduate job applications have increased by between 9 and 25 per cent High Fliers, , p.

Such constraints upon employment mean that employers expect more from each employee that in turn has an effect on how much an individual can afford to specialize. The modern workforce requires adaptable all-rounders, with an entrepreneurial attitude, who are willing to continuously learn. This kind of employee is likely to view change as an interesting opportunity rather than a negative or frightening occurrence.

Being reflective enables practitioners to change in action, in the present moment, fully utilising observations, articulations and theorisation to strategically transform and re-conceptualize practice. Source: Helyer and Kay Barnett, R. Barr, R. Bergman, J. Billett, S. Bridgestock, L. Bridgstock, R. Brockbank, A. Brooks, R. Cox, E. Dewey, J. Eraut, M. Freire, P. Gibbs, G. Gray, D. Kolb, D. Lacan, J. Lyotard, J. Maudsley, G. Osterman, K. Perrin, D. Revans, R. Schon, D. Capture thoughts, ideas, quotes — the simplest of things.

And whether that commonplace book is a physical notebook or an app like Day One , the key is consistency over time. Everyone has time to write down a sentence per day. Journaling is a way to ask tough questions: Where am I standing in my own way? Why am I so worked up about this? What blessings can I count right now? Why do I care so much about impressing people? Do I rule my fears, or do they rule me? Hero image by Margarida CSilva via Unsplash.

Posted by Isaac Smith on Nov 18, Join the Club. Make sure you're not just spinning your wheels. This short and sweet email course is free and has our best stuff on time management and productivity.

The Importance of Reflection. This was interesting to read because I never practice self reflection until I accomplish a certain goal. Then thats when I look back on my life and discover things I had to go through to get to that point. I guess I will have to get better with self reflection and not just pay attention to it when I am completing a goal.

I guess I will start following your blogs to get more insight. I believe self-reflection is definetily important for all of us. Thanks for the great blog. I have started to write about mindfulness. Self reflection is a powerful skill as it can help to change the narrative of our story so that they find personal growth. However, it does require that one be honest , and non-judgmental with themselves. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

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It is about questioning, in a positive way, what you do and why you do it and then deciding whether there is a better, or more efficient, way of doing it in the future. In any role, whether at home or at work, reflection is an important part of learning. You would either adjust the recipe or find a new and, hopefully, better one. When we learn we can become stuck in a routine that may not be working effectively. Thinking about your own skills can help you identify changes you might need to make.

Although self reflection can seem difficult at first, or even selfish or embarrassing, as it does not come naturally. Learn about self awareness on the OU website, Skills for study. See Be aware of your habits.