Reflective thinking & Reflection Questions

He will say: "What number of years did ye stay on earth?"   They will answer: 'We have spent there a day, or part of a day; but ask those who [are able to] count [time]..."  He will say: "You stayed not but a little,- if you had only known!   Did you, then, think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not have to return to Us?."  - (Quran 23:112-115)

What is reflective thinking?

To think and write reflectively you have to:

·         Experience something

·         Think about what happened

·         Learn from the experience

You think reflectively all the time, you probably just don't realize you're doing it.

Have you ever missed the bus and then thought next time I’ll leave the house 5 minutes earlier'?

This is an example of you being reflective: you thought about an experience and decided to learn from it and do something different the next time.

As a student, and in the workplace, you will be asked to be reflective. Thinking or reflecting on the world around you, your experiences and actions will help you to develop and improve your skills.

What is reflective thinking?

• The description of reflective thinking:

Critical thinking and reflective thinking are often used synonymously.  Critical thinking is used to describe:

"... the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome...thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome." Halpern (1996).

Reflective thinking, on the other hand, is a part of the critical thinking process referring specifically to the processes of analyzing and making judgments about what has happened. Dewey (1933) suggests that reflective thinking is an active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge, of the grounds that support that knowledge, and the further conclusions to which that knowledge leads. Learners are aware of and control their learning by actively participating in reflective thinking – assessing what they know, what they need to know, and how they bridge that gap – during learning situations.

In summary, critical thinking involves a wide range of thinking skills leading toward desirable outcomes and reflective thinking focuses on the process of making judgments about what has happened. However, reflective thinking is most important in prompting learning during complex problem-solving situations because it provides students with an opportunity to step back and think about how they actually solve problems and how a particular set of problem solving strategies is appropriated for achieving their goal.

reflective writing is the evidence of reflective thinking.

"In an academic context, reflective thinking usually involves:

1. looking back at something (often an event i.e. something that happened, but could also be an idea or object)

2. analysing the event or idea (thinking in depth and from different perspectives, and trying to explain, often with reference to a model or theory from your subject)

3. thinking carefully about what the event or idea means for you and your ongoing progress as a learner and/or practising professional. Reflective writing is thus more personal than other kinds of academic writing. We all think reflectively in everyday life, of course, but maybe not to the same depth as that expected in good reflective writing at university level."

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Why is reflective thinking important?

Modern society is becoming more complex, information is becoming available and changing more rapidly prompting users to constantly rethink, switch directions, and change problem-solving strategies. Thus, it is increasingly important to prompt reflective thinking during learning to help learners develop strategies to apply new knowledge to the complex situations in their day-to-day activities. Reflective thinking helps learners develop higher-order thinking skills by prompting learners to a) relate new knowledge to prior understanding, b) think in both abstract and conceptual terms, c) apply specific strategies in novel tasks, and d) understand their own Reflective Thinking: RT 

Reflection Questions: Definition and Examples

Reflecting on learning is one of the best ways to consolidate skills and knowledge that a student has acquired. In this lesson, you will learn what makes a good reflection question, and you will see some examples of how a reflection question might look.

What Is a Reflection Question?

Say you worked hard for two weeks on a project about earth science for school. You have a nice poster board collage, a paper to go with it, and you presented the project in front of a class. You expect to be asked questions about the science itself, but instead, your teacher asks you, 'So, what do you think you did well during this project?' You immediately have to think in a different way. I mean, what kind of a question is that?

A reflection question is what we call any question that makes a student look back over what or how they have learned. Reflection questions often assess metacognitive skills, otherwise known as thinking about how we think and learn. Reflection questions are important for a number of different reasons. By encouraging students to reflect on their learning, these sorts of questions help students:

• Consolidate the knowledge and skills they have acquired in a lesson or unit
• Get to know themselves better as learners, thinkers, and community members
• Provide important feedback to their teachers and to their peers
• Generate questions and ideas to propel future learning experiences

There are a number of different ways to think about using reflection questions with your students. Now that you have seen some of the reasons reflection questions are important, we will learn about four types of reflection questions, including examples of each type. These types of questions are:

• process reflection questions
• product reflection questions
• feedback questions
• self-assessment questions

Process Reflection Questions

Mrs. Carello is an art teacher who especially likes to use process reflection questions with her classes. She explains that process reflection questions are questions that help students think about how they have learned or engaged in an activity. Some examples of process reflection questions include:

• What did you think you did well during this project?
• What new skills or knowledge did you try out during this project?
• If you worked with other students on this project, describe that experience and how you think it went.
• What do you think you might do differently if you tried this project again?

By answering process reflection questions, students are really focusing on their own methods as learners and workers. Answering these sorts of questions helps them understand their strengths and weaknesses in the learning process. Mrs. Carello reads her students' reflections and confers with them about their responses before they start a new project.

Product Reflection Questions

Mr. Samuel is a social studies teacher who is interested in using product reflection questions with his students. Mr. Samuel explains that product reflection questions help students focus on how their final work has turned out. He uses these sorts of questions to help students orient themselves toward making improvements over the course of the year. Some of Mr. Samuel's go-to questions include:

• What are you proudest of in the work you have completed, and why?
• What about your work are you least proud of, and why?
• Who would you like to share this work with, and why?

When Mr. Samuel's students share their final work, they also share their answers to these reflection questions, so that they can speak openly and honestly about their feelings and how their work turned out.

Writing reflectively

Description

Keep it short and focus on the significant details only. Include where, when, who, what, as required.

Interpretation

		aspect(s)
		elements(s)
	meaningful	experience(s)	was (were)
For me, the [most]	significant	issue(s)
	important	idea(s)
	relevant		arose from...
	useful	learning	happened when...
			resulted from...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Previously,		thought (did not think)
At the time,		felt (did not feel)
At first,	I	knew (did not know)
Initially,		noticed (did not notice)
Subsequently,		questioned (did not question)
Later,		realised (did not realise)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

		might be	because of...
[Alternatively]	This	is perhaps	due to...
[Equally]		could be	explained by...
		is probably	related to...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This	is similar to...	because
	is unlike...

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Outcome

	read...		feel...
	experienced...		think...
Having	applied...	I now	realise...
	discussed...		wonder...
	analysed...		question...
	learned...		know...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

[Additionally,]
[Furthermore,]	I have learned that...
[Most importantly,]

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I have	significantly		my skills in...
	slightly	developed	my understanding of...
		improved	my knowledge of...
However, I have not [sufficiently]			my ability to...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This means that...

This makes me feel...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This knowledge	is	essential
This understanding	could be	useful	to me because...
This skill	will be	important

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

	did not...
	have not yet...
Since I	am not yet certain about...	I will now need to...
	am not yet confident about...
	do not yet know...
	do not yet understand...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

As a next step, I need to...

Samples of reflective writing

Accounts 1-3 on the next page show different levels of reflection. They are based on a critical event that happened to a 22 year old in the workplace, after graduating. There are three accounts of the same event: giving a presentation at a team meeting.

Each account is written with three different levels of reflection:

•      Descriptive writing: a description of events. There is no discussion beyond
description and there is no evidence of reflection.

•      Descriptive reflection: there is a basic description of events as well as evidence of deeper consideration in relatively descriptive language. There is no real evidence of the notion of alternative viewpoints in use.

•      Critical reflection: there is a ‘stepping back’ from the events, with an exploration of the role of self in events and actions. There is consideration of possible alternatives for explaining and hypothesising, and it links factors and perspectives.

When producing your own critical writing you could compare it against these different accounts:

·       Which account do you think you’ve written like?

·        Do you need to be more critically reflective?

Account 1: descriptive writing

I had to talk about the project that I am on. I was confident but I did spend quite a bit of time preparing. During the presentation I became nervous when I realised they were all waiting for me to speak and my nerves made my voice wobble. Afterwards I was disappointed that my presentation did not seem to have gone well. My boss suggested that I do a presentation to the team next week to improve my performance.

Comments:

·       This account is only descriptive writing. The author does not consider how previous experiences could have had an impact on preparing for the presentation.

·       When writing about the presentation, the author does not talk through their feelings, for example why did they have nerves? How did they realise colleagues were waiting? How did this make them feel? There is also no consideration of different perspectives, such as whether colleagues thought the presenter came across as nervous.

·       After the presentation, the author has not ‘stepped back’ from the event and considered how they felt, why they felt the presentation did not go well and why it had such an impact on them.

·       Finally, though the boss suggests another presentation, there is no discussion about the impact this has on them. There is no evidence of learning from the previous presentation and how they would do things differently the next time.

Account 2: descriptive reflection

I was scared about not saying the right things and not being able to answer questions properly. I did a presentation in my course at university and had felt the same about it initially.

During the presentation I realise that I was desperately trying to prove that I could present as well as my colleague. I wanted to impress everyone. Early on it went wrong and I began to panic. Trying to pretend I was confident made the situation worse because I did not admit I needed help. The more I spoke, the more my voice wobbled.

Following on from the presentation, my self esteem is low at work now. However, partly through talking over the presentation and the things that went wrong, I can see several areas that I could get better. I am hoping to have a chance to practice with some of the team.

Comments:

·       This account is descriptive reflection as there is some evidence of reflection. At the start the author is referring to a past incident – their presentation at university. However, they do not consider how other prior experiences (such as watching other presentations) could have had an impact on the event.

·       When reflecting on the presentation, the author shows some reflection (how they felt), but haven’t included any alternative viewpoints (such as what the audience thought of the presentation).

·       The author talks about how they felt after the presentation and identified the impact it had on their self esteem at work, but not in a wider setting. Also, they missed the opportunity to hypothesise why the presentation has had such an effect on them.

·       Finally, though the author engaged with others to discuss the presentation, there is no evidence of recognising that their views may change after the next presentation.

Account 3: critical reflection

I had to talk about the project that I am on. I spent quite a bit of time preparing it in the way that I have seen others make similar presentations.

When it came to the presentation, I really wanted to do it well – as well as the presentations were done the week before. Maybe I wanted too much to do well? My efforts to be calm failed and my voice went wobbly – that’s how it felt to me anyway. My colleague said afterwards that I looked quite calm despite what I was feeling.

In the event, the session was a disaster and has left me feeling uncomfortable in my work and I even worry about it at home. I need to think about why a simple presentation could have such an effect on me.

I am feeling more positive generally and I can begin to analyse what I could do better in the presentation. It is interesting to see the change in my attitude after a week. I need to think from the beginning about the process of giving a good presentation.

Comments:

·       This account is critically reflective. At the start, the author describes the event, reflects on the whole process (preparation) and recognises that interaction with others (colleagues’ presentations) can have an impact on their behaviour.

·       They have written about how they felt during the presentation (engaging in an internal dialogue) and also reflected deeper by looking at different perspectives e.g. how their colleague thought the presentation went.

·       They have reflected on how the incident has made them feel in a wider context (home and work) and have also considered why such an event has had an impact on them – trying to hypothesise reasons for this.

·       Finally, the author has stood back from the event and considered what they could do differently next time. They demonstrate the concept that reflection can change over time (talking about next week), by taking on new ideas and trying again.

Possible prompts for reflective writing

• What did I already know before the event and what did I learn from it?
• Do I agree or disagree?
• How did I act in that situation?
• How would I do things differently?
• What connections can I make between the event and other things from my study or work?
• What is the best way for me to move forward from this event?
• What surprised me about the event?
• Who and what helped me at the time?
• What can I do better since this event?
• Are there any other questions that arise from this event?
• How and where might I use my new knowledge and competencies?

The questions below are taken from Reflective writing – a guide for students (n.d).

·       Are there alternative interpretations to consider?

·       If you ‘step back’ from this issue, does it look different?

·       How do you judge your ability to reflect on this matter?

·       How do your feelings relate to any action?

·       Was it good / bad – and what are the implications?

·       What do you need to do?

·       What other information do you need (ideas, knowledge, opinion etc)?

·       Are there previous instances of this event, issue arising that will help you to think more/ differently about it?

·        Are there others, or the views of others who are relevant to this matter – and in what way?