In health and social care education we tend to focus on writing as a method of reflecting.
This is probably because if it is written down tutors can mark it . . .
But writing reflections is not the only process you can use.
In practice much reflection takes place in discussions between colleagues – either informally – a chat over coffee, or formally – in supervision. It can be unstructured or highly structured – such as action learning sets.
Reflection as dialogue is so valuable because it helps us to see other perspectives on an issue. Reflection is concerned with stepping back, different ways of understanding, uncovering assumptions, identifying themes, applying theory to practice. Having someone else to help with this. In one way you could regard reflective models as another person asking you questions and helping you think differently.
Is there anyone you know who tends to help you see things differently after you speak to them? They might be helping you to reflect.
Its really useful to make time and structures for reflecting with others – whether you are in education or practice.
One word of warning – it is not always helpful to reflect with others. Do you know anyone who when you speak with them tends to very quickly tell you their opinion of your issue – rather than asking helpful questions? Or have you had occasions where you end up feeling worse after discussing an issue with someone else, as they focus on all the negative aspects? Models of reflection can help us to move on from the analysis stage where we often get stuck, into the stage of deciding what learning or action should come out of the experience.
Also – if you are not so comfortable with writing – try recording yourself reflecting. Or perhaps drawing, if that suits you. Any medium that helps your brain to fire and function is valuable.
We tend to return to writing as it is an excellent way of recording our thought processes so we can return to them later on. This is hugely valuable to see how far we have come – so much of our learning quickly feels obvious – it’s helpful to remind ourselves how we got to where we are.