I have been challenged to review my progress in reflective writing and explore my use of reflective domains within in order to see if I could improve or re-balance my reflective style to become more proficient.
What is reflective practice?
As detailed by Schön (1983), a philosopher and professor at MIT, reflection is “…the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning…”. Essentially it is the process of looking back upon your experiences of an action or a process and being able to analyse what aspects of this experience were beneficial or were needing improvement. Reflection allows a person to be able to investigate their own learning and see what does and does not work for them, and be able to adapt their learning styles in order to better learn at a future time.
Reflection is considered a key aspect of lifelong learner where previous experience is utilised in order to inform development. As described by Boud et al (1985), “…experience alone is not the key to learning”, therefore the reflective process sits alongside the experience in order to give a much better process of learning to an individual or group.
Reflective Domains
As detailed by Parker, A (2021) within our course content there are 5 key skill domains which you should consider whenever you set about any form of reflective practice. Commonly most practitioners do not consider all of these domains within their reflection which can affect the holistic approach that is required to ensure this process is effective.
The 5 key skill domains are:-
- Dipositional – Time management, motivation, general behavior and discipline.
- Affective – Feelings, experiences and emotions.
- Interpersonal – Interacting with others, communication, listening, problem solving and decision making.
- Cognitive – Strengths and weakness of learning, and approach to their resolution.
- Procedural – Identifying where improvements are needed.
My current practice
I have revisited my previous writing for this module and attempted to categorise my posts into these different reflective domains in order to get a better understanding of my current practice.
| Dispositional | 5 |
| Affective | 7 |
| Interpersonal | 3 |
| Cognitive | 8 |
| Procedural | 7 |
This is a little surprising to me as I felt that my dispositional self was more prominent within my writing before I started this exercise. I have previously had to do a lot of reflective practice within my work so I could relate to these different domains quite easily, even if I was not aware they were there. I believe the interpersonal aspect will begin to show through more as we work through the course as there has not been much chance to interact with others at this point.
SMART
SMART is an acronym that can be utilised in order to set goals and is commonly used throughout the business world in many different disciplines. It is also heavily utilised across education in order to better aid a students development. SMART goals can be attributed to any form of development or improvement.
The different factors that make up SMART, and detailed by Boogaard (2020) are :-
Specific – “In order for a goal to be effective, it needs to be specific – don’t be afraid to dig into those nitty-gritty details.”
You should what you are trying to achieve with your goal in a specific manner and try to be as detailed as possible. This will give your goal a focus for you to work towards.
Measurable – “Quantifying your goals (that is, making sure they’re measurable)”
You will need someway to assess success or completion of what you are trying to achieve. Without this you will have no way of knowing whether you have attained your goal or not.
Attainable – “Goals should be realistic — not high pedestals from which you inevitably tumble.”
You should be able to achieve your goal without adding additional stresses to the process. A goal that is not attainable becomes a burden that will not go away and can be counterproductive.
Relevant – “There should be a real benefit attached to reaching your chosen objective.”
Your goal should be relevant to your need, without this the goal becomes less important as its relevancy to your improvement is not necessary.
Time-based – “Good goals don’t stretch into infinity – they have a deadline.”
Your goal should always come to a realistic conclusion and in order to do this you need to give it a deadline. Without a deadline your goal could go on for too long and you will lose focus on what you are trying to achieve.
My SMART goals
Looking back through my writing and my motivations for being on the course I have constructed two SMART goals to work towards. I have looked at it from a short term and long term gain, and based these goals on the most important aspects to me at the moment.
Goal 1
Complete the current Rapid Iteration Challenge by completing my intended design and documenting this process within a blog post(s). This will allow me to check my current practice for flaws and develop new strategies. This will be complete For the July 7th conference.
Goal 2
Improve my reflective practice by utilising the 5 key skill domains within my weekly reflective blog posts throughout the rest of the module. I will detail this progress through a summative post illustrating the use of the domains in table format with analysis to observe my development. This post will be written before the module deadline of 24th August.
References
Falmouth University. 2021. ‘Week 5: Challenge Activity’. Falmouth Flex [online]. Available at: <https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/912/pages/week-5-the-five-reflective-domains?module_item_id=54107> [Accessed 27 June 2021].
Boogaard, K., 2020. An explanation of SMART goals and how to write them. [online] Work Life by Atlassian. Available at: <https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/how-to-write-smart-goals> [Accessed 30 June 2021].
Boud, D., Keogh, R. and Walker, D. (Eds) (1985), Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning, Kogan‐Page, London.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, New York. pp102-4 Lawrence-Wilkes, L., and Ashmore, L., (2014) The Reflective Practitioner in Professional Education, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
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Feature Image: Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash
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