2 May 2011

A critical reflection on reflective practice

Part 1

After writing almost two weeks diaries, it is now coming to the reflection stage where I can start ask myself on what have I learnt by this experience? what can I see from the journey? what is the part I am still missing? and what the others I need to explore? There are so many things come to my mind. After going through the reader, it takes me to the initial thought, ‘Reflection’, a process of analyzing and evaluating an event/an experience after it has happened. It is a way to make thinkers to discover things about the event/experience and find out the missing part. It seems that all the thinkers have individual definitions of ‘Reflection’ as they have different aspects to experience the process. Many of them have looked at how to turn experience into learning and written about the tools they feel can be used to do this. I think I was very confused at the beginning of where to begin my journey, until I started writing diaries on the technologies I use every day. I accept his way of learning helps me to figure out the process of experience and the process of turning information into knowledge. Before went through the reader, I was asking myself the question ‘why is reflection important for learning’? Well, the first answer came to my mind was people learn and change things from their experiences, like things in life, we don’t know what kind of food we like until we eat, we don’t know what style of clothes suits us until we buy and wear them on, as well as looking ourselves in the mirror, we won’t know what we will look like until the we see the reflection from the mirror. It is “a form of mental process – closely related to thinking and learning”, said Moon, 2001.

Why is reflection for learning important?

It is important for professionals; and those training to be professionals; to reflect on their learning experiences. Just experiencing an event is not enough, without taking time to review the experience and consider future implications we are likely to repeat our actions in other future situations. This can mean that we are likely to repeat the same mistakes again!


Reflection course genie.doc
University of Leeds, School of Medicine

This thought led me on to think about what is the word ‘Reflection’ meant to me? It also led me on to consider how some of theories of the thinkers apply to me and how I reflect. After reading through the reader on reflective practice, I firstly felt that John Dewey’s theory of reflective thought is particularly appropriate for my experience of this course and my photography and styling course at London College of Fashion. He saw education as an experiential action and his theories involves that the quality of the education was linked to the level of engagement with, which means the more time we spend on our studies the better result we get from. His point led me on to think about this course and my photography & styling course. I start with my BAPP course first, I remember at the beginning of this course, blogging was the first thing come to us and it has been always emphasized and encouraged, to get ourselves involved and the more we spend in this community the better we get used to the experience. As the same as my photography & styling course, I mentioned earlier in my previous blog, the typical learning management system ‘Blackboard’, the higher the level of frequency we engage with it, the higher the quality of the education and the higher the chance to collaborate with others to enhance my course experience. So I think these two examples could be relevant to Dewey’s theory. Through Dewey’s reflect thought concept to my experience so far, it has been true when I use these tools and have been involved I feel I am on the way of finding new things or finding a place which belongs to me.


References:
http://natalieless.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html

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