Increasingly, health care professionals are required to utilize reflective practice both within their initial training and continuing professional development. It is also seen as a Higher education transferable skill, evidence of which is required by Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). Within this assignment, I will provide as educational case for reflective learning before exploring the reflective process within health care education. Within the article and terms ‘reflection' and ‘reflective practice' will be used synonymously. This is congruent with the findings of O'Connor et al (2003) who conclude that the terms are used interchangeably. Maximizing student's learning, especially in the applied sciences, is an ongoing challenge for teachers and pedagogic researchers. Much has been written about the theory-practice gap, whereby students are taught theory in an educational establishment and find that in the ‘real world' of practice, things can be very different (Salvage 1998).
[...] The amount understanding and learning that takes place as a result of this process depends therefore upon the amount of self awareness, honesty and openness to feed back of the individual. However ‘critical reflection' is a process, a journey, and learning through this process is iterative. Thus one must accept that there is very rarely a ‘right or wrong' solution to any given situation. Indeed if any individual reflected upon an incident at a later date, almost invariably the solution would be different. [...]
[...] The role cognition plays in the process of learning was demonstrated by such theorists as Bruner(1961),and Ausubel(1968), who expounded the theory of ‘discovery learning' and advanced organizers.' Further advances were made by ‘Humanists' such as Maslow (1962) and Rogers (1969) who recognized the affective domain to the learning process, thus recognizing that for individuals to achieve ‘deep learning' (Claxton 1988) they need to be engaged as a whole person. This includes the three domains of actions (behavioral), thoughts (cognitive) and feelings (affective). [...]
[...] London Penguin Books Gadamer H (1975) Truth and Method.Seabury Press, New York Goleman D (1995) Emotional Intelligence.New York Bantam Books Hargie Saunders C & Dickson D(1994) Social skills in interpersonal communication 3rd ED, London & New York, Routledge Healy M (2000) East meets west:Transformational learning and Buddhist meditation in Mezirow J and Associates (eds) Learning as tranformation;Critical perspective on a theory in progress.San Francisco, Jossey -Bass Honey P & Mumford A (1986) The manual of learning styles, Maidenhead, Printique Jarvis P (1992) Reflective practice and nursing. [...]
[...] There is a general consensus that when reflecting-on-action the fist step in the process is the description of the incident ( Figure In recognizing the adequacy of memory , it is advisable that student nurse a reflective diary in which they record details of incidents that either troubled or pleased them, recording details as soon after the event as possible. When describing the incident it is important that details of actions, thoughts and feelings are recorded. Feelings are important to learning as they affect both motivation and our ability to understand our experiences. [...]
[...] Freire (1972) a humanist, work with the illiterate poor in Latin America to help them understand the sources of their oppression and, through consciousness-raising, work towards dismantling the societal structures of that oppression. He believed in the liberating power of education in which students and mentors worked together on the actual experiences of students through this process they came to see the world in their place in it differently. The cognitive rational approach of Mezirow (1981) shares some of the philosophical underpinning as Freire .Both believes that knowledge is not there' to be discovered but is constructed through the interpreting of new experiences. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
