Iyanu's Reflective Practice Blog

If you are a self-directed learner, you probably enjoy taking charge of your own learning process and setting your own goals. But how do you know if you are learning effectively and making progress? How do you apply what you have learned to real-life situations?
One way to answer these questions is to use reflective practice.

What is reflective practice?

Reflective practice is a method of thinking critically and creatively about your own learning experiences, with the intention of improving your understanding and performance. Reflective practice can help you to:

– Identify your strengths and areas for improvement

– Monitor your progress and evaluate your outcomes

– Learn from your mistakes and successes

– Develop new skills and strategies

– Adapt to changing circumstances and expectations

– Transfer your learning to different contexts and situations

How to Practice Reflection

There is no one right way to practice reflection. You can choose the methods and tools that suit your preferences, needs, and goals. However, there are some general steps that can guide you through the reflective process:

1. Before you start a learning activity, set a clear and realistic goal for yourself. Think about why you want to learn this topic or skill, what you already know about it, and what you hope to achieve by the end of the activity.

2. During the learning activity, pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions. Notice what works well for you and what doesn’t. Ask yourself questions such as:

What am I doing? How am I doing it? Why am I doing it? How do I feel about it? What challenges am I facing? How am I overcoming them?

3. After the learning activity, review your performance and outcomes. Compare your results with your initial goal and expectations. Ask yourself questions such as:

What did I learn? How did I learn it? What did I do well? What could I do better? How can I apply what I learned to other situations? What feedback did I receive from others? How do I feel about my learning experience?

4. Based on your reflection, identify the main points or lessons that you learned from the activity. Think about how you can use them to improve your future learning. Make a plan for your next steps or actions. Ask yourself questions such as:

What are my strengths and areas for improvement? What are my new goals or challenges? What skills do I need to develop or practice? How will I monitor my progress and evaluate my outcomes?

Some Strategies for Reflection

There are many strategies that can help you practice reflection in different ways. They include:

–  Organizing: Organizing your learning materials and platforms can help you manage and access your information efficiently and effectively. You can use various tools such as ‘add to home screen’, bookmarks, folders, labels or categories to organize your files, links and notes in a logical way. This helps you find what you need quickly and easily, as well as avoid clutter or confusion.

– Journaling: Writing down your thoughts and feelings in a notebook or a digital device can help you organize and express your ideas, as well as track your progress over time.

– Visualizing: Drawing, painting, or using other visual media can help you represent your learning experiences in creative ways, especially if you think in pictures rather than words.

– Communicating: Discussing your learning experiences with others (e.g., peers, mentors, family members) can help you gain new insights, perspectives, and feedback, as well as practice your communication skills.

Experimenting: Trying out different ideas or methods in real situations can help you test your knowledge and skills, as well as learn from trial and error. Experimenting can also help you discover new possibilities and solutions.

Portfolio: Creating a portfolio of your work can help you showcase your achievements, demonstrate your competence, and reflect on your growth. A portfolio can include various types of evidence, such as assignments, projects, tests, presentations, videos, etc. A portfolio can also include your reflections on your work, such as what you learned, how you learned it, what you did well, what you could do better, etc.

Reflective practice is not a one-time event, but an ongoing cycle of learning. By using reflective practice regularly, you can enhance your learning experience and outcomes, as well as develop lifelong skills that will benefit you in all aspects of life.

All the best in your reflective practice journey.