Identify a situation you encountered in your work or personal life that you believe could have been dealt with more effectively. Once you get more experienced, you will probably find that you want to combine steps, or move them around, but this is likely to be a good starting point. In your learning journal, it may be helpful to work through a simple process, as below. Take a look at our page What is Learning? to find out more about the cycle of learning (PACT) and the role that reflection (or вЂConsideringвЂ™) plays in it. ItвЂ™s not just about changing: a learning journal and reflective practice can also highlight when youвЂ™ve done something well. This is not about documenting formal courses, but about taking everyday activities and events, and writing down what happened, then reflecting on them to consider what you have learned from them, and what you could or should have done differently. So you need to find other ways of putting insights into words.ДЄlthough it can feel a bit contrived, it can be helpful, especially at first, to keep a journal of learning experiences. Of course there are some obvious ones, such as appraisal interviews, or reviews of particular events, but they donвЂ™t happen every day. It can be difficult to find opportunities for shared reflective practice in a busy workplace. This may explain why we are motivated to announce a particular insight out loud, even when by ourselves! However, it also has implications for reflective practice, and means that thoughts not clearly articulated may not endure. Indeed, some social psychologists have suggested that learning only occurs when thought is put into language, either written or spoken.

Reflective practice can be a shared activity: it doesnвЂ™t have to be done alone. You also have to develop an understanding of the theory and othersвЂ™ practice too, and explore ideas with others. In other words, itвЂ™s not just the thinking thatвЂ™s important. Think - learn to value time spent thinking about your work.Talk - share your views and experiences with others in your organisation.Feel - pay attention to your emotions, what prompts them, and how you deal with negative ones.Ask - others about the way they do things and why.Read - around the topics you are learning about or want to learn about and develop.Neil Thompson, in his book People Skills, suggests that there are six steps:

What can be done to help develop the critical, constructive and creative thinking that is necessary for reflective practice? They all seem to agree that reflective practice is a skill which can be learned and honed, which is good news for most of us. Various academics have touched on reflective practice and experiential learning to a greater or lesser extent over the years, including Chris Argyris (the person who coined the term вЂdouble-loop learningвЂ™ to explain the idea that reflection allows you to step outside the вЂsingle loopвЂ™ of вЂExperience, Reflect, Conceptualise, ApplyвЂ™ into a second loop to recognise a new paradigm and re-frame your ideas in order to change what you do). Once you get into the habit of using reflective practice, you will probably find it useful both at work and at home. However, the difference between casual вЂthinkingвЂ™ and вЂreflective practiceвЂ™ is that reflective practice requires a conscious effort to think about events, and develop insights into them. Thinking about what has happened is part of being human. It is closely linked to the concept of learning from experience, in that you think about what you did, and what happened, and decide from that what you would do differently next time. Reflective practice is, in its simplest form, thinking about or reflecting on what you do.

Reflector 3 key