in the Workplace Workshop Promoting Learning in the Workplace Workshop Workshop Leader: Liz Pride

What is Reflective Practice? It is the deliberate cognitive process of applying critical review to our experiences with the aim of making sense of what happened, valuing our strengths, identifying our weaknesses, assessing the outcome and identifying and developing different, more effective ways of acting in the future.

So what? - What does it mean? Now what? - What needs to happen next? The Art of Reflection....... What? – What happened? So what? - What does it mean? Now what? - What needs to happen next? Rolfe et al (2001)

The Art of Reflection.......

The Value of Reflective Practice as a Learning Method in the Workplace Informs and increases Best Practice Requires no resources Has no cost (other than a modest amount of time) Is habit-forming Informs the culture of an organisation The learning is “systemic” – is “created and owned” by the individual – it is not externally imposed Can be used for any event or experience, negative or positive Can become a regular organisation practice for use in Supervision with Learning Journals/Logs and the EARL model of feedback

The Difficulties of Reflective Practice as a Learning Method in the Workplace The ability to reflect does not come easily to everyone- it is a discipline that has to be acquired. Reflection requires attention, conscious effort and critical thinking. It is almost impossible to reflect effectively when under time pressure of very stressed.

The EARL Model Example. Tell me about (issue/task/achievement/problem) What did you do? How does this demonstrate......(Value/behaviour/attitude) Assessment Why did you choose to deal with the situation in that way? Why was it important to you to do this? How did it make you feel? What were your thoughts at this time? Result What was the outcome? What was the impact of what you did on other people? How did you know that you had done the right/wrong thing? Learning What did you learn about yourself from doing this? Has this experience helped you to do anything differently? Is there anything looking back you could have done differently?

Please think of an event – something that you did – good or bad that you can share. In your pairs please interview/ coach each other through the reflective model of EARL using the prompt sheet. Coaches: please refrain from making comments or statements, but encourage the reflectors to plumb the depth of their experience by asking probing (not leading!) questions.

Liz Pride liz.pride@oacp.org.uk Head Office: Stables 4|Howbery Park|Benson Lane|Crowmarsh Gifford|Wallingford|OX10 8BA Telephone Enquiries: 01491 822604|Email: info@oacp.org.uk|Web: www.oacp.org.uk