Reflective Thinking

Reflective thinking Critical thinking and reflective thinking are often used synonymously. However, where critical thinking is used to describe: "... the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome...thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome." Halpern (1996). Reflective thinking, on the other hand, is a part of the critical thinking process referring specifically to the processes of analysing and making judgments about what has happened. Dewey (1933) suggests that reflective thinking is an active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge, of the grounds that support that knowledge, and the further conclusions to which that knowledge leads. Learners are aware of and control their learning by actively participating in reflective thinking – assessing what they know, what they need to know, and how they bridge that gap – during learning situations. In summary, critical thinking involves a wide range of thinking skills leading toward desirable outcomes and reflective thinking focuses on the process of making judgments about what has happened. However, reflective thinking is most important in prompting learning during complex problem- solving situations because it provides students with an opportunity to step back and think about how they actually solve problems and how a particular set of problem solving strategies is appropriated for achieving their goal.

Reflective thinking involves personal engagement with, and consideration of one’s own learning. It considers personal achievements and failures and asks what worked, what didn’t, and what needs improvement (Given, 2002). It asks the learner to think about her own thinking. “Reflection is the key that opens the door to understanding ourselves in relation to core ethical values” (Beland, 2003, p.15). Similarly, Lickona states that moral reflection is necessary to develop the cognitive side of character –the important part of our moral selves that enables us to make moral judgments about our own behavior and that of others” (Lickona, 1991, p.229). This type of reflection enables learners to gain self-knowledge, to demonstrate their understanding of worthwhile moral values, take on the perspective of others, to reflect on why some actions are morally better than others, and to consider alternatives and consequences of actions. Whether reflection is verbal, written, or drawn it is a key strategy for learning and a major tool for character education. “Brain research suggests that brief periods of downtime aid in association, consolidate learning, and ‘imprint’ memory” (Jenson, 1998 as cited in Beland, 2003, p.38). Reflection can be done through journal writing, keeping a daily diary, essay writing, drawing, and talking in pairs. It can follow a peer discussion and can be in response to a present or past activity. Reflection can be used in a number of ways that ask students to think about and respond to a learning activity (such as the activities you did in Visualisation 1) Reflective thinking

Reflective thinking is essential for success in unpredictable and complex situations such as working with customers or clients. Reflective thinking helps you to: Develop a questioning attitude and new perspectives Identify areas for change and improvement Respond effectively to new challenges Generalise and apply what you have learned from one situation to other situations Reflective thinking

Differences between thinking Reflective thinking differs from analytic, critical and design thinking in that: Reflective thinking is a thought process that occurs after a situation, or a learning process. This is the thinking that allows people to make decisions about how they would approach similar situations or create certain things in the future. Although reflective thought may occur in many places, reflection is written commentary where you must show your tutor how and what you have learned from your past learning experiences to inform and improve your (design)practice in the future. Critical Thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, and evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. Analytical Thinking is step-by-step approach to break down complex problems or processes into their constituents parts, identify causes and effects patterns and analyse problems to arrive to an appropriate solution, whereas: Design thinking balances analytical and intuitive thinking. It combines an openness to explorative thoughts with an exploitative mentality, striking the balance between innovation and a systematic scalable process. Analytical thinking is driven by a quantitative (measurable) process, standardising to eliminate judgment, bias, and variation. Intuitive thinking focuses more on an instinct to drive creativity and innovation.

To practice reflecting, ask yourself: Now that you know about alternate forms of visualisation, list three ways in which you could present your assignment ideas. What have you learned from learning about digital visualisation tools? Can you connect your learning about digital visualisation tools to other assignments in other subjects? What would you do differently if you had known in first semester what you know now? i.e. would you still use hand drawing skills for some aspects of your assignment? If so, why? If not, why not? What could you have done to help you develop your skills (analogue or digital) more? What can you do better now? How do you feel about your new knowledge and skills? (i.e. does your new knowledge give you more confidence in visualisation?) What do you think the purpose of this activity is? How could you use what you have learnt and apply it to your final assignment? What can you do to help yourself learn these tools better (past this semester)? Why do you think you need to know about digital visualisation? How will you be able to use what you have learned from now till the end of your degree and in design practice? Applying reflective thinking

Analysing reflective thinking Look over your assignment and reflect on your assignment. Stand back from it and try to be objective, being critical of your own outcomes. Write a few sentences on each point What would you do differently in your assignment?(i.e. think of alternative explanations of events, such as give it more time, reflect more, use more media, make use of a range of sources e.g. jimdo videos and other internet resources, the library, etc) Reflect on your point of view/attitude when you were doing the assignment (i.e. you didn’t understand what you were doing, you were rushed/tired, etc) Discuss your assignment with others to deepen your insight and explore a range of perspectives – note these down in this assignment (use quotes). Try and get three other people to give you some feedback – NOT a tutor Reflective questions to ask yourself – Why did I do the assignment in this way? – What was I thinking and feeling - did this influence me, and why? – What else could I have done? – What would I do in a similar situation if I had to do it again? – Did my strategy for doing this assignment work?