Dr. K. E. Ogden Pasadena City College 2011 Reflective Writing

What is Reflective Writing? A practice in which the writer describes a real or imagined scene, event, interaction, passing thought, memory, or form, that serves as an inciting moment for a deeper series of thoughts, feelings, and emotions that shed light on the meaning of the incident

What is the Purpose of Reflection? Reflective Writing is a conversation between the writer and the reader, and serves as an opportunity for the writer to develop descriptions and details in an effort to extract meaning from an event, shedding light on the larger impact or meaning of such an event

Composing Reflections In Reflective Writing, Students undertake serious thought and contemplation on an idea The student must carefully consider an event or events from the past, illustrating the significance of the event and its larger meaning for readers

The Importance of Reflective Writing Reflective writing gives the writer insights, and can lead to further learning for both the writer and the reader. Reflective writing is one of the most sophisticated ways students can tap into their deep voices and get to building critical thinking skills

It is composed of contemplations and long considerations about the many possible meanings of something. Reflective writing is a mental process.

What it is NOT: conveyance of information, instruction or argument in a report, essay or ‘recipe’; straight-forward description, though there may be descriptive elements; a straight-forward decision e.g. about whether something is right or wrong, good or bad etc. simple problem solving like recalling how to get to the nearest station.

Useful and helpful questions for the Reflection Process Think about the following questions to help guide your writing: What is your inciting moment—the occasion for reflection? What did you think and feel? (Use detail and description) What were your reactions? What was good and bad about the experience? What was really going on? What are the underlying meanings of the experience? What are the general and specific conclusions that you have made about the meaning of the experience—or your reactions to how others responded to the experience? What could have been done differently and what will be affected by what you have learned? What is the larger cultural significance?

Reflection lies somewhere around the notion of learning and thinking. We reflect in order to learn something, or we learn as a result of reflecting.

Getting Started Reflection begins with OBSERVATION You don’t need a prompt—you just need to be a good observer. Try to recount a recent or past moment—a small moment— using descriptive details to re-create the scene. Begin thinking about what this moment meant to you—how you thought, felt, and what you think of it now Include possible meanings and what impact your ideas may have on others

Reflect to learn, Reflect to Understand, Reflect to Explore REFLECTION IS WAY TO BECOME MORE CLEAR ABOUT AN EVENT