Professional reflective practices

Self reflection and professional reflection are similar practices in that they both focus on awareness and learning however, there are some differences. It’s a good idea to develop both skills and here are some tips to help you with your professional reflections.

Reflective practices help you get the Learning out of the Flearning experience.

Self reflection and professional reflection are similar practices in that they both focus on awareness and learning however, there are some differences. It’s a good idea to develop both skills and here are some tips to help you with your professional reflections.

Reflective practices help you get the Learning out of the Flearning experience.

What is professional reflective practice?

Essentially, reflective practice is action-based thinking:

• What did I do?
• What happened?
• What will I do differently next time?
• … and learning from that experience.

We often think about what has happened, but what makes this different is that you are consciously making an effort to consider events and outcomes, and develop useful insights as a result. Hopefully you are then making changes to what you do to become more effective as a result.

You can train yourself to develop these skills. One approach is as follows:

Ask	What do others do in that situation and why
Watch	What is going on around you
Feel	Pay attention to your emotions and your triggers/hot buttons
Talk	Find a Mentor or trusted colleague you can share your views and experiences with
Think	Create opportunities to think about your work

Thinking about it is only one part of the process. Learning involves using as many senses as possible – talking our thoughts out loud can help us gain greater understanding and retain that information for longer.