Reflection
Reflective practice or reflection is the ability to look at self and learn more, i.e. nature, purpose and essence of self. It leads to an enquiry into the human condition and the quality of humankind as a whole. Reflection brings about consciousness or awareness of self. Reflective thinking, therefore, refers to the processes of reviewing and coming with new insights into what has happened. It is a proactive, consistent, and questioning of the existing body of knowledge, and the theoretical basis of that knowledge, and the further conclusions to which that knowledge leads. Individuals become aware of and control their development by adopting reflective thinking – assess current knowledge, explore new insights, and how to figure out how to bridge the gap.
How to prompt reflective thinking:
Reflective thinking is essential to maximise the utility of having experiences. From the knowledge, an individual can reflect on them to gain a general understanding and what value is useful in new or similar settings. In this way, the new insights gained is continuously applied and reapplied, building on an individual's prior experiences and knowledge. Reflection is achieved in several styles ranging from the simplest of asking three questions -What, So what, and Now what?- as proposed by Burton, or to Gibbs reflective cycle that asks six questions. These questions help in thoughtful analysis, by describing a situation, which leads to the scrutiny of the case and the construction of knowledge through the experience. Subsequently, individuals reflect on ways in which they can personally improve and the results of their response to the experience – generally termed reflection-on-experience.
Why is reflective thinking necessary?
Today global communities are becoming more complex, resulting from the deluge of rapidly changing circumstances prompting individuals to think constantly on their feet and always navigate the ever-changing landscape and quickly come up with new problem-solving tactics. Thus, reflective thinking is an indispensable tool to help individuals to apply new knowledge to the complex situations in their day-to-day activities. Reflective thinking allows individuals to develop higher-order thinking skills by prompting individuals to a) evaluate new scenarios based on past experiences, b) think in both abstract and conceptual terms, c) apply acquired techniques or skills in new situations, and d) increase self-awareness and improvement.
Health professionals
The body of knowledge in the healthcare industry is continually growing and evolving, and as such those professional who has embraced the kaizen principle are in high demand due to their expertise. As a result healthcare, professionals can benefit from a program of reflective practice as they will continuously update and upgrade their knowledge base.
Leadership positions
A leader in the organisation can better manage teams or subordinates by adopting reflective practice as it provides a development opportunity. Management skills require a delicate balance between technical expertise and interpersonal relationships, and it does come naturally to most people. The biggest stumbling block for leaders is that they engage in self-limiting behaviours due to over-reliance on preferred ways of reacting and responding. Reflective thinking will allow an individual to assess critically on these and make the necessary adjustments. The organisation can help current and future leaders by investing in coaching programs. Coaching will assist in the development of new behaviours that will encourage reflection, critical thinking and transformative learning through questioning predetermined habits. The goal is to unleash leadership potential through a process of critical reflection on current assumptions.
