Reflection:The Key to Learning

Reflection is an umbrella word that we use to describe the way by which people learn from experience.
It is a way of processing experience in order to understand it, to give it meaning, to learn from it, to inform action
and behavior
It is an automatic human response to an experience
It is a process that tells you why.
Reflection is a step-by-step process.
Importance of Reflection
Until I know why, I would not have learnt.
The reflection process is one way through which a person can learn how to identify his or her
destination.
The reflection process enables a person to figure out his or her own strategies for getting to his
or her destination
The reflection process stresses the importance of ownership for the change we want to bring
about in our lives and the way we are going to bring about that change. ur destination and how
we are going to get there must be really ours.
The reflection process builds on and enhances one!s capacity to take ownership for one!s life. It is
a growth tool.
The reflection process is a tool which can be used by individuals or groups to enhance the "uality
of life. It helps us set our own directions and do our own planning to achieve our own goals.
Reflection draws out our creativity.
Reflection and #ational $evelopment
Research shows the %ilipinos! lack of self-analysis and self-reflection. It shows the tendency in the %ilipino to be
superficial and somewhat flight in the face of serious problems, both personal and social.
%ilipinos &oke about the most serious matters and this prevents them from deeply looking into the problem.
There is no felt need to validate our hypothesis or explanation of things. Thus, we are satisfied with superficial
solutions to the problems.
' (oral Recovery )rogram implemented in the past had the goal of developing in the %ilipino the value of self-
reflection and analysis. The program re"uired the then $epartment of *ducation, +ulture and ,ports to inculcate
the value of self-reflection starting from childhood. It also provided for a -national reflection weekend. for all
government officials and employees, when they would reflect on %ilipino traits, then contemplate on goals for
strengthening the positive traits and changing the negative traits.
In our present crisis, reflection suggests one way for us to work ourselves out of our frustrations by transforming
these frustrations into challenges.
Reflection and the +ommunicator for $evelopment
Reflection, thus, is a process that a communicator for development needs to undergo, in order to process
experience, understand it, to give it meaning, to learn from it, to inform future action and behavior. ,elf-
reflection is essential for him or her to grow intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.
The reflection process is also essential so that people can connect what they learnt to their lives. The
participants need to see the implications of their learning on themselves, on their relationships, on their work.
Through interpretation of experience, people will be able to make conceptual connections, and learn about their
capacity for openness. ,ome people will be more open than others, more honest about their feelings. The
contrast in levels of openness is unavoidable, giving people opportunity t review their attitude to open
interaction, their capacity to change their level of openness and the potential benefits to be gained from being
more open.
/hen people become actively engaged in reflection, they become aware of their habitual responses to
experience, and the degree to which those responses may have hindered their development. /orking with other
people, observing the ways in which they engage with reflection, provides them with comparisons with which to
review their learning styles. ,elf-perceptions are checked out, and sometimes challenged0 responses are "ueried
or affirmed0 experiments with new behavior are encouraged and supported.
The communicator for development, being a facilitator, should see that each person has an opportunity to make
a contribution. ,1he needs to provide a framework for discussion, and can use a variety of approaches2 people
reflecting by writing, talking, drawing, demonstrating or planning ways of helping others to reflect on the
preceding activity. ,uch variety helps to prevent -reflection. from being an emotionally-intense activity. The
facilitator has to operate at times through his or her intuition, gauging the reactions of the people.
There are however two behavior traits that s1he would watch out for when people are engaged in reflection and
feedback, and which merit good facilitation skills. The first is when someone reinterpret other people!s
statements, thus invalidating the original, or negating someone!s experience. -,o what you are really saying is3.
the reinterpretation needs to be checked for accuracy. 'sking the interpreter1s whether that is in fact what they
feel helps shift the focus on to them and validates the statements of the original speaker.
The second is when people generali4e their statements, assuming that everybody feels the same. ne way to
check this is to ask whether the rest of the group share the same perspective. ur most challenging task would
be to personali4e their responses instead of generali4ing them.
Source: Baldwin, Jill and Hank Williams (1988). Active earnin!: A "rainer#s $uide. %&'ord: Blackwell.
The Reflection Process
The reflection process that will be described here is an elaboration of the model developed by +armencita T.
'bella for the )R$*$-*R) Teacher %ormation )rogram, The %our 's 5 'ctivity, 'nalysis, 'bstraction,
'pplication.
'+TI6IT7
This refers to the event within a specified time frame 8e.g., a film9 which is the sub&ect matter of -'nalysis.. The
ob&ective of the 'ctivity phase is to identify the significant happenings during a given timeframe.
' significant event is an event which had an impact on you greater than the other happenings. :ow do I identify
the significant event; There are different ways of doing this and each one develops his or her own approach,
whatever helps him or her.
It is very important to keep in mind that this 'ctivity phase is not simply a recalling of events or happenings. It is
an attempt to identify significant events. In some instances, this is not difficult to do because we are aware of
how we are different today from a week ago and we know what happened during the week which brought about
the change. The happening which brought about the change is a significant event.
<ut there are other times when we are not all that aware of how we have changed. The first step, therefore, is to
become consciously aware of the change in myself. To trigger off this awakening to changes in yourself, you may
find it helpful to explore the following areas2
+ompare yourself before and after the activity 8e.g., watching the film9
=. 'm I more, or less positive about myself; about other people; 'bout the government; 'bout the
society I am in; $o I feel better, or worse about who I am, about other people, about the government,
about the society; :ow do I interpret my own feelings;
>. 'm I more, or less positive about some groups of people ; Is it easier for me to listen to them, or
more difficult; /ould I become more spontaneous with them, or less;
?. 'm I more positive about what I am doing 5 my studies and extra curricular activities5 or less; /ould
I find it easier to get into my studies and into other activities, or would it be more difficult;
nce you have become aware of some changes in yourself which you feel are important to you, ask2 /hat
happened which triggered this change in me; The answers to that "uestion identify the significant event.
The next step is to explore &ust how the identified event triggered the change in you. 't times, the connection is
obvious2 but it can also happen that the connection between the event and the change in you is unclear. /e are
not sure &ust what it is about the event which triggered the change. /hen that is the case, the following
"uestions may help us identify the particular aspect of the event which makes the event significant2
=. /hen did it happen; 8e.g., it happened right after watching the film9
>. /ho were with you; 8/rite down the names of the people. 7ou may find it helpful to
make some comments about some people you were with, about the crowd you were in9
?. /hat were you expecting1hoping would happen; 8Try to check whether or not the difference
between what actually happened and what you expected is the significant aspect of the event.
,ometimes, it helps to go into detail 5 expectations of yourself, of others, of the outcome of
the event as compared with what actually happened 5 how or others actually behaved, and the
actual outcome of the event.9
The ob&ective of the 'ctivity phase is to identify the significant events in a given time. In order to do this,
you have to be aware of the changes in yourself and then see the specific connection between those
changes and the event that happened.
'#'@7,I,
In the 'ctivity phase, we identify the significant events and what it is about the events which make them
significant. In the 'nalysis phase, we explore why those events were significant. /e search for the
meaning of those events. /e struggle to arrive at insight.
Therefore, analysis cannot be &ust recalling of events. (eaning-making would try to discover the
uni"ueness of the event, how it is similar to and different from past events in your life.
'<,TR'+TI#
It is the bridge between 'nalysis and 'pplication. There are different types of abstraction and the type to
be used will depend on what you want to do with the insight and also with the kind of insight you have
gotten.
'bstractions are sometimes called theories. They are called abstractions because they are taken from
actual experiences and apply not only to your relationship but also to some other relationships.
The process of abstraction enables one to identify the specific areas where action is appropriate.
'bstraction is the precondition for application.
'))@I+'TI#
This is the re-entry phase of the reflection process. The exploration of inner space has been completed.
This is the time to plan how learnings1lessons are to be used to enrich the "uality of your life and the
lives around you.
@earnings are not implemented. )lans are. ,o we now look at how to apply our learnings to our lives. The
Ahow toA is the plan.
Usually, after an exploration of inner space 8'nalysis and 'bstraction9, we have ac"uired more than &ust
one learning 8insight9. 'nd we know that &ust one insight has the potential to change several aspects of
our lives. The first task of planning is to decide where to begin. /e have to set priorities.
The "uestions can be useful in setting priorities2
=. /hich had the greatest impact in my life;
The decision of what is important to you must be your decision. This enables you to identify where you
are ready to commit more of your personal resources. T he assumption is that you will make a greater
effort to bring about a change in those areas which are more important to you than on those which are
less important.
>. /here am I most likely to succeed;
The probability for success is greater where you have more control over the resources than where you
have less control. ' strategy which depends mainly on your efforts is better than one which depends
mainly on efforts of others. The more we expect others to bring about the changes which we want, the
greater the possibility of us being frustrated. The more frustrated we are, the more helpless we feel. The
more helpless we feel, the more we blame others. 'nd blaming others is abdicating ownership of our
lives.
nce we have drawn up our plans, we are ready to re-enter life. /e re-enter life with more energy and
greater commitment because we have a sense of direction and know the steps we are to take to reach
our destination. 'nd there is greater excitement too, because we are trying something new. /e are
taking a risk. /e are taking our lives into our hands to shape it into a form we want.
It is important to note that our plans will be successfully implemented, not so much because we think
they are good and right, but more because we want them to succeed.
+#+@U,I#
The reflection process is a tool which can be used by individuals or groups to enhance the "uality of life.
It helps us set our own directions and do our own planning to achieve our goals.
In our present crisis situation, it suggests one way for us to work ourselves out of our frustrations2 by
transforming those frustrations into challenges. The main ingredient to bring about this transformation is
T'BI#C /#*R,:I) %R UR @I6*,.
,ource2 (oran, R. *ugene, ,.D. Transforming %rustrations into +hallenges and Taking wnership for ur
@ives in Training (anagerEs ,ourcebook. )asig2 $evelopment 'cademy of the )hilippines.
WRITING TOOLS FOR REFLECTION PAPER
The ancient Creek philosopher 'ristotle had something to say about efforts of persuasion. :e would
classify them according to method used 5 those appealing to our logic and intellect 8logos9, those using a
personal endorsement from someone we trust 8ethos9 and those that try to convince us emotionally
8pathos9. In one way or another, every message in mass media wants us to direct our attention in very
particular ways. 'sk yourself2 /hat factors am I being directed to look at or consider; 'nd what factors
am I being encouraged not to consider;
<esides 'ristotleEs appeals to logic, emotion and character, you should be aware of other persuasive
strategies 5 induction and deduction. 'n inductive argument builds its case on the basis of specific
examples0 these examples often get presented as stories about specific people. ,imply put, inductive
arguments work from specifics to assert a generali4ation. In contrast, deductive arguments start with
one or more generali4ations or premises in order to assert an accurate specific conclusion.
'nother argumentation tool is analogy. ,uch uses this structure2 ' is like <, where ' refers to something
you want to suspect, and < is something either unlikely or impossible. 7ou can make analogies by having
the film you watched as example.
:uman rights violation is like FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF0
#ot doing anything to address social problems is like FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF0
7ou may then write the strength and weakness of the analogy.
%urthermore, you can more than compare, but compare and contrast. /e compare and contrast all the
time. $o the assignment or not; ,pend the allowance on a nightout or not; ,hawarma or B%+; That
means comparing and contrasting options, on our minds, on paper, on conversation, until weEve arrived
at decision.
't a deeper level, comparing and contrasting is the key way we learn things. ne key to appreciating
events 8e.g. in the film9 is to think about likenessness and differences. In a sense, all thinking re"uires a
particular kind of comparing and contrasting between an ob&ect in the physical world and an idea in the
intellectual world. 'll thinking at root involves using nature and experience -- what can be touched and
tasted and felt 5 to negotiate the conceptual. <y linking something we know to something we donEt
know, we expand our knowledge.
/e can add this important caution2 our innate capacity for comparison also leads to the habit of either-
or propositioning 5 of assuming that there is clear right and wrong answer in every situation. <ut how
about if there are conflicting areas, but both have validity; ' contrary exists when two things are e"ually
true and valid but somehow conflict each other. This exists when either-or propositioning doesnEt work.
@ike comparing Athe right to make a livingA with the Afreedom to do what we wantA is not a simple
either-or. <oth rights make good sense. The positions are conflicting yet they are both true.
*xperience is not usually one way or the other, but lots of ways simultaneously. There is thus a stage
beyond taking sides 5 the stage where we reali4e that all sides are worth taking. @ook at the following
pairs of ideas. :ow are the values on either side of the slash related to each other; r are they e"ually
important; Is it possible to accommodate both values at the same time; :ave you experienced tension
between such values;
The rights of the individual1the needs of society
The need of a family1the need of society
The economic need1emotional need
The economic need1self-esteem
In your reflection paper, freewrite about the most important things in your life 5 The things you believe
in most, care about most, and are most committed to. Use comparisons and contrasts, what are the Aevil
twinsA of these things, though they are not exactly evil. r would you argue that something important in
your life doesnEt exist in tension with something else e"ually true and important;
,ource2 Runciman, @ex and +hris 'nderson 8>GGG9. 'sking Huestions2 ' Rhetoric for the Intellectual @ife.
(assachusetts2 'llyn I <acon.