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What are learning journals and why are they important? 

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What are learning journals and why are they important? 

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Learn Amp: Learning Engagement Platform. Learning Re-invented. Driving engagement, increasing retention and improving performance through learning

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Learn Amp: Learning Engagement Platform. Learning Re-invented. Driving engagement, increasing retention and improving performance through learning

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Post your answers to the questions below. 

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Post your answers to the questions below. 

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What does reflective practice mean?

Why do you think reflective practice is important or trainers?

What is the research behind reflective practice?

Use the link to help you: Getting started with Reflective Practice (cambridge-community.org.uk)

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What is the research behind reflective practice?

Educational researchers have long promoted the importance of reflecting on practice to support student learning and staff development.

There are many different models of reflective practice. However, they all share the same basic aim: to get the best results from the learning, for both the teacher and students.
Each model of reflection aims to unpick learning to make links between the 'doing' and the 'thinking'.

Kolb's learning cycle
David Kolb, educational researcher, developed a four-stage reflective model. Kolb's Learning Cycle (1984) highlights reflective practice as a tool to gain conclusions and ideas from an experience. The aim is to take the learning into new experiences, completing the cycle. Kolb's cycle follows four stages.

First, practitioners have a concrete experience. This means experiencing something new for the first time in the classroom. The experience should be an active one, used to test out new ideas and teaching methods.
This is followed by...

Observation of the concrete experience, then reflecting on the experience. Here practitioners should consider the strengths of the experience and areas of development. Practitioners need to form an understanding of what helped students' learning and what hindered it.
This should lead to...

The formation of abstract concepts. The practitioner needs to make sense of what has happened. They should do this through making links between what they have done, what they already know and what they need to learn. The practitioner should draw on ideas from research and textbooks to help support development and understanding. They could also draw on support from other colleagues and their previous knowledge. Practitioners should modify their ideas or devise new approaches, based on what they have learnt from their observations and wider research.
The final stage of this cycle is when...

The practitioner considers how they are going to put what they have learnt into practice. The practitioner's abstract concepts are made concrete as they use these to test ideas in future situations, resulting in new experiences. The ideas from the observations and conceptualisations are made into active experimentation as they are implemented into future teaching. The cycle is then repeated on this new method.

Kolb's model aims to draw on the importance of using both our own everyday experiences and educational research to help us improve. It is not simply enough for you to reflect. This reflection must drive a change which is rooted in educational research.

Gibbs' reflective cycle

The theoretical approach of reflection as a cyclical model was further developed by Gibbs (1998). This model is based on a six-stage approach, leading from a description of the experience through to conclusions and considerations for future events. While most of the core principles are similar to Kolb's, Gibbs' model is broken down further to encourage the teacher to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings.

Gibbs' model is an effective tool to help you reflect after the experience, and is a useful model if you are new to reflection as it is broken down into clearly defined sections.

Description
In this section, the practitioner should clearly outline the experience. This needs to be a factual account of what happened in the classroom. It should not be analytical at this stage.

Feelings
This section encourages the practitioner to explore any thoughts or feelings they had at the time of the event. Here the practitioner should explain feelings and give examples which directly reference the teaching experience. It is important the practitioner is honest with how they feel, even if these feelings might be negative. Only once the feelings have been identified can the practitioner implement strategies to overcome these barriers.

Evaluation
The evaluation section gives the opportunity for the practitioner to discuss what went well and analyse practice. It is also important to consider areas needed for development and things that did not work out as initially planned. This evaluation should consider both the practitioner's learning and the students' learning.

Analysis
This section is where the practitioner makes sense of the experience. They consider what might have helped the learning or hindered it. It is in this stage that the practitioner refers to any relevant literature or research to help make sense of the experience. For example, if you felt the instructions you gave were not clear, you could consult educational research on how to communicate effectively.

Conclusion
At this stage, the practitioner draws all the ideas together. They should now understand what they need to improve on and have some ideas on how to do this based on their wider research.

Action plan
During this final stage, the practitioner sums up all previous elements of this cycle. They create a step-by-step plan for the new learning experience. The practitioner identifies what they will keep, what they will develop and what they will do differently. The action plan might also outline the next steps needed to overcome any barriers, for example enrolling on a course or observing another colleague.

In Gibbs' model the first three sections are concerned with what happened. The final three sections relate to making sense of the experience and how you, as the teacher, can improve on the situation.

'Reflection-in-action' and 'reflection-on-action'

Another approach to reflection is the work by Schön. Schön (1991) distinguishes between reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.

Reflection-in-action is reflection during the 'doing' stage (that is, reflecting on the incident while it can still benefit the learning). This is carried out during the lesson rather than reflecting on how you would do things differently in the future. This is an extremely efficient method of reflection as it allows you to react and change an event at the time it happens. For example, in the classroom you may be teaching a topic which you can see the students are not understanding. Your reflection-in-action allows you to understand why this has happened and how to respond to overcome this situation.

Reflection-in-action allows you to deal with surprising incidents that may happen in a learning environment. It allows you to be responsible and resourceful, drawing on your own knowledge and allowing you to apply it to new experiences. It also allows for personalised learning as, rather than using preconceived ideas about what you should do in a particular situation, you decide what works best at that time for that unique experience and student.

Reflection-on-action, on the other hand, involves reflecting on how practice can be developed after the lesson has been taught. Schön recognises the importance of reflecting back 'in order to discover how our knowing-in-action may have contributed to an unexpected outcome' (Schön, 1983).

Reflection-on-action means you reflect after the event on how your knowledge of previous teaching may have directed you to the experience you had.

Reflection-on-action should encourage ideas on what you need to change for the future. You carry out reflection-on-action outside the classroom, where you consider the situation again. This requires deeper thought, for example, as to why the students did not understand the topic. It encourages you to consider causes and options, which should be informed by a wider network of understanding from research.

By following any of the above models of reflection, you will have a questioning approach to teaching. You will consider why things are as they are, and how they could be. You will consider the strengths and areas of development in your own practice, questioning why learning experiences might be this way and considering how to develop them. As a result, what you do in the classroom will be carefully planned, informed by research and previous experience, and focused, with logical reasons. All of these models stress the importance of repeating the cycle to make sure knowledge is secure and progression is continued.

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Getting started with Reflective Practice

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Educational researchers have long promoted the importance of reflecting on practice to support student learning and staff development. There are many different models of reflective practice. However, they all share the same basic aim: to get the best results from the learning, for both the teacher and students.Each model of reflection aims to unpick learning to make links between the 'doing' and the 'thinking'.

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In the link in the previous section, you were introduced to 3 models of reflections-Kolb, Gibbs and Brookfield. I want you to research each model and explain all the stages. You can add pictures, examples, videos, screen recordings etc to show how the reflective models could be used to structure your journals entries.

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Make a list below of possible different topics for learning journal entries (both on and off the job). How do you know what to reflect on? Can you provide any top tips?

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Trainers must reflect on practice to learn, grow, and develop their practice. It is about looking at the positives and negatives and looking for ways to improve and also what went well that you can use again and share this with others.

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Reflective practice is important for trainers as it enables us to critically evaluate our own practice, make us aware of our own professional knowledge, identify strengths & highlight areas of personal development. It can help us to promote wellbeing and professional growth and support us to be the best trainers we can be.

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Self- Awareness - Reflecting on my actions and decisions helps me to develop my skills and were I need improving.

Encouraging continuous improvement -

increasing the quality of care, helps you helps reflect and stop you from complacent

Problem Solving - being able to look at past challenges and how you address them

Builds professional Credibility - this shows commitment and growth

Keep a Reflective Journal -

Document experiences, Successes and Challenges making changes to outcomes and development feedback

Review - Seeking feedback from colleagues, Supervisors and the other professionals, as well as being able to feedback with self reflections

Setting Goals for development - Being able to have specific achievable and actionable goals

Seeking professional Guidance - Being able to discuss reflections with a my mentor or others helps me gain insight for further development

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Learning Journals are how learners record an Reflect on the on and off the job learning and where they give Constructive and developmental feedback on their Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours as well as stretch and challenge.

It give the learner a way to record and evidence what they have learnt. by being able to show how far they have progressed.

Accurate monthly scorecard, gives away for the the learner to see how they progress

Pr0gress - how they can develop further KSB's, and how structure the review around this

Revision and Memory - help the learner to embed their learning and revise before EPA as well as progression

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Learning journals are short, descriptive written accounts of an experience where a learner's apprenticeship learning is recorded & reflected on. It allows learners to reflect on what new knowledge, skills & behaviours they have learnt, what went well & what they have learnt from the experience, as well as what did not go so well and how what they learnt will impact them & their role.

Journals are important as they help to capture apprenticeship training that has taken place, consistently measure developmental progress and allows trainers feedback (constructive & developmental) to aid progress and help develop the learner's KSB's.

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Learning Journals are used for learners to reflect and record what they have been learning. This can include webinars, face to face learning with their trainer , wider learning, courses, CognAssist modules as well as functional skills. Trainers can then look at these and offer constructive and developmental feedback to support the learner. It is also a way for learners to reflect on the knowledge , skills and behaviours they have recorded on scorecards and look at what they have improved on and areas to further develop. Learning journals should be completed regularly so that they do not fall behind or forget . This is important so they are compliant with the course and stay on track.

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According to the Cambridge community.org they state that "Educational researchers have long promoted the importance of reflecting on practice to support student learning and staff development.

There are many different models of reflective practice. However, they all share the same basic aim: to get the best results from the learning, for both the teacher and students.
Each model of reflection aims to unpick learning to make links between the ‘doing’ and the ‘thinking’."

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Kolb- This model can be used to support learning journal entries by getting the learner to look at the evidence they they have in front of them and can be used for an active learning experience, so they could use this when they have completed an activity for the first time such as planning and delivering an activity and then observing it. The learner can structure the learning journal by stating what they did so this is the Concrete Experience part, doing something, having an actual experience. Next they can use the Reflective Observation to look back and thinking about what just happened and what they did and then the Abstract Conceptualization is the “What if?” phase to inform further learning and think about forming ideas based on your reflections made. They can then put this into practice with the Active Experimentation part so this would be using what they have reflected on to inform they way they do this moving forward.

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Gibbs' Reflective Cycle, developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988, is a structured framework for reflecting on experiences. It consists of six stages that guide individuals through the process of learning from their experiences. Here are the stages:

1. Description: This stage involves describing the experience in detail. What happened? Who was involved? Where and when did it occur? The goal is to provide a clear, objective account without analysis or interpretation

2. Feelings: Reflect on the emotions and thoughts you had during the experience. How did you feel before, during, and after the event? This stage helps to understand the emotional impact of the experience

3. Evaluation: Assess the experience, considering what went well and what didn't. What were the positive and negative aspects? This stage helps to identify areas of success and areas needing improvement

4. Analysis: Analyse the experience to make sense of it. Why did things happen the way they did? What factors influenced the outcome? This stage involves deeper thinking to understand the underlying reasons and patterns

5. Conclusion: Draw conclusions from the analysis. What have you learned from the experience? What could you have done differently? This stage helps to consolidate learning and identify key takeaways

6. Action Plan: Develop a plan for future actions based on the conclusions. How will you apply what you've learned in similar situations? This stage focuses on using insights gained to improve future performance

The cyclical model emphasis continuous learning and improvement, making it a valuable tool for personal and professional development

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The Brookfield's model of reflection was developed by Stephen Brookfield in 1995 and it can be used for critical reflection on their teaching practice and student's learning.

This critical reflective process occurs when teachers view their practice through the four different, interconnecting lenses; lens of their own autobiography as teachers and learners, lens of students' eyes, lens of colleagues experiences & lens of educational literature.

This model aims to develop critically reflective teachers who make reliable judgements about approaches to their teaching practice, planning & evaluations as well as provide purposeful responses to their students.

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There are 4 stages to the KOLB learning cycle method 1984. David Kolb was an educational researcher who developed the model.

1. Concrete Experience: This is doing something and having an actual experience of an event.

2. Reflective Observation: Once the experience has happened its about stepping back and thinking about what just happened and what you did.

3. Abstract Conceptualization: This is “What if?” phase where you will be forming hypotheses and ideas based on your reflections.

4. Active Experimentation: This is the the testing the ideas and hypothesis part. So looking at how this can impact practice moving forward and what you are going to do.

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Driscoll's Reflective Model, developed by John Driscoll in 1994, is a straightforward framework for reflection based on three key questions: What? So What? Now What?

Here are the stages:

1. What?: This stage involves describing the experience or situation. What happened? Who was involved? What was the context? The goal is to provide a clear, objective account of the event

2. So What?: Analyse the experience to understand its significance. How did you feel during the event? What were your reactions? What did you learn from the experience? This stage helps to explore the implications and emotional impact of the event

3. Now What?: Reflect on how you can apply what you've learned in the future. What actions will you take as a result of this reflection? How will you handle similar situations differently? This stage focuses on planning and improving future practice

Driscoll's model is valued for its simplicity and effectiveness in guiding reflective practice, making it useful for both personal and professional development

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Jasper's Reflective Model, introduced by Melanie Jasper in 2013, is known as the ERA Cycle. It is a simple yet effective framework for reflection, consisting of three stages

1. Experience: This stage involves describing the experience in detail. What happened? Who was involved? What was the context? The goal is to provide a clear, objective account of the event

2. Reflection: Analyse the experience to understand its significance. How did you feel during the event? What were your reactions? What did you learn from the experience? This stage helps to explore the implications and emotional impact of the event

3. Action: Reflect on how you can apply what you've learned in the future. What actions will you take as a result of this reflection? How will you handle similar situations differently? This stage focuses on planning and improving future practice

Jasper's model is valued for its simplicity and effectiveness in guiding reflective practice, making it useful for both personal and professional development.

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Ideas :

-          Job shadowing

-          Observations

-          Activities

-          Online learning

-          Research tasks

-          Webinars

-          Staff meeting

Progress reviews

Hot topics on Onefile for wider learning.

Safeguarding newsletter

Podcasts

Films

Documentaries

Social Media-ticktock , pinterest for ideas , Instagram

Websites

BBC -Panorama

Ofsted CQC

Skills builder

CognAssist

Complete Kinderly Learn webinars on:

-          Behaviour management

-          How can I support a child’s thinking

-          The revised EYFS

-          Safeguarding children who may be more vulnerable to abuse

-          Supporting nonverbal children in early years

Supporting sensory play

Health and Wellbeing

Tips: Think about what you did, what you learnt and what you are going to do next.

Keep a calendar/ Journal to record when you complete activities so you remember.

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What? - Within the group we used Padlet to answer questions, about Reflective practices, we didn't focus on one but we focused on a few. This was to help understand different varies of Reflective practices.

So What? We analysed the question to see what would be the best way to answer them. some we added our own information, where as some we answered individually, I like to think that we worked together well, I learnt about other models of reflective practice, I knew of Gibbs and have used this a lot throughout my career, however I like the simplicity of Driscoll's model, What, So what? Now, What?

Now what? - I think that Driscoll's model is easier to understand and breakdown, however Gibbs is more in-depth. So it can depend on what I am doing that I will use the different models. I think we work well as a team today and support each other.

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I am going to use the Driscoll model to write my refection.

What :Today we worked in a group of 3 to go through the Padlet tasks. We started off all doing the same tasks but realised this was taking quite a long time so agreed as a group to work on different parts each. We all communicated effectively throughout and asked each other questions and checked in as we needed to. We had lots of conversations throughout which I really enjoyed and was a good opportunity to share our views and different ways of working that we have found useful.

So What : From this task I found that I was able to share information and ask for support from the other trainee trainers if I needed it on how to find something. It was interesting hearing how they use different models of reflection in their practice and made me think about if I could do that as well. I feel that I was given the time to share my ideas and offered the others in the group opportunities to do the same. We worked well to share out what we needed to do and all regularly checked in to make sure we were on task and understood. We worked well as a group and made sure we got everything done.

What Next: From this activity it has made me feel more comfortable working with others in this sort of environment and that its ok to ask if I am not sure about something. I have took on ideas that I can use in my own practice from discussions we have had which will improve how effectively I am working.

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Using Driscoll’s What model of reflective practice.

What – Worked in a small group to complete different tasks on the benefits of reflective practice on padlet. We had lots of discussions about what we thought about each of the questions, and I gave examples from my own practice, made suggestions and contributed to the answers that we compiled as a group. We each shared ideas, listened to each other well and worked well to get the task completed.

So what – Together as part of the group we went through each of the questions. We split some of the tasks up as conscious of time and the number of elements we needed to complete. I engaged in independent research and then fed back to the group my findings as well as provided written explanations on the padlet document. I feel I contributed well throughout the activity, gave examples and explained to the others what I had learnt from watching the videos or reading up about different reflective models.

Now what – I feel I became more comfortable in the group as I got to know the other members of the team, and this gave me more confidence to contribute and ask when I was unsure about a certain aspect. I feel I listened well when other contributed, shared ideas took their opinions on board and enjoyed working as part of the group. I learnt more about the way I communicate & learn, how I work as part of the team and about the different models of reflection I can use which will all have a positive impact as part of my role.