REFLECTIVE WRITING

AND CRITICAL
THINKING
By
Nasim Akhtar
MScN
CON, NMU, Multan
 Unit Objectives

In this unit the learners will:

• Develop an understanding of the reflective learning

• Process of journal writing
• Critical thinking.
 Reflective Learning

“We do not learn from experience…

“We learn from reflecting on experience”
John Dewey.
 Introduction
• Reflection is an inter-subjective process that
promotes deeper learning; it involves
consciously thinking about and analyzing
what one has done (or is doing).

• In higher education settings it provides a

framework for developing professionals as
lifelong learners who are committed to
continuous improvement of their practice.
Definitions related reflection
Reflection:
"Careful thought or consideration...” Wiktionary, 2015.
 "Serious thought or consideration..." Oxford English
Dictionary, 2006.
 "Quiet thought or contemplation/meditation..." Collins Free
Dictionary, 2003.
 "The action of turning (back) or fixing the thoughts on some
subject; meditation, deep or serious consideration... (and
philosophically) the mode, operation or faculty by which
the mind has knowledge of itself and its operations, or by
which it deals with the ideas received from sensation and
perception..." (Oxford English Dictionary, 1922).
 Reflection 
• Engagement in a deliberate mental process
of thinking about, or contemplating, things
that have happened, what was experienced
and learned, from our own and from others'
points of view.

• Reflection here means looking beneath the

surface to find the truth about something, to
draw conclusions for building new knowledge
 Reflection
Dewey (1933), arguably the originator of the
concept of reflection, defined it as:

“the process of internally examining and

exploring an issue of concern, triggered by an
experience, which creates and clarifies
meaning in terms of self and which results in a
changed conceptual perspective.”
 Reflection Reflexivity Critical Reflective
reflection practice

Thinking about Thinking Broad Use of

and objectively contemplation reflective
interpreting life about to question and methods for
experiences, ourselves, our examine personal and
beliefs or behavior, knowledge, professional
knowledge values and beliefs and growth
assumptions actions for
change
 What Is Reflective
Writing?
Reflective writing is:

• your response to experiences, opinions, events or new

information
• your response to thoughts and feelings
• a way of thinking to explore your learning
• an opportunity to gain self-knowledge
• a way to achieve clarity and better understanding of
what you are learning
• a chance to develop and reinforce writing skills
• a way of making meaning out of what you study
Typically, reflective writing will include:

• Description of an experience or concept

• Interpretation of the experience or concept and
what this means for you
• Outcomes of learning and new thinking, and how
you intend to apply your new thinking/learning
Types Of Reflective Writing
Assignments
Journal: requires you to write weekly entries throughout
a semester. May require you to base your reflection on
course content.

Learning diary: similar to a journal, but may require

Group participation. The diary then becomes a place for
you to communicate in writing with other group members.
 Conti…
Log book: often used in disciplines based on
experimental work, such as science.

You note down or ‘log’ what you have done. A log

gives you an accurate record of a process and helps
you reflect on past actions and make better
decisions for future actions.
Reflective note: often used in law. A reflective
note encourages you to think about your personal
reaction to a legal issue raised in a course.

Essay diary: can take the form of an annotated/explained

bibliography (where you examine sources of
Evidence you might include in your essay) and a
critique (where you reflect on your own writing and
research processes).
Peer review: usually involves students showing
their work to their peers for feedback.

Self-assessment:
requires you to comment on
your own work.
Principles for effective reflection
The ten ‘C’s of reflection Johns’ (2000) approaches to
reflective practice has been used extensively in health
care. He advocates ten principles, which underpin
effective reflection:

1. Commitment
2. Contradiction
3. Conflict
4. Challenge and Support
5. Catharsis (working through negative feelings but it works better)
6. Creation
7. Connection
8. Caring
9. Congruence
10.Constructing personal knowing in practice
 Models Of Reflection
The Gibbs Reflective Cycle
Gibbs takes as his starting point the event, or
experience around which the reflection is based, and
begins by asking the reflector to describe what
happened. The process moves Through feelings at the
time, an evaluation of the
experience in terms of
good and bad practice,
Further analysis asking
for ‘sense making’, or
theoretical perspectives,
Before reaching a
Conclusion and following
up with an action plan.
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle is possibly the

most familiar model in helping us to visualize the
reflection process.

This cycle includes four points of endeavor in terms of

learning from practice:
1)Concrete Experiences, which often trigger the
need for reflection.

2)Reflective Observations, which allow for

looking back and reviewing practice.

3)Theoretical Or Abstract Conceptualization,

which prompts the formation of new ideas; and

4)Active Experimentation, where we try out the

new ideas in a similar practice.
Rolfe, Freshwater And Jaspers’ Reflective
Practice Cycle

Rolfe et al.’s (2001) reflective model is based upon

three simple questions: What? So what? Now what?
.
List Of Questions That You May Choose To
Answer In Response To The Three Elements

What?
●
… is the problem/difficulty/ reason for being stuck/reason for feeling bad/reason we don’t get on?
●
… was my role in the situation?
●
… was I trying to achieve?
●
… actions did I take?
●
… was the response of others?
●
… were the consequences for the student? Myself? Others?
●
… feelings did it evoke in the student? Myself? Others?
●
… was good/bad about the experience?

was going through my mind as I acted?

So What?
●

●
… did I base my actions on?
●
… other knowledge can I bring to the situation?
●
… could/should I have done to make it better?
●
… is my new understanding of the situation?
●
… broader issues arise from the situation?

Now ●

●
do I need to do in order to make things better/stop being stuck/improv
teaching/resolve the situation/feel better/get on better/etc., etc.?
●
… broader issues need to be considered if this action is to be success
●
… might be the consequences of this action?
 Getting Started
Clarify Your Task
Reflective writing assignments can take many forms, so
check the guidelines in your course outline before you
begin. Clarify any questions or uncertainties with your
lecturer or tutor.

Clarify The Practical Aspects

You may need to submit a book or folder
or complete an online component.
In addition to writing, you may be able to
include pictures, diagrams, and
media clippings etc.
Gather Your Ideas
Before you write, you need to think and reflect. Start by
drawing up a Mind map.

Mind mapping is a technique that can help you expand

your thinking, structure your ideas and make connections.
You can use a Mind map to plan your assignment and
arrange items to create the structure of your writing.

1. Write your topic in the center of a blank page.

2. Draw related ideas on ‘branches’ that radiate from
the central topic. When you get a new idea, start a new
branch from the center.
3. Map quickly, without pausing, to maintain a flow of
ideas. Associate freely and do not self-edit; at this stage
anything and everything is OK.

4. Circle the key points or ideas. Look at each item and

consider how it relates to others, and to the topic as a
whole.

5. Map the relationships between the ideas or key points

using lines, arrows, colors. Use words or phrases to link
them
Benefits Of Reflection
• To validate prior learning;
• To attend to the grounds or the justification of our beliefs;
• For problem solving;
• To reflect on the content of a problem;
• To think about the processes involved in a practice;
• To examine the basis of our perspectives;
• To develop greater productivity, greater satisfaction;
• To enhance flexibility and to improve our leadership skills;
• To develop feelings of greater congruity about ourselves
and our working practices;
Barriers Of Reflection
Barriers to reflection can include:

• Fear of the unknown;

• Worry about what you might find;
• Admission of error and losing face;
• Feelings of being emotionally drained;
• Pressure to change things;
• Sense of being too old to learn new things;
• The culture of ‘winging it’;
• A sense of isolation.
 Example
I met an amazing patient recently. I was called down to
emergency on my surgery rotation. I was to see a 24 year
old woman with cerebral palsy. When I first saw this
woman with short black hair I thought she was a he, so I
got confused.

I approached the patient, introduced myself and began

my history. It was obvious that the patient was bound to a
bed all her life. She couldn’t speak clearly and mumbled
her words. I began asking her father questions. After a
while she mumbled something and her father started
laughing. When I asked what she said, he said, ‘she
says why don’t you just ask me the questions?’
 I was shocked and ashamed. I apologized to
her and began our conversation. Although
difficult to understand, I made out her words and
realized how direct and concise she was. She
was also witty and kept cracking up her dad. At
one point I had to stop my ‘history’ and said, ‘I’m
sorry but I just have to say you are one of the
most inspiring and amazing people I have ever
met.’ Despite all the crap in medicine, just the
fact that I got to meet her makes it all
worthwhile.
 What Is A Journal?

A journal is a written record of your thoughts,

experiences, and observations.
 What is Journal Writing?
Journal writing is the process of recording
personal insights, reflections and questions on
assigned or personal topics.

Journal projects assigned in class may include your

thoughts about daily experiences, reading
assignments, current events or science experiments.
Journal entries are a form of reflective writing, in that
you can use them to consider and respond to
something you have read or learned.
Journal Types and Formats
• Learning Journals
• Diaries
• Dream Book or Log
• Autobiographies, Life Stories and memoirs
• Spiritual Journals
• Professional Journals
• Interactive Reading Log
• Theory Log
• Electronic Journaling
 Five Step Process for
Journal Writing
1. Select a journal that inspires you to write in it,
2. Write your name and address on the first page.
3. Make a snap-shot of your life on the next few pages,
4. Include your Goal Template
5. The remainder of your journal can hold anything that is
important to you
i.Personal experiences
ii.Thoughts and feelings
iii.Books you are reading
iv.People you are meeting
v.Courses you are doing
vi.Ideas you are creating
vii. Changes that you notice about yourself
Eight Suggestions for New Journal
Writers
1. Protect your privacy
2. Start with an entrance meditation
3. Date every entry
4. Keep (and re-read) what you write
5. Write quickly
6. Start writing; keep writing
7. Tell yourself the truth
8. Write naturally
Benefits of Journal Writing
There are a number of potential benefits for learners
in maintaining some type of journal, diary, or log.

1. Personal Growth and Development.

2. Intuition and Self-Expression
3. Problem Solving
4. Stress Reduction and Health Benefits
5. Reflection/Critical Thinking
6. Overcoming Writing Blocks
 Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking
that is focused on deciding what to believe or do.
(Robert Ennis’s)

Critical thinking is skillful, responsible thinking

that is conducive to good judgment because it is
sensitive to context, relies on criteria, and is self-
correcting.
(Matthew Lipman’s )
Three Parts of Critical Thinking

Full-fledged critical thinking involves three parts.

First, critical thinking involves asking questions

Second, critical thinking involves trying to

answer those questions by reasoning them out

Third, critical thinking involves believing the

results of our reasoning
 Asking the Questions
Critical thinking begins with asking questions. Thinking
critically about solving a problem, in contrast, begins with
asking questions about the problem and about ways to
address it:

■ What are some alternative ways of solving the problem

assigned?
■ What is a good way to begin?
■ Do I have all the information I need to start solving the
problem?
■ What is the purpose behind the problem?
■ Can the problem be solved?
■ Does it even make sense?
 Reasoning It Out
Although asking questions is necessary to begin
critical thinking, merely asking the questions is not
enough; the questions need to be answered (or at
least addressed). Often we raise questions only to
worry about them, or to torment ourselves, or even to
put off action, instead of trying to answer them by
thinking them through.
Believing the Results
Critical thinking, in the fullest sense, results in
belief. It even results in action.

However, taking this last step isn’t always easy.

Even after reasoning it out.

Believing the results is a rough test or measure of

the completeness of your critical thinking. If you
have reasoned something out and come to a
conclusion but find you still don’t really believe it,
that indicates the reasoning is probably not
complete.
6 Steps for Effective
Critical Thinking
 Intellectual Standards of
Critical and Creative Thinking

 Clarity
 Accuracy
 Precision
 Relevance
 Depth
 Breadth
 Logic
 Significance
 Fairness
Critical Thinking Skills
 Interpretation : Collect and clarify data in an
orderly fashion.
 Analysis: Be open minded and do not make
imaginations.
 Inference : Look for relationships within
information you have collected.
 Evaluation: Be objective in nursing action that
need to perform.
 Explanation: Make sure you have support in
your conclusions and use experiential knowledge
and scientific bases.
 Self-regulation: Review your methods and
correct any problems identified
 Relationship Between Critical
Thinking And The Nursing Process
• Critical thinking separates professional nurses from technical
personnel.

• Nurses observe changes in patients, recognize potential

problems, identify new problems as they arise, and take
immediate action when a patient's clinical condition worsens.

• Nurses rely on knowledge and experience when deciding if a

patient is having complications that call for notification of a
health care provider or decides if a teaching plan for a patient is
ineffective and needs revision

• Nurses observe patients closely, gather information about them,

examine ideas and inferences about patient problems, recognize
the problems, consider scientific principles relating to the
problems, and develop an approach to nursing care.
 Levels Of Critical
Thinking In Nursing
• Level 1: Basic Critical Thinking - thinking is
concrete and based on a set of rules or principles.
Typically the nurse will follow procedures step by step
as they are written instead of adjusting to meet each
patient's unique needs.
• Level 2: Complex Critical Thinking - nurses
analyze and examine choices more independently. The
nurse learns that alternative and perhaps conflicting
solutions exist. Each solution has benefits and risks that
you weigh before making a final decision.
• Level 3: Commitment - a nurse anticipates when to
make choices without assistance from others and
accepts accountability for decisions made.
 Features of Critical
Thinking
• Critical Thinking Is Reflective
• Critical Thinking Involves Standards
• Critical Thinking Is Authentic
• Critical Thinking Involves Being Reasonable
Critical Thinking Activity
Critical Thinking Activity