Reflective Learning Journal
Definition
Reflective learning has been brought to the forefront of education. Reflective learning involves students thinking about what they’ve read, done, or learned, relating the lesson at hand to their own lives, and making meaning out of the material. Besides, reflective learning is more than merely memorizing certain facts, formulas, or dates (Brockbank and McGill, 2007). Learning activities are always aimed at equipping students with knowledge. Reflective learning comes in to help a student in self-assessment as to whether the learned content was helpful. Reflective knowledge requires open-mindedness and students should be willing to undertake the exercise.
Reflective learning is a type of education that reflects on the student’s learning experiences. A theory of reflective teaching calls reflective learning an intentional and complicated process that recognizes the function of social context and experience. The objectives of the process are self-definition and significance development, leading to a changed conceptual view (Brockbank and McGill, 2007). If a student successful does a reflective learning exercise, they are able to point out the parts that have not been understood during the course. Therefore, reflective learning is crucial in helping both students and tutors in concentrating on the areas with weaknesses (Gould, 2016). Additionally, a student who successfully completes a reflective learning experience is able to appreciate the knowledge acquired during the course and is ready to apply the knowledge at their next level.
Reflection is a type of mental processing that can be used to satisfy an objective or to attain some expected result, like a type of thinking. Alternatively, individuals may ‘ be reflective, ‘ and then there may be an unexpected result (Brockbank and McGill, 2007). The achievement of the desired objectives lies on the ability of the student to learn about the objectives before completing the course. Therefore, reflective learning helps in assessing the level of achievement in terms of the initial objectives. Besides, a student is in a position to avoid unexpected results if they undertake reflective learning seriously.
The word ‘reflection’ applies to comparatively complicated or ill-structured concepts for which there is no apparent answer and relates mainly to the further processing of knowledge and understanding that already exists (Gould & Taylor, 2017). As a matter of fact, reflection does not involve addition of knowledge. A student focuses on the knowledge that they have already acquired and whether the training exercise was successful. Additionally, reflection is essential in assessing whether a student is ready for their next level, either in education or job.
Reflection or reflective learning in an academic context is likely to involve a conscious and stated purpose for the reflection, with an outcome that is specified in terms of learning, action or clarification (Brockbank and McGill, 2007). However, the reflection exercise may ring out purposes that were not initially on the plan. A student may recognize additional strengths and weaknesses that are not related with the course being taken.
A description of the purpose may precede the academic reflection and the subject matter of the reflection. Therefore, students should be open-minded to allow further learning during the reflection exercise. Remaining conservative on the plan of the reflection exercise may work against any possibilities of realizing hidden strengths and weaknesses.
The process and outcome of the reflective work is most likely to be in a represented (for example, written) form and to be seen by others and to be assessed. These factors can affect its nature and quality (Brockbank and McGill, 2007). Different people may present different opinions and cause a challenge to the student while trying to choose between the different opinions.
Benefits of reflective learning
Reflective learning can aid learners in synthesizing new information, and is often used to improve reading comprehension, writing performance, and self-esteem via self-examination (Sugerman et al., 2007). Therefore, students should pay attention to reflection for the desired assessment.
Students can use a journal or blog to collect observations, thoughts, concerns, notes, progress, and opinions that may not be shared otherwise. Writing can build rapport between instructors and students, contributing to a positive learning experience (Sugerman et al., 2007). In the educational environment, journals and blogs need to be more than just a list of what a student did. The writing experience is used to communicate the thinking process: the how and why for each activity and thoughts about the activity at its conclusion (Sugerman et al., 2007). Reflective learners are more likely to develop a deeper understanding of their subject and to achieve higher grades as a result.
As Sugerman et al. (2007) argued, reflective learners share the following characteristics:
- Reflective learners are motivated and know what they are trying to achieve and why.
- Reflective learners are proactive in extending their understanding of new topics and subjects.
- Reflective learners use their existing knowledge to help develop their understanding of new ideas.
- Reflective learners understand new concepts by relating them to their previous experiences.
- Reflective learners understand that additional research and reading improves their understanding.
- Reflective learners develop their learning and thinking by building on the critical evaluation of their previous learning experiences.
- Reflective learners are self-aware-able to identify, explain, and address their strengths and weaknesses.
Reflective practice has huge benefits in increasing self-awareness, which is a key component of emotional intelligence, and in developing a better understanding of others. Reflective practice can also help you to develop creative thinking skills, and encourages active engagement in work processes(Sugerman et al., 2007).
In work situations, keeping a learning journal, and regularly using reflective practice, will support more meaningful discussions about career development, and an individual’s personal development, including at personal appraisal time. Reflection will also help to provide an individual with examples to use in competency-based interview situations (Sugerman et al., 2007). Generally, students should be encouraged to undertake a reflective learning exercise at the end of a particular learning period.
| Date | What I did | Focus | Reflection |
| Tuesday, 29 January 2019
Wednesday 10 April 2019
| Using mind maps to learn new vocabulary
Learn how to improve my employability skills
Write a project Research
Improve my present skills | Mind map
Skills improvement
Academic skills development
Improve presentation skills
Create online portfolio | Threemonths ago, in IELTS class my teacher introduced us to mind maps. My teacher said that mind maps offer a good way to memorise vocabulary for IELTS exam and we can use them to divide the vocabulary in categories. Every category includes the words that have the same meaning. She gave us a little piece of a device to study these mind maps every day for a maximum of fifteen minutes and explained the long-term benefits gained by this easy exercise. After the class, I decided to use the mind map to learn more vocabulary for the exam and helps me to improve my writing in English as well. The theory of mind map was developed by Tony Buzan. His idea was to develop a tool that would make it easier to organise thoughts. First, a central key word is stated, and then the space around it is populated with related words in order to create connection between them. At least three colours should be used to strengthen the memory and make it easier to recall the information. Finally, images and drawing should complement the mind map whenever possible in order to stimulate the interbrain as much as possible. I started to use mind maps since that time. I found mind maps really useful to remember the words and developed my ability by memorising relationships between words. I feel glad that I was introduced to this because I know how to do an effective mind map which helps me to memorize.
Last week in the postgraduate skills development class, we were required to write a reflective essay about employability skills. The teacher gave us questions about employability skills in the workplace and a list for some of the requirements. One from the questions that had to be answered and the essay written about was the kind of skill that an individual wanted to develop. In the beginning I did not know the skills that I needed to develop and whether the skill that i would come up with would fit the requirements. Realizing that I have weakness in most skills, and I had to learn how to improve my skills to assist me to be desirable for employers. Generally, i was interested in developing my skills in a bid to improve my employability by working on my efficiency skills in the workplace. Upon reflection, I came to a conclusion that I had a weakness in staying focused. I therefore did some research and found some exercises that would help in keeping my mind focused on one task and be able to complete my work on time. Also I realized that I needed to practice on focussing on short-term tasks instead of focussing on long term tasks. The ability to focus on the short-term tasks would be crucial in forming a basis for focusing on long-term tasks. Another skill that I noticed to have a weakness in is coming up with business ideas. The desire to work in business environments requires that the organizations I will work for will require individuals with high levels of business skills and that I may still use the skills later in later if I ever decide to venture into business. I also realized that business skills go hand in hand with leadership skills that I happened to have already done in one of the postgraduate skills development classes. However, I realized that i still need to learn on developing business management skills as well as business acumen skills that will be required in future.
I studied a module named Project Research as part of my master’s foundation programme. In this module, students are required to conduct a research and write an essay of approximately five thousand words covering the topic of their choice. To complete the research, students are expected to read a minimum of five resources. For me, this was the first time in my entire academic journey that I had to write such a long research paper. Likewise, I did not have the opportunity to write essays based on reading multiple resources in my prior studies. At first, I was worried about time management as reading and writing of this scale was a completely new experience for me. I knew that in order to produce a proper research of five thousand words, I had to read more resources, understand and properly summarise the resources for this exercise. More importantly, dividing the work into smaller tasks was a primary strategy that facilitated the advancement of the research. Having established an appropriate approach for the task at hand, I started to develop an adequate reading list that covered cybercrime, which was my topic of choice. Thereafter, the selected books were skimmed in order to identify the most relevant resources and eliminate those that proved to be of least importance to the research. As a result, seven resources relevant to the subject of cyber security were selected. These resources provided ample information about the focus of the research which covered the impact of cybercrime on society, economy and national security. Another requirement was to complete taxonomy and identify statements supporting my research question and identify statements against it. This process helped in summarising the main ideas for each chapter in my research. Thereafter, I started writing in accordance with the developed taxonomy. Certainly, writing a research project has enhanced my academic skills such as academic writing and critical thinking. Most importantly, it is a valuable skill to know how to write a successful research report that will serve me well throughout my career. I will use the methods I learned to guide my exploration whether I will study the best way to execute a procedure or learn about difficulties and possibilities in my field of work.And because efficient communication is crucial for any professional. Finally, because employers are increasingly trying to employ individuals who are able to write clearly and professionally, my acquired skills put me in a favourable position and will certainly increase my employability.
A few months ago, I gave a presentation in my mathematics course on the subject of big O notation. This was the first time I had to prepare a proper slide presentation accompanied with both text and graphics in order to simplify and explain the subject to the audience. To prepare for the presentation, I organised my thoughts in main points to help in delivering the information in an articulate and concise manner. However, I did not have the opportunity to rehearse and train myself to talk in front of a live audience, such as family or friends, before the day of my presentation. Besides, I was worried at first, which led me to forget some of the main points during the presentation, but the points and notes helped me regain my confidence. Ultimately, I was able to deliver a good presentation that was deemed to be up to academic standards.
The presentation experience was enriching as it helped me in gaining confidence in my presentation abilities. As expected my first experience in presentation was not without mistakes. However, I viewed the mistakes as a part of my learning process and I am confident that with time and practice, my skills will improve significantly. During this experience, I learned the importance of eye contact and how vital it is to engage the audience with the presentation. This can be achieved by having clear graphs and through articulated information delivery. Moreover, I learned that slides can be too busy which can cause distraction and work at the detriment of the presentation. Thus, it was important to keep the information manageable by including only necessary text and rely more on graphical elements to enhance the quality of the slides. It also important to avoid spending more time than necessary on one slide as the presenter might risk losing the interest of the audience. Before my next presentations, I will allow myself time to practice in order to improve my timing as well as my presentation skills.
I was required to develop an online portfolio during my On-Campus course. The objective was to create an online page and upload all the essays and article that we wrote during our courses such as the reflective essays, seminar papers and SWOT analysis table as well as any other relevant academic writings. Books and resources of interest that were related to my field were added to my page to complete the profile. In addition, evidence such as certificates of completion were added to the portfolio to support the resume and provide confirmation as to the personal and academic skills stated in the page.
Developing an online portfolio was an enriching experience for me. The experience allowed me to gain expertise in how to build an online presence and showcase my knowledge. In today’s connected world, online profiles are of great significance, especially for those who work in fields such as computer science and artificial intelligence. As a result, I have decided to reach out to other interested individuals as well as employers and gain access to new opportunities that would not be available to me otherwise. More importantly, having a professional online portfolio makes it easier to communicate my expertise to interested parties. Additionally, this exercise allowed me to develop my organisation skills as I had to collect, summarise, and reorganise my academic output with OnCampus in a sound and professional manner. Eventually, I will use these acquired skills to continue developing my online presence and have online portfolio that increases the value of my knowledge to potential employers and future work partners. |
Conclusion
The end of this term is coming at a time when i have learned a lot with OnCampus. In preparing for my master’s degree, I believe that this course has helped me in developing critical academic skills that will help me next year as I pursue further studies at Royal Holloway University. For example, I was able to develop an online portfolio in which I showcased my education and experience as well as my essays and academic output. As a future AI professional, this is a critical skill that will help me in promoting my work and reaching out to other professionals in the field. Moreover, I was able to prepare a seminar paper and present it with my classmate. This was a good academic exercise that also allowed me to prepare for group work and collaboration which will be essential when working on group projects during my master’s programme. In addition, the research project was a good opportunity to read about cybercrime, a field related to my field of studies, and develop critical thinking and writing skills which will assist me when conducting future research during my studies and afterwards in my professional work. Finally, communication skills were practiced during the presentation that I had to give during my course, which is an exercise that I will repeat in my master’s programme and an essential skill that I have to develop in order to share my knowledge and collaborate with like-minded individuals.
My OnCampus course taught me that the learning is a continuous process and that personal and professional growth relies primarily on the person’s willingness to do so. Nevertheless, it provided me with the support, guidance and structure I require to gradually develop the skills I need to gradually succeed in my master’s programme. I believe that I now have the ability to undertake the master’s programme with confidence, and with continual effort, become the AI professional I aspire to be.
References
Brockbank, A. and McGill, I. (2007). Facilitating reflective learning in higher education. 2nd ed. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.
Eppich, W., & Cheng, A. (2015). Promoting Excellence and Reflective Learning in Simulation (PEARLS): development and rationale for a blended approach to health care simulation debriefing. Simulation in Healthcare, 10(2), 106-115.
Fullana, J., Pallisera, M., Colomer, J., Fernández Peña, R., & Pérez-Burriel, M. (2016). Reflective learning in higher education: A qualitative study on students’ perceptions. Studies in Higher Education, 41(6), 1008-1022.
Gould, N. (2016). Introduction: the learning organization and reflective practice–the emergence of a concept. In Social work, critical reflection and the learning organization (pp. 11-20). Routledge.
Gould, N., & Taylor, I. (2017). Reflective learning for social work: research, theory and practice. Routledge.
Sugerman, D., Doherty, K., Garvey, D. and Gass, M. (2007). Reflective learning: theory and practice. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing company.