Part 1/3: Reflecting on Experience
Reflecting on experience and how to interpret your feedback in Rflect.
“We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.” John Dewey.
When sitting down to reflect, it can be hard to know where to start. Thankfully, there are models that can help you make sense of your experiences and give structure to your thoughts and feelings. Examples include the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1998) with its 6 steps: Description, Feeling, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion and Action Plan, and the simpler Era Cycle (Jasper, 2013) with 3: Experience, Reflection, and Action.
We cover 3 steps in Rflect: Experience, Analysis, and Action. That means, when reflecting, you want to describe the context of the situation, how you felt about it, analyze whether the experience was positive or negative, what you’re learning about yourself, and decide on next steps. Taking action is an essential part of the process, which will result a new experience, thus starting the cycle again. Reflection, like learning, is an ongoing process.
As a student in Rflect, you will receive structured feedback on how well you engage with each step. Whether you’re reflecting on a challenge, a group project, or a personal learning experience, Rflect can help you explore your thoughts, emotions, and actions in a meaningful way. Of course, it will not always be relevant to go into depth with every reflection, depending on the question posed by your lecturer.
In this 3-part blog series, we’ll break down each step and give tips for how to include them in your reflections.
Step 1/3: Experience.
State the facts.
In your reflection, start by objectively describing the situation. Avoid interpretations or judgments at this stage. Clear descriptions help ensure your reflection has a solid foundation.
- What was the event or experience?
- Who was involved?
- What was the outcome?
Tip: If you received feedback in Rflect that your description was unclear or lacked detail, focus on adding specific context next time. Ensure you answer the key questions succinctly but thoroughly.
Example: “In our group presentation in my first-year marketing class, we each chose topics we felt confident about and worked individually. We met once before presenting but didn’t practice together. On the presentation day, our transitions were messy, and some group members talked way longer than planned, so we went over the time limit.”
Consider your thoughts and feelings.
Go beyond just describing what happened. In a next step, explore your emotions and thoughts.
- How did you feel before, during, and after the experience?
- What were your initial reactions?
- Did your emotions change as the experience unfolded?
Tip: If your feedback suggests that your emotions weren’t explored in depth, try expanding on how your feelings influenced your actions or decisions in the moment. Were you feeling excited, anxious, surprised or something else entirely during the situation at hand?
Example: “At first, I felt pretty confident because I’d prepared my own section thoroughly. During the presentation though, I got nervous and a bit annoyed when I saw things weren’t flowing well. Afterwards, I felt disappointed and frustrated that our presentation wasn’t as smooth as I’d hoped.”
Well done! By giving context to your reflection and describing your feelings, you have successfully completed Step 1. Keep reading to learn about Step 2: Analysis.
Sources
Cambridge University Libraries. (n.d.). Reflective Practice Toolkit: Models of reflection. Cambridge LibGuides. https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/reflectivepracticetoolkit/models
Rflect AG, https://www.rflect.ch.
University of Edinburgh. “Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.” Reflection Toolkit, 15 Oct. 2024, https://reflection.ed.ac.uk/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle.
Imprint
This blog was written by Ella from the Rflect team with help from AI. Have questions? Get in touch: info@rflect.ch