Part 3/3: Take Action on your Reflections
Take action on your insights 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 3/3: Action.
What Have You Learned?
Now that you’ve described the situation and analyzed it, summarize the insights you’ve gained. Effective conclusions show that you’ve processed the experience meaningfully.
- What key lessons emerged from this reflection?
- What would you do differently next time?
- How has this experience shaped your understanding?
Tip: If your conclusion is vague, work on articulating at least one concrete takeaway that you can apply to future situations.
Example: “I realized it’s not enough just to prepare individually. Group presentations need real teamwork and rehearsal, especially for transitions and timing. This experience showed me how important group coordination is, even if each person is well-prepared individually.”
How Will You Apply This in the Future?
Reflection should lead to growth. This final step ensures that your insights translate into real improvements.
- What strategies can you implement moving forward?
- How will you handle similar situations in the future?
- What skills or behaviors will you focus on developing?
Tip: If your action plan lacks clarity, or you don’t have one, set one or two specific, realistic actions to apply what you learned from the reflection in a tangible way.
Example: “Next time I have a group presentation, I’ll suggest we practice multiple times as a full group, especially transitions. I’ll also recommend we time each person’s part during rehearsal, maybe even using a stopwatch or cue cards. If I notice problems beforehand, I’ll speak up instead of assuming things will just work out.”
Well done! By taking action, you have successfully completed Step 3. Remember, deep reflection is a process and a practice, keep it up!
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