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.

1 : an instance of reflecting especially : the return of light or sound waves from a surface. 2 : the production of an image by or as if by a mirror. 3a : the action of bending or folding back. b : a reflected part : fold.

Reflection is the change in direction of a wave at a boundary between two different media, so that the wave moves back into the medium it came from. The most common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves.

Reflection can bring greater clarity, like seeing events reflected in a mirror. This can help at any stage of planning, carrying out and reviewing activities. Reflection is about learning and understanding on a deeper level. This includes gaining valuable insights that cannot be just ‘taught’.

The literature commonly refers to the following as being the skills required of reflective practice: self awareness, description, critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation (Atkins & Murphy, 1994).

Critical reflection paper

1. Describe an experience – provide some details on an object or an event.
2. Examine the experience – integrate personal and academic contexts.
3. Provide in-depth analysis of those experiences.
4. Tell readers what you learned after analysis.
5. Clarify how analyzed subject will be useful in your future.

Two main types of reflection are often referred to – reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. The most obvious difference is in terms of when they happen.

The 5Rs of the reflection (Bain et al 2002) is one such framework. The five elements of this framework are Reporting, Responding, Reasoning, Relating and Reconstructing. View examples of questions to ask yourself based on the 5Rs.

Guidelines for keeping a reflective diary/journal & writing up critical reflective incidents

1. Keep a journal of experiences over the year.
2. Write up the journal entry/incident.
3. Below the entry write up your reflections / analysis notes of the situation.
4. Write up experiences the same day if possible.

For example, they might have hunched their shoulders as they said, ‘I was so scared; I didn’t know what to do. ‘ We might reflect that back by hunching our own shoulders, mirroring their body language while also saying ‘I felt so scared; I didn’t know what to do.

Writing a critical reflection happens in two phases.

1. Analyze: In the first phase, analyze the issue and your role by asking critical questions. Use free writing as a way to develop good ideas.
2. Articulate: In the second phase, use your analysis to develop a clear argument about what you learned.

Reflective is an adjective that can describe a person who thinks things through, or a surface that reflects light or sound, like the reflective lettering on a stop sign. A reflective person is a little different — he or she might have great insight due to taking the time to time carefully about things.