Theoretical perspectives on reflection in professional development

[loulou15]

Hi all,

As a part of my CACHE level 3 diploma for the early years educator I would like to discuss theoretical perspectives on reflection in relation to professional development. Reflection in relation to professional development is so important for a practitioners role, so that we can look at any flaws in our practice, improve ourselves, our environment and the overall way that we work to benefit ourselves, our colleagues and the children that we care for. I have been looking at Kolb’s learning cycle which is a useful tool when understanding the reflective process. Kolb believed in four main processes taking place for effective learning that can help us when reflecting on our practice in the setting:

· Concrete experience – this is actually doing something, such as a planned adult led activity, setting up an environment, snack time, circle time etc

· Reflective observation – this part of the process is when we should review and reflect on what we have done, on how the successful the experience was. For example, what went well, what the children liked, what were the learning outcomes for the child? Or what did not go well, was the activity not challenging enough or perhaps too challenging? Review the role of the adult and the resources as well as the response of the children.

· Abstract conceptualisation – this is what we can learn from the experience to make meaningful and effective conclusions, leading us to adapt our practice and come up with new ideas, to continually develop good practice.

· Active experimentation – This part of the process is testing out what we have learned and our new ideas into practice.

The idea of the cycle is that it keeps on progressing, after the ‘active experimentation’ process, the cycle starts again, so that we can keep on reflecting on our practice in the setting for our professional development and evolving to grow and adapt to the needs of our children and to improve our practice.

Intriguingly, it was later put forward by Kolb himself that people found difficulties in grasping and learning from each step of his cycle and he used this for his work on learning styles. However I feel that this cycle is relatively simple and a valuable perspective to use when reflecting on our roles for professional development purposes.

Another theoretical perspective that can be useful when looking at reflection in relation to professional development is Gibbs reflective cycle. Gibb’s cycle is a revision of Kolb’s using a more planned approach. This can help us as practitioners reflect on our practice after situations have arisen and facilitate what we do differently in the future. Gibb’s cycle is structured as follows:

· Description – resulting from a situation, we have to explain what happened in the setting, for example a practitioner losing patience with a child.

· Feelings – we have to the analyse what we were thinking and feeling at the time of the situation, sometimes working with children can be difficult and we all have lives outside of the setting that may unfortunately affect us.

· Evaluation – this is when we have to look at what was good or bad and assess the given situation.

· Analysis – now we have to decide why the situation occurred and see if we can make sense of what happened, for example the practitioner did not understand a child’s stage of development.

· Conclusion – by reasoning about what happened, what decisions can be reached about our practice? Could it be that a practitioner needs more training in a certain area?

· Action plan – this is when we put into practice what we are going to do to change the way that we work so that the situation does not occur again. This is therefore linked to professional development, reflecting on our practice and keeping up with our skills and knowledge for the best possible outcomes for the children that we work with, our personal development and careers.

[Jinnykaur.x]

Hi everyone reading,

@loulou15 I’m also completing the same course as you, mine is online and I’m required to summarise theoretical perspective on reflection in relation to professional development. Your summary of theoretical perspectives looks really good and contains so much detail that’s also set out in a really clear way so it’s easy to read and learn from. Thanks for sharing this as it’s helped me a lot by giving me ideas of research points l could use to inform my own answer.

I have only just joined this forum yesterday and I’m really glad I found it because I have found a place where other practitioners/ early years workers and those who are completing courses can chat and help each other out. This is really useful because as I mentioned earlier, my course is completely online so it can feel isolating as there’s no one to discuss the work with as there would be if I were completing the course at a college.

I would like to share my take on the importance of reflection in relation to professional development. I have done some research upon this and I would like to share some theoretical perspectives surrounding the topic of reflection. Some of the theorists that I’ll be discussing are David Kolb and Graham Gibbs.

I believe that reflective practice is of upmost importance because it is the foundation of a good practitioner and learner. It displays the character of a person as those who engage in reflective practice are people who who seek to grow and can accept their areas of improvement. These are traits that are attractive to any employer as it represents a good worker. Reflective practice helps practitioners; monitor and evaluate their practice, implement new ideas within their practice, learn from the children they care for, improve their setting’s provision, benefit children further and learn from their colleagues.

I came across a theorist called David Kolb who I researched upon and found he had some interesting insights. David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) theory is based on a cyclic model. There are 4 stages within the cycle that he devised and David believes that effective learning is achieved once somebody has gone through all the 4 stages within the cycle. The 4 stages within David’s cycle are; concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation. Through this theory, David defined his theory in his book as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and informing experience”. First comes the ‘Concrete experience’ stage whereby an experience is had or you tried something out for the first time. Next comes the ‘Reflective observation’ stage whereby the person reviews the experience and reflects upon it. Next is the ‘Abstract conceptualisation’ stage which is where the learner creates conclusions on the experience and reflection then learns from it. The final fourth stage, ‘Active experimentation’, is where the learner plans and tries out the experience again but using and implementing the knowledge they gathered from their reflection/ conclusions.

Another theorist that I came across and researched after seeing his name mentioned in this forum is Graham Gibbs. Gibb’s created the Gibbs Cycle of Reflection (1988), which was his own model that was developed from Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. Gibb’s cyclic model is called an iterative model which refers to the ides of learning through repetition as opposed to Kolb’s model which represents learning through experience. Gibb’s model is presented in a way that each step informs the next. He devised 6 stages within his cycle as opposed to Kolb’s theory which possesses 4 stages. Graham Gibb’s cycle hopes to; challenge your existing assumptions, explore different ways of doing things/ thinking, promote self-improvement and to link theory and practice through combining thinking and doing. The first stage is ‘description’ where you describe exactly what happened. The next stage is called ‘feelings’ and it consists of acknowledging which feelings you felt during this and what thoughts you had. The third stage is ‘evaluating’, you must evaluate how things went, noticing the good or bad within the experience. The fourth stage is analysis where you make sense of the situation. You should realise which things may have helped within the experience and which things might’ve hindered the experience. The fifth stage is ‘conclusion’ where you conclude your reflection so far, acknowledging what else you could do next time, what you learnt and what you’ll change when you repeat the experience in the future. The final stage is ‘action plan’ where you decide exactly what you will do in the situation next time and find out anything you need to know to improve.

This summarises my research. Thanks for reading.

[Kitkat09]

Theorists that focus on reflection are:
Dewey:
John Dewey's theory comprises a set of instructional concepts and principles that highlight a learner's active role in their own reflective learning. The baseline of his work is grounded in pragmatism, the tangible consequences of the inner workings of a concept or a practice. Hence, Dewey's theory encompasses the following principles:
*Experiential learning
Learning is an active process that requires hands-on experience, rather than rote memorisation of facts.
*Social learning and social interaction
People learn when they interact and engage with each other because learning is a social process.
*Collaborative learning
An individual's learning outcomes are optimised when they choose to collaborate on a peer-to-peer level and generate shared understandings of shared experiences.
*Critical reflection
Education should be grounded on individuals critically processing all receiving information, instead of settling for third-party explanations or speculations.
*Curriculum integration
While traditional subjects should be part of the teaching syllabus, educators should also focus on integrating subject matters that reflect their learners' interests.
*World experience
Dewey believed that all aspects of real life can provide educational experiences; students should constantly interact with the world to develop new ideas, new understandings, and new habits.
*Questioning
Learners should question the information and stimuli they receive from their surrounding environment to better understand the issue at hand.
*Emotional responses
The learning process relies heavily on emotional responses; educators should strive to integrate topics that stimulate their students' emotions.

As we learn through our actions and experiences, John Dewey's theory has had an impact on education because it was founded on that approach. His theory shows the importance of actively engaging students, providing them with opportunities to gather hands-on experience while encouraging them to ask questions and think intelligently and critically. Through this framework, learners should attempt to intellectualise their understanding of the world and process it within an environment conducive to critical reflection. This way, educators are able to educate efficiently, and learners are able to learn effectively.

Schon:
The first stage of the reflection are:
*What do you already know about the situation?
*How is that information helpful?

The second stage includes reflection in action
*What is happening?
*What are you feeling?
*What other factors are involved?

The last stage of Schon's reflective model is ‘reflection on action’ .
*What happened?
*Why did it happen?
*How can we deal with this situation in the future?

Kolb:
David Kolb suggests that learning is an integrated process where each stage becomes mutually supportive and feeds into the next stage. Kolb believes it is possible to enter the cycle at any stage and follow it through its logical sequence. Kolb's model of learning consists of 4 stages :
Stage 1 : Concrete experience : the first stage of learning is to have a learning experience.
Stage 2 : Observing and reflection : here learners are encouraged to reflect on what they have learnt , how and why they learnt it and whether the experience could have been improved on .
Stage 3 : Forming Abstract concepts : using other experiences as a form of reference, and using other modes and modes of thinking to inform your ideas.
Stage 4 : Testing and learning in new situations : this is the final stage and involves the placement of the learnt material into context within one's life. If this doesn't happen it is likely that the new knowledge will be forgotten quickly.
The learner should also think about implementing the knowledge and how they can make the next learning experience more beneficial.

Gibb:
Graham Gibb's reflective cycle is a process which involves six steps:
1 description - what happens?
2 feelings - what did you think and feel about it ?
3 Evaluation - what were the positives and negatives?
4 Analysis- what sense can you make of it?
5 Conclusion - what else could you have done?
6 Action plans - what will you do next time ?

The last stage will give you feedback into the first stages, making the process a 'cycle' , the reflective learning cycle is a never-ending process. The learner does not stop learning and continues to reflect on their practice.

[brefil30]

Kolb’s theory benefits student’s, educators and employers to help them be effective learners and be proactive with their day to day tasks. Kolb’s theory is split into 4 stages. Concrete experience is an experience that you have experiences and are able to remember and think back to what happened. In early years you see this when you learn things on the job and have new experience which you can learn from. The next step would have been a reflective observation this is where you reflect on the experience you have just encountered. This in early years will been seen when you think about the experience you have just had and reflect on what you can do differently what you did well in the situation and how you can mov forward and learn from it. This then leads on to the next stage which is abstract conceptualisation which is how you would change it and make these new ideas happen. Active experimentation is doing which you have reflected on and making the changes putting these into place.
I have found by doing these steps that I have reflected on a lot of my practice and I have therefore been able to identify where I need to work on and what I need to do regularly to feel I am performing my best in the setting.
Donald Schon came up with two types of reflection: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Reflection in action allows you to look at how tings are going whilst they are still happening and then change and adapt things accordingly. Reflection on action is when after the experience has finished, we the look back on it and see what we could change for next time. In early years the reflection in action is used a lot and we can benefit from as we can look at the activity how the children are responding and then change it accordingly. However, reflection on action can be used when looking at your own development as you can look at things in the wider picture and see things from a different perspective which will help identify you areas of improvement.
I have used this theoretical perspective both in my course work duration and will continue using them as I found that they are helpful and enable me to identify and change things quickly and appropriately.
Therefore I feel as though this reflection is important in my practice and my professional development as new experience happen weekly in the setting and it is good to reflect on these so I can then identify If I need further training or support in this area to give the children staff and families the best support and care possible.

[Lee-Anne80]

Hi everyone,

I'm also studying for my Cache Level 3 Early Years Workforce (Early Years Educator), and as part of my last unit I need to research theoretical perspectives on reflection. I'd like to share what I have found.

From my research I have found that two theories have been particularly significant in understanding the reflective process. These are Kolb’s Learning Cycle and Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.

Kolb’s Learning Cycle:
David Kolb, an American educational theorist, developed the experiential learning cycle, which is widely used today for reflection. His theory suggests that in order to learn effectively, four processes must happen. These are:
1. Concrete experience – This is doing or having an experience that creates a learning experience. In an Early Years setting, this could be carrying out an activity with the children for the first time.
2. Reflective observation – This is where the practitioner would review and reflect on the experience. This could be that the practitioner thinks about the aspects of the task that worked well and the those that were not as successful.
3. Abstract conceptualisation – This is where conclusions are made and the individual learns from the experience. This could be where the practitioner decides on what changes need to be made to the activity for it to work better next time.
4. Active experimentation – This is the stage where the practitioner would apply what they have learned from the experience and put it into practice. This would be trying the task again, but with the changes that had been thought about in the previous stage.

The Kolb’s process is a cycle, because once we have tried out new ideas, we may need to reflect on them again. Many models of reflective practice have been based on Kolb’s Learning Cycle. By practitioners using this process, we are can think about our practice and the elements that need more developing, by reflecting on what we do and then implementing the changes we make to improve, before beginning the cycle again.

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle:
Graham Gibbs developed his ‘Reflective Cycle’ in 1988, which was adapted from Kolb’s work. Gibbs’ approach gave more structure to the process of learning from experiences. His cycle has six stages. These are:
1. Description – The practitioner first describes the experience to identify what happened. This could be describing a task that was carried out with the children in the setting.
2. Feelings – At this stage, the practitioner identifies and assess how they feel about the experience. This is important, to understand how the emotions that were felt about the experience influenced them.
3. Evaluation – After looking at and assessing their feelings, the practitioner evaluates the experience, considering what the positive and the negatives were and what could have been done differently.
4. Analysis – So that the practitioner understands what happened during the experience and why, they analyse it, trying to make sense of what happened by looking at the reasons why.
5. Conclusion – At this stage, conclusions are made about the experience and through their learning, the practitioner then decides what they will do with that learning in the future.
6. Action plan – This is the stage where the individual would put into practice the points of action decided at the previous stage.

The conclusion stage of Gibbs’ cycle could identify that further training is needed and this would be put into the action plan stage, which links to professional development.

From looking at both of these cycles, it seems the reflection sheets I would fill in after each task I carried out in my settings throughout my studies, is based more so on Kolb's learning cycle. This cycle, I feel is the most straightforward to use and lends itself well to an Early Years Practitioner's reflection cycle.

Sources:
Tassoni, P. (2021) Cache Level 3 Early Years Educator for the Work-based Learner. Didcot: Hachette
Simply Psychology (2 February 2024) Kolb’s Learning Styles And Experiential Learning Cycle by Saul Mcleod, PhD. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
The University of Edinburgh. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle. Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/refl...flective-cycle

[LHuddleston]

Hi everyone,

As part of my Level 3 Early Years Educator diploma I would like to discuss theoretical perspectives diploma for the early years educator I would like to discuss theoretical perspectives in relation to professional development.

Professional development is really important especially in the early years as they give practitioners the chance to reflect on their practice, what has gone well in their practice or not. They can also think about how they could have made this better and what they could do in order to improve this. Professional development helps practitioners become the best they can at their job and develop their knowledge and skills further in their career. It not only develops these but it is a way to go further in your career and progress. Professional development benefits not only the practitioners but the children in their care and their carers/parents.

I have been looking at David Kolb's theory of professional development, his theory is a model of reflection which practitioners can easily follow in order to reflect on their professional development. David Kolb made the experimental learning cycle which is used widely by practitioners for reflecting on their own practice. It involves a four-stage learning cycle in which the learner should hit all four bases.
These include;
Concrete experience where you immerse yourself in the experience and what you are doing, immersing yourself in the work
Reflective practice which is where you think about what you noticed about the experience, what happened and what did you do?
Abstract conceptualization where you think about what you could change or would change about the experience, how would you improve this?
Active experimentation where you try out the new ideas to develop your practice and further develop

The idea of his cycle is that you keep going around, constantly reflecting on your work and improving your professional development from immersing yourself in your work, reflecting on this yourself and thinking about how it went overall, thinking about how you could improve this and how you could make your practice better and then finally carrying this out in your practice. This way you are constantly improving your practice and work skills/knowledge to be the best you can and provide the best care to the children.