Moore1

I am currently studying my CACHE level 3 diploma for the early years workforce and as part of my final unit, I must join in on an online forum to discuss the importance of reflection in relation to professional development. I am also required to undertake my own research and use the forum to share theoretical perpectives on reflection. Reflective practice is where an individual is always re-thinking and going over their actions in order to improve practice. It is a vital part of one's professional development in any field. There are several theorist's each with their own thoughts on reflective practice. Kolb's Learning Cycle consists of four stages: Concrete experience - The indivdual has a primary experience that allows for observation. They will then have a new experience that will create an opportunity to learn. Reflective Observation - The individual is able to reflect on the experience, the idea is that the individual is able to find the meaning behind the experience. Abstract Conceptualisation - The individual can now create their own theories that are able to explain the experience and create concepts that they can follow in the future. Active Experimentation - The individual is able to apply what they learned the in the experience to a new situation and test concepts to improve understanding and competence. Gibbs' Learning Cycle consists of six stages and is similar to Kolb's: Description - In order to identify what happened, the individual will describe the experience. Feelings - The individual will then evaluate how they felt during the experience in order to understand what emotions they experienced and how they impacted the individual. Evaluation - The individual will then assess what was good or bad about the experience and if anything could have been done differently. Analysis - The experience is analysed for any patterns and underlying causes. Conclusion - A conclusion is reached about the experience. The individual will decide what to do with the learning in the future. Action Plan - The final stage is where the individual will decide what actions to take in the future, based on what they have learned. I personally feel that being able to reflect on one's experiences is a key part of being an early years educator. Without the ability to reflect, we would not be able to draw positives and negatives from the experience, what worked and what didn't work, and most importantly we would not be able to make adjustments and improvements. Not every child learns in the same way, what works for one, may not work for the other. Without reflection it would be impossible to adjust an activity for a group of children who have different learning styles so that they can all reach the same learning outcome. If anyone has any other thoughts or good theories on reflection, please post them here, it would really assist me in my learning.