Presentations delivered by Barbara Whetnall, Academic Librarian at Loughborough University Email: B.Whetnall@lboro.ac.uk

1. Reflective
Report
Writing
Barbara Whetnall
B.Whetnall@lboro.ac.uk

2. Introduction
• What is reflective practice
• Things to consider….
• Possible problems and solutions
• Benefits
• Reflective notebook or journal
• Language
• Report structure / referencing
• Apps and guides

3. Poem by Rudyard Kipling
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
http://bit.ly/1OYo1Nw

4. What is reflective practice?
• examine and observe the progress of your
experiences
• share your insights with others
• discuss the strengths you have developed
• learning effectively from one’s experience is critical in
developing and maintaining competence across
a practice lifetime

5. What is reflective practice?
• explore areas of uncertainty
• plan and opportunities to improve or change
• establish your goals
• use descriptive language
• similar format as a normal report, but often
using the 1st person ‘I’.

6. Gibbs Reflective cycle
Description
– what
happened
What are
your
feeling?
Evaluation
Was it good
or bad?
Analysis –
what sense
can you
make of
situations?
Analysis –
what else
could you
have done?
Action plan-
if it arose
again, what
would you
do?

7. Things to consider…
Insight and analysis
- critical awareness and insightful understanding of the
issues to be addressed
- aware of the problems to be analysed or task to be
executed
- demonstrates informed reflection integrated into
practice

8. Things to consider…
Originality
– evidence of independence of mind
– originality in the application of knowledge
– imaginative use of evidence and concepts
– examples of challenging and changing practice

9. Things to consider…
Evidence
• appropriate wide-ranging evidence is discussed
• used accurately, critically and effectively

10. Possible problems
• lack of confidence in your own
observations, approaches and values
• feel uncomfortable challenging and
evaluating your own practice
• difficulties with self-directed learning
• keeping records can be intrusive and time
consuming

11. Possible problems
• lack of depth – only seeing the surface
• weaving in other evidence
• unsure as to which situations/experiences to
reflect upon
• offer descriptions with little critical reasoning
• use only one point of view

12. Possible problems
• privacy and confidentiality issues
• in observations – you need an
atmosphere of trust
• not sure if you are writing what you
think the assessor wants

13. Possible solutions
• blend reflective writing with conventional
report writing
• remove confidential or sensitive information before
submitting the report
• research other supporting ideas, approaches and
sources – databases/ journal articles / reports

14. Possible solutions
• write up as soon as you can – so as not to
forget
• only select the experiences you thinks are
significant
• have confidence in your personal
interpretations

15. What do we bring to reflection?
• ourselves / your own experiences
• gender / age perspective
• previous experience
• cultural factors
• instincts and emotions and expectations
• how connected are we to the task?
• both personal - as objective
• an enquiring mind / observational skills

16. Possible benefits
• problem solving
• inform case studies
• fixing it in long term memory
• improving organisational skills
• improving management skills
• turn experiences into learning
opportunities

17. Problem solving
• have you come across situations before?
– draw on your experiences, or examples
you have read about
– is the situation or tasks the same or
different?
– it may require a different approach?

18. Reflective journal or notebook
Memories of experiences can become imprecise over time
Document your tasks / observations /
environment / colleagues / working
practices
share with your
tutor through the
report
can you accept
new ideas?
personal goals
Opportunities for
change and
improvement ?

19. Notebooks
Example of student field notes –
Design School DSB010

20. Notebook …things to consider
• not just random thoughts
• write down the most significant or influential points
• your experiences – what are the underlying
components of a situation or process?
• anchored to what you wish to understand better
• how subjective are your thoughts?
• could things be done in a different way?

21. Example: universal design
collaboration in a school
• School – physical environment
– wide corridors
– natural lighting
– specialised learning spaces
– open doors – green feeling
– music everywhere
– black desks [reflective index]
– table top sports
Example of student field notes –
Design School DSB010

22. Example: universal design
collaboration in a school
• Teaching – staff and students
– student / staff ratio 126 / 142
– high tech – keyboards, voice
communicators, touch screens /
hoists / control chairs
– community feeling / safe feeling
– computer games / cooking / sport
– children's aspirations / mixed
abilities / independence /
participation / confidence
Example of student field notes –
Design School DSB010

23. Example: universal design
collaboration in a school
• Drawings / sketches
– confidentiality / privacy issues
with photographs / recording
• Interviews / conversations
– preserve anonymity in your
reports
– valuable insight - mobility
issues / medical issues
& physiological issues
Example of student field notes –
Design School DSB010

24. Another simple example: taking
lecture notes
– was the language and vocabulary easy?
– was the main themes clearly introduced?
– were the ideas presented logically?
– were the visual aids useful?
– in a workshop, was there much interaction?

25. more…..taking lecture notes
– was there a bias?
– were there ideas you did not agree with?
– did you enjoy the lectures?
– what do you think you have learned?
– did you manage to take good notes?
– is there support material available on Learn?

26. Write up
• when it is still ‘fresh’
• in report form rather
than an essay [more
detail rather than
development of an
argument]
• extensive use of
subheadings – obvious
and manageable
sections

27. Language
• 1st person = ‘I found this significant because….’
• 3rd person = ‘This approach can be important because…’
• mixture = ‘We often see this approach in real situations…’
• hint: avoid a real mix - If you start with 3rd person
continue to the end of the paragraph in the 3rd person.
Then you can change to 1st person in the next paragraph,
adding your real examples.

28. Language
• try not to overly repeat words and phrases
• don’t start too many sentences with
phrases such as ‘I think that…’
• use written language – not spoken
language

29. Language
• try not to be vague - clarity is crucial in reports
– try not to be overly elaborate or complicated
• use technical terms - but not jargon
- e.g. blue-sky thinking
• also, don’t use dialect or shorten words – ‘I reckon’
or ‘isn't’

30. You may wish to include….
Introduction/ Description
– what are you going to reflect on?
incidents, events, theoretical ideas
Feelings
– confusion, surprise, uncertainty, confidence, enjoyment,
pleasure, motivation….
Analysis
– what can you make of the situation?
add your own experiences and observations

31. You may wish to include….
Conclusions
– general or theoretical / and specific using your own
unique, personal situation and experiences
Personal Action Plan
– what steps / changes can you take on the basis
of what you have learnt?
- make value judgements of what gets priority and why

32. Structure of a reflective report
Description
– what are you going to reflect on? Incidents, events,
theoretical ideas
Feelings
– confusion, surprise, anger, unsure, confident,
enjoyment, pleasure, motivated
Analysis
– what can you make of the situation? Add your
experiences and observations

33. Structure of a reflective report
Conclusions
– general or theoretical / and specific using your own
unique, personal situation and experiences
Personal Action Plan
– what steps / changes can you take on the basis of
what you have learnt?

34. Report structure
Introduction / executive summary
– very short – 1 or 2 paragraphs
– identify your topic or focus
– why your feel it is important
– state the key areas or themes you will cover
– it is reflective / subjective - but also formal

35. Report structure
Main part
– theme or topic 1
• describe to topic and place in a context
• introduce real examples of situations and
experiences - describe your experiences and
interpret / evaluate your goals
 provide different perspectives / evidence
from other people’s studies
- theme or topic 2
repeat

36. Referencing
 provide different perspectives / evidence from other
people’s studies
- Harvard citing and referencing
- Cite Them Right http://bit.ly/1KoD9BQ [Athens]
- APA citing and referencing
- APA generator http://bit.ly/1QEks4Q
- RefMe - citing and referencing tool
- Harvard and APA generator http://bit.ly/1R3BCo8

37. Conclusion
• remind the reader of the topic and the context
• were there any difficulties or any primary concerns?
• what works well?
• how did you overcome / could they be overcome?
• are there other methods which you might try next time?

38. Action plan – part of self
assessment
• what were you confident in?
• what do you feel you may need more
practice in, or experience of?
• was all the information or experiences you
collected useful?
• did it contribute to you understanding?
• are complex ideas becoming more
understandable?

39. Online Resources & apps
• EAP Tool Kit Learning logs and reflective journals
http://bit.ly/1VSYgUx [You may need to login]
• Google Docs
• Google Keep https://www.google.com/keep/
• Evernote - phone, tablet, and computer
• QSR NVivo 10 - qualitative data analysis

40. Books on reflective writing
• Moon, J.A. (2004) Reflection in learning and professional
development theory and practice.
London: RoutledgeFalmer. http://bit.ly/1ThSheq
• Dewey, J. (1997) How we think. New York: Dover
Publications. http://bit.ly/21GSDzM
• Schön, D.A. (1983) The reflective practitioner: how
professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books
http://bit.ly/1RwJE9R