For this module, you are asked to create a 1,500-word reflective diary. You are invited to reflect on the ‘turning points’ in your ‘learning journey’ through the arguments, issues and theories discussed in workshops and explored in your own reading and study. Donald Schön argues that moments when our taken for granted approaches to theory and practice are challenged give us the opportunity to reassess routine ways of doing things and enhance our practice. Do bear in mind the following;
· Take opportunities for critical reflection as often as possible – many people find that carrying a notebook specifically for reflections (or nowadays a laptop) means that you can jot something down as soon as you have a significant experience.
· Reflecting regularly is also useful in training yourself to recognise key ‘turning points’ for what they are – the extensive literature on the subject will help by providing examples. Moments of ‘challenge’, ‘breakthrough’ or ‘reappraisal’, or when you are confronted with unexpected points of view, would all qualify for inclusion.
· You should also make time regularly (maybe once a week) to review your ‘spur of the moment’ notes and reflections, and organise them into a more coherent diary, or journal format. This journal may include images, diagrams, even video clips or music, as ways of exploring these significant moments and reflecting on them.
· Reflection is social as well as individual – take advantage of every opportunity to discuss ‘turning points’ and reflections on them with other students, and tutors.
Topics Covered during learning
Popper and falsification
Kuhn, Lakatos and Feyerabend
Bachelard and constructionism
Science and religion
Scientific status of psychology
Decolonial thought and research
Subjectivity, reflexivity and research
Discursive and psychosocial approaches
Feminism research
What should my assessed reflections consist of?
Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of the forms which reflections may take – you may use just one approach, or a mixture of methods;
· A diary format – consisting of chronologically-ordered entries, documenting your study on the module. The entries do not have to be precisely dated, and you may ‘conflate’ several events into one, if it makes the narrative clearer.
· A concept format – where you reflect on ideas by a process of association, linking them to related concepts, and exploring how your understanding of these ideas is deepening and broadening over time.
· A visual approach, where you use images (found images or ones created yourself) to express ideas or situations which have sparked reflection. You will need a written commentary on how these images illustrate the reflection process.
• A ‘scrapbook’ approach – combining diary entries, text(s) images and other media.
If you are unsure how to write your reflections for the module: Do ask for advice from the module tutors – who will be happy to provide guidance.
Resources for Critical Reflection
Bassot, Barbara (2016) The Reflective Practice Guide: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Critical Reflection Routledge E-Book
Fook, Jan; Gardner, Fiona (2007) Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook Open University Press E-Book
Johns, Christopher (2017) Becoming a Reflective Practitioner (5th edition) Wiley-Blackwell E-Book
Johns, Christopher (2010) Guided Reflection: A narrative approach to advancing professional practice Wiley-Blackwell E-Book
McIntosh, Paul (2010) Action Research and Reflective Practice: creative and visual methods to facilitate reflection and learning Routledge E-Book
Moon, Jennifer (2006) Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Professional Development London/New York: Routledge E-Book
Schön, Donald A (2017) The Reflective Practitioner – how professionals think in action Routledge E-Book
Thompson Sue; Thompson, Neil (2008) The Critically Reflective Practitioner Palgrave Macmillan E-Book
Williams, Kate (2020) Reflective Writing Red Globe Press E-Book
Winter, Richard (1999) Professional Experience and the Investigative Imagination: The Art of Reflective Writing Routledge E-Book
Wood, Jane (2013) Transformation Through Journal Writing: the art of self-reflection for the helping professions Jessica Kingsley E-Book
A Short Guide to Reflective Writing
Center for Journal Therapy
Intensive Journal Process
Journaled Life
Journal Writing as a Qualitative Research Technique (*)
Reflective Journals as a Research Tool
Reflective Learning and Journal Writing Course
Reflective Practice Toolkit
Reflective Writing Skills Kit
Tristine Rainer (1978) The New Diary (Open Library)