What do we mean by reflection?

The concept of reflective learning plays a key role in the implementation of e-portfolios at Oxford Institute of Legal Practice. In this document, available to students on OXILP’s VLE, Liz Polding explains the concept – see the OXILP e-portfolio case study for more.

Note: law teachers are welcome, and indeed encouraged, to re-use this resource, however we would ask you to acknowledge the source.

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Learning is a very individual process. Different people learn in different ways, but there are a number of factors which are common to all styles of learning:

• active learning will always be more effective than passive (ie you learn much more effectively if you are actually doing something)
• deep learning is more effective than shallow learning (think of the difference between learning something by rote and learning it in a way which constantly checks your understanding and applies theoretical concepts)
• everything you learn should go through a complete learning cycle in order to maximise understanding and retention

Active learning

If you are learning how to use a software program, instructions which just set out the theory with no examples or screenshots are conceptually difficult to follow and almost impossible to retain. The same instructions with examples, screenshots and the opportunity to practice and try out the instructions on a computer would improve your understanding and retention of the material immeasurably.

Deep learning

Deep learning happens when you make use of your new knowledge in a way which requires you to apply it, rather than simply repeat it, parrot fashion. For example, you may have learnt a principle such as how to work out damages in a personal injury case, but you will only fully understand it and retain it for future use if you actually apply this knowledge to a case. When you learn by applying, analysing and presenting your knowledge to others, your learning is deeper and more effective.

The learning cycle

The learning cycle is effectively the process you need to go through, consciously or unconsciously, with everything that you learn if you are to genuinely master that new information or skill.

Kolb’s learning cycle illustrates the theory of the process of learning:

(Click the image to see it full size.)

The learning cycle clearly shows that reflection is important to the learning process – you cannot really move beyond the first stage of the cycle without it. Reflection involves really considering something in detail, constructively criticising your new knowledge and thinking about how you will use it in the future. You might also think about how you would use it in different situations and test its limits in that way.

If you have well developed study habits, you almost certainly do this anyway. However, it is generally beneficial to reflect in a more formal way, particularly when reviewing any feedback that you have received.

Feedback

Feedback is critical to the development of your knowledge. Positive and critical feedback can both help you to evaluate your understanding and to progress through the learning cycle. There are many different types of feedback, all of which have some value in helping you to move forward. Tutor feedback is perhaps the most obvious, but peer and self assessment are also useful in evaluating your understanding. Where feedback is available, incorporating this into your reflection is very useful and adds an extra dimension to the reflective process.

Tutor feedback

Will often consist of more than just a grade! If it does, resist the temptation to look only at the grade. The feedback is intended to show you what you are doing well and to point out any areas in which you need to improve. If you do not understand any aspect of your feedback, ask for clarification. You should also reflect on whether you think the feedback is accurate and how it has helped you.

Self assessment

Self assessment may sound like an odd concept, but consider how many times you have, for example, reviewed a piece of work before submitting it and made revisions. This process is self assessment, as is marking your own work using an answer scheme. If you do this attentively, you can learn from it – even more so if you reflect on the changes you made.

Peer assessment

Peer assessment can not only help you to refine your work, it can also give you new information. For example, you exchange papers with a colleague and each marks the other’s work. You can learn from this in the following ways:

• you may each have approached a point from a different angle, raising new issues
• you may both have made different points – perhaps new points that had not previously been considered
• you may have made different errors – traps to avoid in the future
  This can be even more helpful if you discuss the work afterwards – discussion reinforces learning.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010