Previous Students' thoughts on Reflection

Here are a series of comments from previous BAPP students. I have not sought to make a selection of these or to order them into categories. You are simply getting all the comments that I have previously noted. I think some are really quite insightful and I hope this helps to build on the work we undertook in the first campus session:

• After our initial discussion on reflection I came to the conclusion that reflection can be used in the past, present and future. The main benefit of reflection came from using our past experiences and reflecting on how we felt and acted at the time to assess how we might have done things differently and how that would affect us now. Also from the same line of thought, using reflection in our day-to-day lives to impact on our decisions for now and for the future.
  
  
• Analyse yourself in a constructive way.
  
  
• AWARENESS of what happened and what could happen based on past experiences and your KNOWLEDGE gained from these experiences.
  
  
• Comparing the past to the present day and linking it to the future.
• Connect with emotions.
  
  
• Constructive criticism
  
  
• Emotional reflection
  
  
• Feel proud or disappointed of things you have done.
  
  
• Found the thoughts on reflection interesting yesterday, just having time to think about what I am doing and why was valuable (without sounding too new age)!! I realised I haven't thought in depth about my motivation for ages; what I want to achieve, where I want to be in the future and why I value the parts of my work which I value?
  
  
• Future, Learning, mirror, Past, Present, Reflecting, thoughts
  
  
• Generate new insights into what you are doing now or what you plan to do.
  
  
• Get some perspective on your life at the moment and what is important to you.
  
  
• Gives me other people's viewpoints, which crates new ideas of how to work and learn.
  
  
• How is it affecting you now?
  
  
• I believe that reflection is a thought process that enables us to self evaluate past and present experiences. To reflection both positive and negative aspects of life gives us further insight in to the future. When we think seriously and carefully, we are able to gain perspective, rectify and justify. Reflection is highly desirable as it aids us in our journey through life.
  
  
• I have considered what reflection could be, I feel that it is consideration of events that have been or are currently affecting me and realising that they ARE affecting me and how it is affecting me. It is a very dynamic process with very definite results ie. My awareness of the events.
  
  
• I really liked the notion of using a mirror image as a figurative example of the practice of reflection. The mirror image is different to the actual reality, so with reflection things may not be, as they first seemed.
  
  
• I think reflection can be categorised into many things... i.e. knowing that you have discovered a problem and having the intensions of rectifying them and learning from the mistakes... you cold also use this to progress in the profession you are undertaking.
  
  
• I think that reflection can be also be a kind of evaluation, we look back at events and wonder what would have happened if we had acted differently or if we made a mistake. With the benefit of hindsight we can also see the good and bad points that came from this and use that to influence further decisions.
  
  
• Identify your own skills and weaknesses.
  
  
• It is looking objectively from a distance at your past experiences and what I could have done differently etc, which all helps with the present and future.
  
  
• It reminds you of why I make sacrifices, reminds me what I want to do and why.
  
  
• Learning from the past: Positive and Negative experiences
  
  
• Learning from what has happened.
  
  
• Looking at the development of you and your experiences. E.g. your confidence from year one to now.
  
  
• Looking at the knock on affect the situation created and the impact it has on today.
  
  
• Looking at the positive and negative of these experiences and what you learnt and what made you grow professionally e.g. working on the cruise gave me a great insight to the professional world and also the American industry for performers.
  
  
• Looking back on experiences, both good and bad to learn for the future or present.
  
  
• Looking back on what has happened and what is happening at present. Reflection is what influences what is to happen in the future. Whether it is how you dress, how you act or what you say. These are all result of personal opinions that derive from reflection. In other words, reflection is an action (whether conscious or unconscious) a person does to create opinions, thought and even further actions.
  
  
• Often, a reason for reflection can be because I need to make a decision so I will evaluate the success of past decisions in order to help me with my current one.
  
  
• Ones thoughts
  
  
• Ongoing reflection of what’s happening in the present or even the future.
  
  
• Picking out the positives and negatives from experiences, and what you personally did wrong or right.
  
  
• Reflecting on past, present, and even future moments or possible experiences, helps you step back from the world and into your inner thoughts, where you can learn from your actions or possible reactions to situations by looking at the experience and questioning how maybe it could be or have been more positive..
  
  
• Reflecting on present experiences also: " What's happening now?", "Why am I doing what I'm currently doing?", "What am I learning from it?" , and "How's this going to help me in the future?"
  
  
• Reflection as a mirror image, what are other peoples PERSPECTIVES? Or your different perspectives.
  
  
• Reflection is a contemplation on one-self....
  
  
• Reflection is a continuous journey of yourself. Your views and ideas carry on evolving from your experiences, positive or negative...we learn.
  
  
• Reflection is a thought process that enables us to self evaluates past and present experiences. To reflect on both positive and negative aspects of life gives us further insight in to the future. When we think seriously and carefully, we are able to gain perspective, rectify and justify. Reflection is highly desirable as it aids us in our journey through life.
  
  
• Reflection is looking back at experiences, seeing both the emotions felt and actions taken. Then being able to use the positive and negative aspects of that situation to develop for the future, for example how you might react to a certain situation in the future. When you reflect you can look back at that situation with a different perspective. To conclude it's a part of the cycle of living and learning.
  
  
• Reflection is looking back at what you have done, what was positive and what was negative, how you dealt with it, how you could have dealt with it, the issues it raised, the effects and where it has brought you to now, how you can use the experience now and what you have learnt for future reference. Reflecting is a chance for you to look at what you have done/are doing from an objective point of view in order to learn from it.
  
  
• Reflection to me is the experiences I went through during my training or professional work and what I learnt and how that I can put that into practice today and in the future.
  
  
• Reflection was also mentioned in our discussion within professionalism, how you as a professional are reflected by your behaviour, presentation, knowledge and activities as a person.
  
  
• Reflection, to me, is looking back on a moment or experience and viewing it objectively. It's taking yourself out of that situation and getting an overall and balanced take on it, not influenced by emotional involvement or social views.
  
  
• Remember the reason for doing what you do, and what you past goals have been and whether you have achieved them yet or they have changed.
  
  
• Someone said in class yesterday that it is like looking in a mirror and seeing things from a different perspective, I think this can often be true, especially with the benefit of hindsight or another person's input.
  
  
• The idea of observing patterns in past behaviour and analysing my feelings about those and the positives and negatives which they reveal in respect of personal practice and career/work development.
  
  
• The journey of yourself: looking at how you were from the beginning to now and how it carries on continuously. How your goals and thoughts changed.
  
  
• The reflection of a mirror: Different view points (standing back & taking a neutral, and non-biased view on your life)
  
  
• Thinking about what you could have done differently.
  
  
• To reflect on something is to look back on a time or experience and think about it in depth, analysis it and learn from it. Thinking about the positive and negative points, how it may have helped you, and what you would change if you were to do it again. I think sometimes we reflect naturally without even consciously thinking about it, in everyday thoughts about situations. What we need to learn to do this consciously and understand why we do it. You could also argue that it is a continuous process, we are constantly reflecting on things in our lives in order for us to grow and gain experience. By being reflective, it also helps us to see different viewpoints and see things from a different perspective.
  
  
• View yourself from a different perspective or viewpoint to learn how you actions might have affected or been viewed by others.
  
  
• Was your past experience good or bad?
  
  
• What physically happened to you in the past.
  
  
• Whilst reflection can be linked with emotion I think that it often comes from a more objective viewpoint. We are removed from the emotional heat of the moment [which is such a large contributing factor] and are able to draw more logical conclusions, which will hugely shape our overall opinion of the event.
  
  
• You can use your reflections to consider your options.