Reflection in and on Action 

Reflection  Reflection is something a person can do every day.  It involves thinking about your experiences, considering them and evaluating them to learn and make better decisions.  Reflective Practice means deliberately using reflection to learn and improve. 

John Dewey  John Dewey was one of the great psychologists of the 20th Century.  He first explored how experiences, interactions, and reflection helped learning. 

Experiential Learning  David A. Kolb and Ronald E. Fry developed a reflective model influenced by John Dewey and another psychologist, Jean Piaget.  Their work focused on experiential learning, or transforming information from experiences into new knowledge.  Reflective learning happens when a practitioner reflects on a new experience and gains a general understanding, then tests that general understanding in a new situation. 

Donald Schön  Donald Schön wrote The Reflective Practitioner.  This book was very influential, asking:  How do people handle work issues, decisions, and improve with practice? 

Becoming a Professional  Schön argued that a person grows as a professional when he or she starts to observe their actions in retrospect, or in the moment, through a critical ‘lens’.  Using a professional lens means deliberately considering actions, knowledge, and possible solutions or outcomes to different professional situations.  In this way a new professional becomes more deliberate in decisions and actions. 

Kinds of reflective practice Schön defined two kinds of reflection: Reflection in Action Reflection on Action 

Reflection in Action Involves thinking and acting in the moment:  What existing knowledge or experience will help me right now? 

Reflection on Action Involves thinking back about our past actions:  How can I change what I do, professionally, considering what I did before?  Can be written or simply thought about, hours, days or even years after the actions being considered 

Reflection in Action - Examples  Here are some examples of Reflecting in Action from popular culture:  In Apollo 13, when the oxygen tanks are damaged, the astronauts have only minutes to set up their lunar module, Aquarius, as a lifeboat.  Meanwhile, engineers in Houston also have hours or even minutes to decide quickly the choices that will help the crew come home. 

Reflection in Action - Examples  In Legally Blonde, Elle Woods is asked at the last minute to represent a criminal defendant.  She uses her new legal skills, and her existing knowledge of hair care, to win a court case. 

Reflection in Action - Examples  Harry Potter went into the ‘Tri-Wizard Tournament’ in The Goblet of Fire with only a little knowledge about dragons, and had to ‘think on his feet’.  Harry is not the most skilled person in the competition. He survives through his wits – his ability to use new knowledge rapidly. 

Most popular heroes reflect in action: 

Reflection on Action Reflection on action, by contrast, is something we are more likely to read in a novel. Reflecting on action means deeply considering past decisions and what could have been done differently. In short, reflecting in action involves decision making in the present. Reflecting on action involves considering the past for future use. 

Reflection on Action - Examples  At the end of the Hunger Games and Harry Potter series, characters consider their past actions and what might have been done differently – rather than what to do immediately. 

How can reflecting make a difference in real life?  In the “Miracle on the Hudson”, pilot “Sully” Sullenberger had just 208 seconds to land his plane safely in the Hudson River.  Sully decided in seconds which tasks he should take, and which his copilot should take.  Every passenger survived the emergency landing because of their quick thinking. 

Reflection in the Health Professions  Reflection is also very important to health professionals. On TV shows from M.A.S.H. to ER, to Grey’s Anatomy, health professionals – especially doctors, nurses, paramedics – can be shown reflecting on action, about their careers and lives – but especially reflecting in action, when minutes or seconds count to save a life, resolve an injury, or provide critical care. 

Summary  Reflection is a learned skill anyone can practice to help learn better at school, work and even favorite pastimes.  Reflecting in action involves decision making in the present. Reflecting on action involves considering the past.  To reflect in action, you can ask – “What existing knowledge or experience will help me right now, to make the best decision?”  To reflect on action, you can ask – “How can I change the way I do things, and make better decisions, considering what I did before?”