
Helpful Tools for Reflection
During the reflective journal process, you may wish to use these helpful templates and decision wheel tools to consolidate thoughts and ideas.
Regardless of which framework is chosen, all areas of reflection are to be attempted to complete the full reflective cycle. It is important that any template, framework or ‘cycle’ of reflection exhibits the basic form of reflection. This is understood to contain no less than four phases of the reflective process, illustrated in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1. The four connected phases of reflexivity (Benjamin, 2020)
Gibb’s Reflection Template.
Step 1: Describe what happened. Focus on a trigger or event that was significant. This could be something that went wrong or right, or something that challenged you. Explain briefly what happened (your experience of the event).
Step 2: Feelings What were you thinking or feeling, or how did it make you feel?
- Describe a significant trigger and how it made you feel
- Evaluate and interpret your thoughts, feelings or behaviour
- Plan for the future
- Analyse and make your conclusions. Reflective Cycle: Helpful Tools for Reflection
Step 3: Evaluation
What was positive or negative about the experience? Evaluate your initial feelings. Why did you act or respond the way that you did? How does it relate to previous experiences, knowledge or skill? What might be holding you back?
Step 4: Analysis
Highlight significant factors and consider different perspectives. Why are they important? What sense can you make of the experience?
Step 5: Conclusion
What have you learned from reflecting on your experience? About yourself, about others, about issues or the environment? Is there anything else you could have done? Is there anything you need to work on?
Step 6: Action Plan
What is your goal? What would you do next time? What might work and why? Based on what you have learnt, what strategies will you employ and what resources do you need to achieve your goal/s?
Helpful Tools for Reflection
Reflective decision wheel activity: Strengths and vulnerabilities
An interactive reflective/decision wheel tool can be found in the main navigation menu of your subject. An instruction guide outlines each step for this tool.
When would I use a decision wheel?
A decision wheel learning activity can be customised to suit the specifics of the subject matter. For instance, the decision wheel tool may help when making a choice for the importance and priority to allocate chosen items. This may include such activities as planning a set of goals and prioritising next steps, considering priorities for a case scenario, forming a recipe, deciding on a business procedure, engaging in a personal/professional self- reflection, highlighting current personal opinions or level of factual knowledge for a topic. The possibilities are broad for the use of the wheel tool if a decision-making process is involved in the learning activity.
What is the value of using the decision wheel tool?
The decision wheel is a tool to assist in cataloguing and prioritising thoughts.
Using the decision wheel can provide an opportunity to practice making and prioritising
decisions before applying in a practical situation.
A visual wheel graph is produced that depicts a decision/prioritising sequence of
multiple ideas in one image without the need for excessive word text.
The decision wheel tool can be used independently to gather thoughts and ideas prior
to sharing with others.
The decision wheel can be used in groups to assist in negotiating ideas and priorities for a
given task.
As a reflective tool, it is possible to save several wheel attempts for the same
question/activity/circumstance to provide a visual form of tracking reflections over time
to reflect on.
What does the decision wheel not do?
The decision wheel does not provide automatic feedback in response to the choices and
rankings added to the tool.
Helpful Tools for Reflection
How can use the reflective decision wheel tool for SDR404: Strengths and Vulnerabilities
You may wish to use the interactive wheel below in various ways to support your reflective analysis.
1) Identify strategies:
You may wish to customise up to 8 sections of the wheel with the strategies do you use for self-care and rate each one on how often you are doing them in your life recently. This will demonstrate which aspects you may wish to put more priority into for the future.
2) Identify vulnerabilities:
The reflective wheel can be used for identifying what vulnerabilities you have towards developing burn out and compassion fatigue. You can rate each item you have identified in relation to how they are playing out in your life right now. Do you see risks there?
Using the online reflective decision wheel tool:
Populate the online wheel (up to 8 sections) with your choices to a chosen question.
Choose a way you will rate those choses in the wheel from 1 – 10 (1 being low and 10 being high).
You can use the ‘edit’ button any time to go back to the original landing page to adjust your choices.
Once you are satisfied with your number ratings for each chosen category in the wheel, you may use the ‘sort’ button to see a gradient from highest to lowest for your choices.
Comment on why you chose this decision order and rating in the notes box.
Download and save your personalised attempt to share.
You may change your decision choices and ratings in the online digital wheel as many times as wish before downloading and saving a final version.
Multiple attempts are possible.
You can copy and paste your reflective/decision wheel attempts into your reflective journal and add as an appendix (either copied into a document or as an image) into your final assessment submission.
Helpful Tools for Reflection
References Bassot, B. (2013). The reflective journal. Houndmills, Basingstock, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Blanchet Garneau, A. (2016). Critical reflection in cultural competence development: A framework for undergraduate nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(3), 125-132. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.laureate.net.au/10.3928/01484834-20160216-02 Borstad, A., Deubler, D., Appling, S., Spangler, L., & Kloos, A. (2018). Professional values are implicit in written reflections by DPT students in a short-term international service learning course. Journal of Allied Health, 47(3), 183-189,189A. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.laureate.net.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.laureate.net.au/docview/2114610020?accountid=176901
Bulman, C. (2013). Getting started on a journey with reflection. In C. Bulman and S. Schutz (Eds). Reflective practice in nursing (5th ed.), pp.1-22. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Expert Program Management. (2018). Gibb’s Reflective Cycle [Image]. Retrieved from: https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2019/05/gibbs-reflective-cycle/
Galvin, K. (2020). Online Groups: Engaging Learning Activities [Handout]. Torrens University Australia (TUA).
Matthew, C., & Sternberg, R. (2009). Developing experience-based (tacit) knowledge through reflection. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(4), 530-540.
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative Dimensions in Adult Learning. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Persson, E. K., Kvist, L. J., & Ekelin, M. (2018). Midwifery students’ experiences of learning through the use of written reflections – an interview study. Nurse Education in Practice, 30, 73-78. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.laureate.net.au/10.1016/j.nepr.2018.01.005 Tsingos-Lucas, C., Bosnic-Anticevich, S., & Smith, Lorraine,PhD., B.A. (2016). A retrospective study on students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the reflective ability clinical assessment. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 80(6), 1-10. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.laureate.net.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.laureate.net.au/docview/1826192300?accountid=176901

