The act of writing stimulates thought, so when you cannot think of anything to write, start writing anyway. – Barbara Fine Clouse
Reflective writing is a purposeful exercise in which one evaluates his /her experiences, practices, skills and response to learning to improve. By adopting a positive reflective writing process, using appropriate and mindful reflection can assist us in identifying strengths and weakness in our practices and learning from our experiences. The method of reflective writing encourages one to adopt a growth mindset.
According to Carol Dweck, individuals who believe that their intelligence and talent is dynamic and malleable of what is called a growth mindset. People with a growth mindset see failures and challenges as monetary setbacks and opportunities for personal growth. They work harder and are more effective; it motivates them to learn and are less discouraged by difficulty.
Prof. Graham Gibbs discusses the reflective cycle as having six stages:
· Description (what happened?)
· Feelings (what thoughts and feelings were present?)
· Evaluation (what was positive and negative about the experience?)
· Analysis (what sense we can make of the experience?)
· Conclusion (what else could have been done?)
· Action plan (what could be done differently next time?)
In reflective writing, the writer should adopt an observer stance to the situation they are reporting on. The reflective exercise has the potential to conjure up feelings of shame, regret, embarrassment, pride and joy. Using both mindful and growth mindset theory allows for the acceptance of these various feelings. It is not sufficient to only have an experience to learn, without reflecting on the experience it may quickly be forgotten and therefore its learning potential is lost.
Many authors have written about the benefits of reflective journaling and how this practice can have benefits to our productivity and learning.
Chris Fox (5000 words an Hour) writes extensively about the use of writing sprints. He uses these to increase the number of words the writer can write in an hour. The method involves using a timer and writing for a specific amount of time. The aim of the sprint is to get as many words, thoughts and ideas on the page in the period of time. The quality and structure are not of importance, but the collection of “content” is the objective of the first sprint.
Mark Levy (Accidental Genius: Using writing to generate your best ideas, insights and content) discusses the benefits of freewriting. Freewriting is a fast method of thinking onto paper that enables you to reach a level of thinking that’s often difficult to attain during a normal day (school or business.)
Writing is a wonderful way to clear our minds, remembering what we have read and demonstrates clarity of thought. By writing daily our world becomes more interesting, and it seems to make more sense as we put our thoughts on paper. (For those of you who know me well, yes put it on paper, not on a computer.)