{"id":4030,"date":"2016-07-14T15:01:23","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T15:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.efrontlearning.net\/blog\/?p=4030"},"modified":"2016-07-27T12:10:20","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T12:10:20","slug":"reflective-practice-elearning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/reflective-practice-elearning.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Methods of Reflective Practice in an eLearning Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"
Reflective practice has still not received the prestigious position it deserves in an eLearning environment. Writing is the primary mode of communication in an eLearning environment. Writing about recently learned material, latest changes in personal attitude, acquisition of new behaviors and how to use new knowledge in the work context are all an integral part of reflective writing.<\/p>\n

But when conscious awareness of learning<\/strong> is connected with recent performances in order to improve or rectify future performances, this writing becomes a reflective practice. <\/p>\n

Pedagogy and andragogy research indicate a higher order of thinking induced in the learner when they are encouraged to maintain certain reflective practices. In this article, we\u2019ll share with you 3 common reflective practice strategies you can easily introduce between the chapters of your eLearning courses<\/a> to provoke performance<\/a> and engagement improvements<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Have you ever maintained a daily diary? If not, you may have read diaries of famous people like Benjamin Franklin or the dramatic story of Anne Frank. Many such historical diaries have been converted into films, often the protagonist is the narrator, as the story is structured as a first person narrative – that is, we see events through the eyes of the protagonist. We often experience deeper and richer feelings about the writer in such movies.\u00a0This is because maintaining a diary forces us to connect with our emotions and rational decision-making processes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Diaries are not very different from a reflections log. Individuals who maintain a reflections log often experience improvement in emotional intelligence and rational thinking<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

One word that comes to mind when talking about reflections is “metacognition<\/strong>“, which simply put means thinking about thinking<\/i><\/strong>. When we perform metacognition for specific situations in a disciplined manner and at periodic intervals, we are performing a reflective practice<\/strong>.\u00a0To be honest, the reflection process is truly a form of a higher order of thought and critical analysis, leading to a synthesis of desirable actions for future situations.<\/p>\n

This quality is extremely desirable during the learning process. It helps acknowledge the new skills and their desired application in the work context<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0After receiving feedback from the course mentor or training manager, the learner modifies their performance and behavior accordingly. The best part is that they know<\/i> that they are changing <\/strong>– leading to learning satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Another word that comes to mind is “heuristics”. This term implies to the “lessons learned” approach to performance until the desirable results are achieved. Reflective practice is guided thinking about performance in a situation that did not work as expected.<\/strong> We learn new things every day. In fact, we are in the process of informal learning to achieve personal and professional goals<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Successful performance needs to be documented towards establishing best practices. Failures also need to be recorded towards developing a “lessons learned” list. If reflective practice is performed in an online learning<\/a> environment, peers can learn from the experiences of others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The only way to improve performance is to reflect back on behaviors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The only way to improve performance is to reflect back on behaviors.<\/blockquote>\n \n Share on <\/span>\n \n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

A resource at the SkillsYouNeed website<\/a><\/strong> describes the following pattern of adopting reflective practice as a part of learning:<\/p>\n

The Reflective Learning Process<\/h2>\n

Identify a situation you encountered in your work or personal life that you believe could have been dealt with more effectively.<\/p>\n