Reflective Jouurnal

INTRODUCTION

Reflective learning, according to Boud & Fales (1983:99) “is the process of internally examining and exploring an issue of concern, triggered by an experience, which creates and clarifies meaning in terms of self and which results in a changed conceptual perspective”. Boud, Keough & Walker (1985:19) state that “reflection in the context of learning is a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations. (McDury & Alterio, 2003:21).

Daudelin (1996, 39) provides a definition of reflection that explicitly captures its relation to learning, "Reflection is the process of stepping back from an experience to ponder, carefully and persistently, its meaning to the self through the development of inferences; learning is the creation of meaning from past or current events that serves as a guide for future behaviour." This definition suggests that reflection is integral to learning, when learning is defined as making sense of past experience in order to affect and understand future experience. (www.compact.org).

The key issues in reflection based on the above definitions, is the ability to use one’s past experiences to learn thereby shaping the future. According to Boud et al (1985:7) experience alone is not sufficient for learning rather, there must be an awareness of how the experience can be turned into learning and learners being able to gain maximum benefit from their situation as well as how experience can be applied in new contexts.

These experiences and perceptions can be analysed in a learning journal. “A learning journal is an analytical record of a person’s learning which may be tied to an individual subject in a course, a particular topic within a subject or the experience of learning in general”. (www.binaryblue.com.au). The learning journal provides a growing understanding of a subject or experience, demonstrates development in learning, keeps records of thoughts and ideas throughout learning experience and helps identify strengths and weaknesses.(www.worc.ac.uk).

In view of this, this learning journal will be divided into three sections. The first will give an overview of how the writer learns best using Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory and Bloom’s taxonomy of learning, the second section will be on skills development and four skills will be discussed which are communication, team work, time management and power. The third section will be the conclusion.

SECTION ONE

How I Learn Best

Using Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory. I found out that I am more into diverging category of learners. From Kolb’s model, the characteristics of my learning style are Concrete experience and Reflective observation. This style of learning according to Kolb (1984) suggests I am strong in imaginative ability, good at generating ideas and seeing things from different perspectives. I am also interested in people and have broad cultural interests.

To further emphasise on my learning characteristics, CE/RO, Barmeyer (2000) states from the results of his assessment that a high score of RO indicates a tentative and reflective approach to learning. Suggesting that I rely heavily on careful observation and prefer learning situations such as lectures.

CE, on the other hand is said to represent a receptive, experience based approach to learning. Suggesting that I also rely on feeling based judgements, I am people oriented and learn best from specific examples in which I can be involved such as discussions.

In as much as I am basically oriented to the diverging learning style, I also possess some traits of other learning styles although the manifestation is strongly based on the situation, environment and what I am learning. This point is buttressed by Kolb and Roger (1975:35-36) that “effective learning entails the possession of four different abilities”.

To further broaden my idea on learning styles, I’ll also look at Bloom’s taxonomy of learning which is of the view that I am more in the “Affective” domain. This domain suggests that I deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations and attitudes. The characteristics of this domain are very much in line with that deduced from the Kolb’s learning style inventory as it also has to do with feelings and observations.

Some of the critics that have emerged about Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory are that it plays insufficient attention to reflection (Boud et al, 1983) adding that it does not help to uncover the elements of reflection itself”. Tenant (1997) & Javis (1987) also critiqued kolb’s work stating that the claims made for four different learning styles are extravagant. This point was further broken down to mean that the experiential learning model does not apply to all situations. I strongly agree with this point as my learning style, diverging, does not apply to all situations. A typical example can be got from my school work where I offer a range of courses and I do not use the same learning styles for all of them. Some courses I can understand just by attending lectures and others, I must be active and practical in order to fully understand the nitty gritties.

However, Tennant (1997:92) points out that the model provides an excellent framework for planning, teaching and learning activities and can be usefully employed as a guide for understanding learning difficulties, vocational counselling, academic advertising, etc. (Smith, 2007).

SECTION TWO

Skills Development

Over the years, I have been able to go through stages and experiences that have necessitated me to acquire some skills and improve on others as the case may be. The environments that have enabled me to learn and develop these skills range from schooling, trainings, work experiences etc. Though they are different, each has its own uniqueness. This point is supported by Kolb (1984:36) “that personal characteristics, environmental influences and behaviour all operate in reciprocal determination, each factor influencing the other in an interlocking fashion. The concept of reciprocally determined transaction between person and learning environment is central to the laboratory training method of experiential learning”. (Ortun, 1994:104)

In this regard,