Reflections theory
Introduction
In this report I will be comparing two reflective theories, outlining their similarities and differences. I will be choosing the one I believe to be the best in my opinion. This will be the one I will be using in my end of year reflective account. The two reflective theories I will be looking at are, Johns Model of Structured Reflection and Gibbs’s Reflective Cycle.
Theories
There are two main differences between the two theories.
Johns uses a linear structure, with a beginning and an end. However, Gibbs uses a more cyclic structure and has no defined beginning or end. John’s theory is also mainly aimed towards health care and talks about working with patients and their families. Gibbs on the other hand can be aimed more towards students and their experiences.
Johns uses the 2 main headings: Looking in and looking out. Under Looking in there are 5 Sub-Headings: Aesthetics, Personal, Ethics, Empirics and Reflexivity. Johns for the most part requires the need to work with a supervisor and as such he calls this a guided reflection. It requires you to write a description of the experience before you begin the reflection, once you have done this it requires you to follow the questions as they come up. One of the advantage of Johns reflective model is that there is a clear Beginning and an end meaning the person looking back on their experience has a clear outline on where to begin and the process used in the reflection. However the issue with the reflexive pattern of knowing is that it will only be relevant for a situation that has been resolved. If your were trying to analyze a situation that’s was ongoing you would have to incorporate parts of another reflective model to help you. With Johns model of structured reflection you would not have to use all the questions within the model, but you could also use the questions a number of times if appropriate.
Gibbs Reflective
References: (2012) REFLECTION. Available: http://moodle.bcu.ac.uk/tee/pluginfile.php/116376/mod_resource/content/0/reflective_models.pdf. Last accessed 15th Dec 2012. (2012) About Johns’ model of structured reflection. Available: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/upgrade/a-z/reflective_johns.html. Last accessed 16th Dec 2012. (2012) About Gibbs reflective cycle. Available: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/upgrade/a-z/reflective_gibbs.html. Last accessed 16th Dec 2012.