theory and practice of reflective learning, defines reflective learning as stated by Kotzee (2012, 7) as “the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning”. He further introduces the concept of “reflection-in-action” and “reflection-on-action”. “Reflection-in-action” refers to the idea that at any given moment, when faced with an issue, you can “think on your feet” to resolve the issue. “Reflection-on-action” however, refers to you trying to make sense of the experience after it had occurred. To learn deeply, we need to do both or else the experience just comes and goes (just like passive learning). Through reflection, we challenge our assumptions, ask new questions, make sense of our experience and in the process, put what we’ve learned into deeper memory…as active learners.
Reflective practice is important for nurses to be able to critically reflect on their experience because it is a form of “trial and error” as referred to by Schon (Kotzee, 2012) He goes on to say that there are “no textbook scheme in doing this…how the expert reflectively decides what to do cannot be explained by appeal to knowledge and rules; rather, it comes down to “feel” for something or an intuitive knowing” (Kotzee, 2012, 7) By analyzing the situation and reflecting back on the occurrence will allow the nurse to decide whether to apply her response to a future situation or modify her response in the future in pursuit of a better outcome. Natius Oelofsen model is a more structured reflection because it’s a systematic way of working out the steps. Oelofsen’s (2012,) theory model by using three steps (p.23). Step 1: Curiosity has the nurse “ask a series of questions that will support and make sense of the situation on which to reflect”. Step 2: Looking closer is intended for actively engaging in the reflection and the personal feelings and thoughts that were involved. Step 3: Transformation is the steps in which everything comes together so the nurse can then decide on how to approach this situation in the future. Will she use the same tactic or will it be different? (Oelofsen, 2012)