Reflective writing is a part and parcel of various post-graduate and undergraduate courses at different business schools in the UK. No matter whether an individual is studying Human Resource Management, Project Management, Sales Management, Marketing Management, Business Management or an MBA, they are likely to be asked to present their reflective learning experiences, sharing their views about leadership programs, internships or team projects through systematic reflective analysis. In lieu of defining the learning and development processes only, reflective analytics help showcase a student’s ability in critical thinking, analysis and summarising the lessons that they learned while implementing those insights into their future professional field. Two largely employed reflective models in UK universities remain:
- Gibb’s Reflective Analysis Cycle
- Rolf’s Reflective Model
The Importance of Reflective Practices in Academic Courses:
UK business schools find it worth practising reflective writing in virtue of its essentiality in bolstering the key employability skills among the students. These skills include problem solving, critical thinking, analytical thinking, self-awareness, leadership development, decision-making and ongoing professional development. A powerful reflective analysis speaks volumes for a student’s capability of evaluating their actions while figuring out empirical approaches to add value to their future performance.
Gibb’s Reflection Cycle:
Gibbs ’ reflection cycle was introduced by Graham Gibbs in 1988 and is one of the most widely employed models in UK secondary education systems. This framework allows students to evaluate their learning and progress through six consecutive stages, which are:
- Description in which students define the lessons which they have learnt.
- Feelings, in which students explain the feelings and thinking that they have developed through learning the lessons.
- Evaluation, in which students highlight areas that they feel went right and wrong in their learning process.
- Analysis, in which students enlighten about the reasons behind why things went right and wrong in an analytical way.
- Conclusion, in which they conclude their overall learning experience.
- Action plan in which students prepare and present their future actions to fix the areas that they feel require further improvement to accelerate their academic and professional progress.
This reflection model plays a pivotal role in internship analysis, workplace experience evaluation, team assignments, and presentation and leadership programs. It enables learners to align their experience with academic theories and professional developmental goals.
Rolfe et al.’s Reflection Model:
Rolfe, Jasper and Freshwater brought about a simple reflection cycle based on three essential questions, which are:
1. What?
Define the learning experience or event, discussing the milestones in a nutshell.
2. So What?
Evaluate the significance of specific learning and developmental experiences, analysing the emotions and thoughts that cross the learner’s mind while highlighting the outcomes of learning and the theories that help define the overall learning experiences of the learners.
3. Now What?
The final part is all about figuring out the lessons that students have learnt, discussing about their application to solve their future academic and professional challenges.
This reflection cycle comprises a fair and square structure as compared to the former one due to its applicability across shorter reflective journals and essays requiring concise, insightful explanations.
Gibb’s Reflection Cycle Vs Rolfe et al.’s Reflection Cycle: Which one should be used?
The application of both these reflection cycles has largely been recognised by UK universities and business schools; having said that, they serve different purposes in different types of academic assignments.
| Application of Gibb’s Reflection Cycle | Application of Rolfe’s Reflection Cycle |
| Detailed reflective assignments and essays Workplace experience analysis Leadership experience evaluation Discussion of complex business situations Demonstration of in-depth critical reflection | Concise reflective journals Brief learning reports and journals Reflection on classroom activities Brief reflective essays Simple personal reflections |
Note: It is important to pay attention to assignment details, word counts, and the lecturer-specified reflective model while selecting either one between these two.
Guidelines to Craft a High-quality Reflective Assignment:
To write a high-quality, strong reflective assignment—a standard frequently recommended by academic writing services in UK education—all students need to do is:
- Concentrating on analysis instead of providing descriptions
- Aligning their learning experiences with relevant theories and concepts.
- Demonstrating both their strengths and areas for improvement honestly.
- Explaining their overall learning experience.
- Enlightening about their action plan to work on their weak areas effectively.
- Supporting their reflection with relevant academic references.
It is worth keeping in mind that reflective writing is not only about repetitive learning events, but also it is about portraying the professional and personal development of the learners through structured critical evaluation. Reflective writing lies at the core of business education by allowing learners to align theories that they have learnt with their practical experiences. No matter whether you select Gibb’s reflection cycle for an in-depth analysis or Rolfe’s reflection model for analysing your learning experience in a nutshell, the goal must be to showcase your critical thinking and your personal and professional progress through relentless learning.
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