Application of Gibbs Reflective Cycle in Development

Subheading 1

The model was created by Graham Gibbs in 1988, it has 6 stages.

1. Description

2. Feelings

3. Evaluation

4. Analysis

5. Conclusions

6. Action Plan

This part of the cycle is not analytical or reflective it is descriptive. You are required to provide an outline of the event or what happened. Include: where you were, who else was there, what was the context of the event, who did what and when as well as describing the final consequence. Remember to incorporate evidence and cite literature to support any definitions or explanations that you use in this section.

This part of the cycle involves connecting with why you responded the way you did, and why this event has remained with you. The following are a few cues to help you identify this - answer those that you think are relevant to you.

• How did I feel and what did I expect, anticipate or think before this experience?

• How did I feel and what did I think during the experience?

• How did I feel after the experience?

• Was there a change or a shift in my feelings?

Try to make a judgement about the event or experience consider whether this was a positive or negative experience. Answer any of the following cues that you think are relevant to your learning from this practical experience.

• What part of the experience were positive?

• What did not work as well as I expected?

• What difficulties did I have (if any)?

• Which concepts did I grasp easily?

• What would I do differently next time?

This section is where you will analyze, compare and consider the event with the literature and/or the NMBA standards to enable you to discuss how they are integrated and contribute to your professional knowledge, understanding and practice.

To help you decide what you want to write about, consider the following and select those that are relevant.

• What were the aspects that did not go so well and why were they difficult?

• What aspects went well and why were they effective in building your understanding and competency?

• Consider your own contributions to the event Ask yourself

o Did I feel confident to contribute why / or why not?

o What improvements could I have made?

• Consider other clinical experiences and compare earlier experiences to this one.

Conclusion

This section differs from the evaluation phase in that now you have examined the experience from a number of viewpoints you are able to gain insight into why things occurred or why people responded in the way that they did. Remember the whole purpose of reflection is to get better and develop more skills and insight. Look back on the experience and consider the following questions :

• What were my learnings from this experience (positive and/or negative)?

• What would I do differently next time?

• Was I able to identify personal strengths and/or weaknesses from these learning experiences?

Ask yourself the following questions to help build a plan with specific detail.

• What are my priorities for my future practice?

• What do I need to do so that I can improve my practice?

• Even if the experience was great what can I do to make my practice more effective?

• What am I specifically going to do to improve my practice: what activities will I undertake, what resources will I examine? who will I speak to?