Reflection: Critical Thinking and New Habits Development

Table of Contents

Introduction
Development of critical thinking
Acquisition of new habits
Development of the ability to plan further actions
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

There is no use denying the fact that performing some kind of activity a person develops his/her own personal and professional skills. Moreover, the more difficult this activity is, the better the results are. With this in mind, it is also possible to suggest that each teaching course or program is aimed at the development of certain skills among students. Accomplishing different tasks and trying to answer certain questions or find some regularities, a student develops his/her critical thinking, ability to analyze some information, and plan his/her actions. It is evident that all these skills are very important for the further life of a person and they lead to the development of some other important qualities.

However, a person should also be able to analyze changes peculiar to him/her and understand how he/she obtained or developed certain conditions for him/her to be able to use the same way for the development of some other skills. With this in mind, it is possible to say that the practice of reflection obtains excellent importance. It should be said that reflective learning is one of the most efficient ways of getting some information and developing certain skills (Queen Mary University of London, 2015). It is based on constant analysis of different kinds of activities that were performed.

Additionally, there are two types of reflections. They are reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, and as it becomes evident from their title, the first one is connected with the analysis of actions while engaged in them, while the second one means the same study, however, after some actions are performed. Moreover, there are different approaches to this issue that determine the main aim and stages of reflection (Brainboxx, n.d.). With this in mind, it is possible to analyze assignments that were accomplished during the course to understand what qualities were developed and what skills obtained. Additionally, different theories of reflection should be used to describe the change in different qualities or skills (Farrow, 2011).

Development of critical thinking

The first point which should be mentioned is connected with critical thinking. Looking back at the whole course, it should be said that the assignments, which were given to us, promoted the development of the ability to analyze information and differentiate the most important aspects. It is obvious that the character of the tasks which were given influenced greatly our abilities connected with reflection and self-analysis.

Creating a personal development plan, we had to look critically at our character and determine our weak and strong points. It should be said, that it was not such an easy thing to do as it is always difficult to judge about peculiarities of our character and underline some drawbacks for people to see them. That is why such type of activity promoted the development of critical thinking. It is also possible to say that these actions can be classified according to Schons theory of reflective learning (Learning, n.d.).

He introduces the difference between reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. It should be said that this theory is the best to describe an activity which we performed while doing this kind of work. First of all, we had to use reflection-in-action while creating the list of qualities we needed to improve and underlining our goals and aims. It is obvious that doing this work; we used the practice of reflection to understand our character and strong and weak sides better. Moreover, it was necessary to choose some really important aims from a high number of others which were less significant.

Nevertheless, having done the work, we managed to understand our strong and weak sides and improve the level of critical thinking. However, the current analysis of this task means usage of the practice of reflection-on-action, which means the in-depth investigation of the actions after the work (La Trobe University, 2015). This sort of activity also promotes a better understanding of the main tasks of the assignment and a higher level of knowledge of the material. That is why, now, it is possible to say that this kind of assignment influenced the development of critical thinking and the ability to use the practice of reflection.

However, critical thinking is not the only point that should be mentioned here. Creating a Personal Development Plan, we had to think about our main goals and skills which we needed to obtain to improve our skills and efficiency. With this in mind, it is possible to say that this assignment also promoted the development of skills mentioned as the main aims of our plan. Talking about my development plan, it should be said that one of the main drawbacks mentioned in it was the inability to create new habits which would be useful for my further career. That is why this gap in skills could stop my personal development.

However, this kind of task influenced my work, which was aimed at the improvement of these skills and the acquisition of the ability to create new and important habits. Analyzing the situation, it should be said that the whole course made me do it. First of all, a personal development plan and then analysis of the information presented in different networks connected with my occupation made me think about the necessity of personal development.

Acquisition of new habits

Moreover, the activity connected with the accomplishment of these tasks can be taken as the beginning of the acquisition of useful habits. The thing is that looking for some information or analyzing some data found in different sources. I promoted the development of a certain set of skills, which could be very useful. The habit of checking and analyze all the information which was obtained appeared. Moreover, some steps connected with the collection of material for works became habitual. However, analyzing these actions now, it is possible to say that the assignment to create a personal development plan influenced this process.

To explain it better,r Deweys theory of reflective learning can be applied. The thing is that he states that reflection is a kind of precursor to action, which means that the realization of a certain need leads to the attempts to fulfill it (Farrow, 2011). With this in mind, it is possible to say that I have realized the necessity to obtain some useful habit, and I tried to do it while accomplishing some tasks connected with the course.

Development of the ability to plan further actions

The last thing which is going to be mentioned here is connected with some personal goals achieved during the course. First of all, the ability to plan further actions appeared. It is my strong conviction that this skill is vital for the life of any person as it helps to save time and be more efficient. Moreover, the ability to plan your further actions is very important for a student as it can promote the achievement of better results. However, it is easy to explain this phenomenon taking into account Kolbs theory of reflective learning. He developed Deweys ideas and supposed that reflection is a kind of activity that precedes some actions. The thing is that Kolb sees the process of reflection as a cycle which consists of observation, conceptualization, and experimentation (Farrow, 2011).

That is why, thinking about the main peculiarities of the course, it is possible to say that it promoted the acquisition of skills in planning. Choosing the networks which could be useful for our further career, we had to take into account different possibilities which certain websites provided us. Besides, the creation of a personal development plan also influenced the appearance of skills in planning. It is obvious that to point out our main goals and purposes. We had to think about some possible variants of our personal development and foresee its results. That is why this type of skill was exercised.

Conclusion

Additionally, some new ideas connected with the further career also appeared. The thing is that analyzing different networks connected with the issue of care, new ideas of my professional development appeared. I understood clearly which activities are interesting for me and what kind of duties I would like to perform. With this in mind, it is possible to say that some aspects of my future life became more understandable for me due to the accomplishment of these tasks.

Having analyzed the whole work during the course and some vital aspects of our personal development, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. First of all, it should be said that the practice of reflection obtained great importance during this course. Being certainly aimed at the development of some personal and professional skills of students, the course also promoted the evolution of the ability to rethink some kind of activities performed and use reflective practice. This very assignment also influenced the appearance of these skills. Trying to review all assignments which were accomplished during the course, it is impossible not to think about the skills and habits obtained with their help. This reflection activity showed us a great number of changes that happened.

Additionally, analyzing the whole course, we were able to rethink the information and made some new conclusions. With this in mind, it should be said that reflective teaching is a very efficient way of giving new data and developing new skills. One of the most important aspects of this issue is the fact that a student is the central figure of this process (MyCourse, n.d.). It is for him/her to analyze his/her activity and make certain conclusions. Moreover, according to different theories of learning, numerous kinds of skills and mental activities are stimulated (Hawkins & Woolf, n.d.), and, as a result, a person can make a deeper analysis of his/her actions. Taking into account my own experience obtained due to the accomplishment of different tasks, it is possible to say that the course promoted development to critical thinking and skills in analysis.

Nevertheless, some personal development can also be admitted as new useful habits appeared due to this very course. Besides, the ability to plan further actions and take into account some possible aftermath should also be mentioned. With this in mind, it is possible to say that the whole process can be called rather efficient as it promoted the development of a great number of different personal and professional qualities.