Session 7

• Early years
• Primary Education

Performance Outcome 3

Plan, provide and review care, play and educational opportunities to enable children to progress. 

T Level in Education & Early Years 

[e-mail] 

Session 7 

Learning Objectives 

By the end of the session, all learners will be able to: 

Reflect on the effectiveness of planned educational experiences / activities by reviewing and recapping the reflective cycles. (Connect Element 9 - Year 1)

All learners will write their own reflective account using a chosen reflective cycle in relation to one of their prior activities. (Project 2 for PO3)

Mind map 

In pairs mind map different reasons and Early Years Educator would need to engage in consistent reflective practice.

Why is reflective practice important?

• Models of reflection provide us as Early Years educators the tools to think about and act upon creating good learning experiences.  
• Everyone in education reflects including head teachers & managers, this enables us to self evaluate to establish grounds for better practice.
• Often reflective practice allows us to establish our own personal goals that will help us thrive or improve.
• The reason there are reflective theories is because they are designed to provide clarity to individuals on how to reflect - this is not something that comes to us naturally.  

Personal and professional growth. 

Supporting positive interactions 

Efficiency and quality improvement

Supports CPD and promotes evaluative skills.

Learning from experiences

Activity (Recap & Recall) 

In your groups, you will be allocated a reflective cycle that was taught last year to research. 

You will document your findings on a paper (presented well) ready for whole group collaborative feedback. 

Why do we think this is important? 

What assignment will this link to ? 

 - Kolb's experiential learning cycle 

- Graham Gibbs reflective cycle

- Boud, Keogh and Walker's Model  

David Kolb's Experiential learning cycle (1984)

Experiential learning cycle - the theory that knowledge is created through individual experiences.

Kolb emphasis's the importance of involving acquisition of own learning

 experiences based upon the type of experience they are having. 

Kolb emphaises you would only learn effectively once you have progressed and 

experienced all elements of the cycle. 

Concrete Experience -  engaging in a specific activity / experience

Reflective observation - Reviewing that experience (own reflection)

Abstract Conceptualisation - Determining what you have learnt from that 

specific experience. 

Active experimentation - Establishing how you will use this new knowledge to 

enhance own professional skill set. 

Graham Gibbs Reflective cycle (1988)

Gibbs reflective model emphasises the importance of

engaging in an experience more than 1 to ensure you 

are learning from it. 

The frame work is based of the same concept of experiential 

learning theory (repetition). 

The model is continuous and not linear, it also allows 

scope from more detail as there are more sections.

The approach is designed to support a growth mindset in individuals, 

but this doesn't mean that if you reflect once everything will change. 

The cycle provides opportunities for learning and understanding 

rather than self - judgement. 

https://www.simplypsychology.org/gibbs-reflective-cycle.html

David Boud, Rosemary Keogh & David Walkers Model (1985) 

This reflective cycle has 3 stages on reflective practice with 

a primary focus on reflecting on emotions and feelings. 

It is important to remember for the first  two parts of this 

reflective cycle, it is a repeated experience. 

To achieve a desired outcome, this model states an individual 

will have to progress through the first two parts more than once. 

You will only achieve a desired outcome through revisiting. 

A reflective practitioner is one who can better their own 

understanding of their activities to enhance their own 

experiences through effective self analysis. 

Individual Task 

For performance outcome 3, project 2. 

I requested for an reflective account to be completed, we did determine at that point this would be revisited. 

Can I ask you all now to reflect on a specific experience you may have had in your placement using a reflective cycle of your choice. 

This will need to be detailed and have references of websites you have used to inform your understanding.  For example you may have used Simply Psychology to understand Kolb's reflective cycle, you will then just put this in a reference list. 

An in text reference will not be required.