Appendix 5 - Reflection: How to write a reflection report

Reflection
How to write a reflection report

Personal development is key to your Personal Development Plan (PDP). This is easier said
than done. So how do you go about this? It turns out that it is not so easy to consistently
learn from mistakes you make, things you have done well, from feedback from other people
or from advice. Practical learning is always through reflection. That means you look back on
what you have done, have failed to do, have learned, have learned not to do any more, have
forgotten to record, etc. So you must stop and consciously map out what you have done,
how you have done it and how other people reacted. Reflection is an essential link in the
development process. You use reflection to direct your own development. Reflection
enables you to learn and/or unlearn things. ‘Reflecting’ does not come naturally to all
students. During the programme, you are provided with tools to learn how to reflect and
make this an integral part of your studies.

One of these tools is the process report you write for each project, reviewing and reflecting
on how things went during the project and the part you played in it. Reflection literally
means: consciously looking at your own approach and accounting for the impact of your
behaviour.
In a reflection report, you reflect on your knowledge and/or experiences, linking these to the
programme’s competencies, and trying to translate these into insights. You think about your
learning process and the development of your competencies. Based on this reflection, you
develop insight into your own performance and set learning goals for your personal
development plan.

How to write a reflection report : In your reflection report, you discuss the following items:

1. What learning goals did you set yourself for the past term?
2. For each learning goal, indicate whether, and if yes, how, you have worked on it.
3. Also indicate for each learning goal whether you managed to achieve it, why you
did/did not and how this is demonstrated.
4. Based on the past term, what learning goals can you formulate (and include in your
personal development plan)?
5. Review the issues that were discussed in the past term and indicate what went well,
what could have gone better and how you would approach certain items differently.
Also describe your contribution to/performance in the group concerning this subject
or item and substantiate your answer.
6. Indicate what you have learned in the past term.

Note

When writing a reflection report, it can be helpful to look at your own approach as
compared to that of other people. Write your report from your own perspective: I did ….., I
experienced……., etc.

Be honest with yourself and do not fool yourself. Do not confuse your strengths and
weaknesses with your likes and dislikes. If you cannot demonstrate or substantiate having a
certain strength, it means that you do not have it!