Everything You Need to Know About Schön’s Reflective Model

Schön's Reflective Modelis a type of framework which follows a simple yet powerful approach to learning from your experiences. This model will help you think about what you do, why you do it, and how you can improve. Once you reflect on your actions, you can make better decisions, easily adapt to a new situation, and build confidence in your professional skills.

And to help you, in this blog, we will explore what is Schön's Reflective Practice, its examples, benefits and how you can apply it in your workflow. So Read on!

What is Schön's Reflective Practice?

Schön's Reflective Practice is a type of model which helps people improve their professional skills by thinking about their actions and decisions in a careful way. What makes this reflective practice modeldifferent from other models is that while other models focus only on reviewing the event once it has happened. Schön's focuses on reflection-in-action. Both during the event and after it is completed.

Key Concepts of Schön's Model

In simpler terms, Schön's Reflective modelencourages you to think about what you are doing while you are doing it. As well as afterwards. When you reflect on both positive and negative experiences, you can understand your thoughts, feelings, and actions. You can apply this model in one of two ways:

Reflection-In-Action

In reflection-on-action, you think and make decisions while the activity is going on. This is called “thinking on your feet.” For example, when something unexpected happens, you have to assess the situation quickly and then adjust your behaviour or action instead of just following a plan.

For example, a teacher might notice that during their lecture, students are losing interest in the lessons. And instead of continuing with that, it immediately changes their teaching approach. In the same way, a nurse, therapist, or manager may change their actions based on what is happening at that moment.

Some of the key features of this are:

• This usually happens during an experience.
• It is mainly triggered by unexpected situations or challenges.
• Involves adjusting actions in real time.
• Relies on experience, judgment, and intuition.
• Helps professionals stay flexible and responsive.

One thing you need to note is that reflection-in-actionis important because it will allow you to adapt to changing situations and make effective decisions in the moment.

Reflection-On-Action

In reflection-on-action, you have to look back on an experience once it has happened. You have to then consider what went well, what could have been improved, and what you learned from it.

For example, a teacher might think about which activities engaged the students the most in his/her class and how they can improve future lessons. Similarly, a healthcare worker might review his/her interaction with a patient and look at strengths and areas for development.

Some of the key features of reflection-on-actionare:

• This happens after an experience.
• It involves careful and deliberate thinking.
• This also helps in identifying strengths, weaknesses, and assumptions.
• Supports learning and professional growth.
• Can be discussed with others or recorded in a journal and reports.

Reflection-on-action will help you learn from your experiences and apply those lessons to future situations.

Schön actually believed that professionals who are successful actually use both types of reflection. Where one helps them with responding and adapting during the situation. The other can help them learn from the experience afterwards.

Real-World Examples of Schön's Reflective Practice in Action

These are real-world Schön reflective model examplein action. It includes scenarios of nursing and education.

In Nursing

In a healthcare setting, a nurse comes across a patient who is an older adult and is suffering from respiratory diseases. The nurse identified subtle symptoms such as chest retractions, rapid breathing and immediately switched the treatment plan.

1. Reflection-in-action- When the nurse adjusts the plan of treatment.
2. Reflection-on-action- After this scenario, the nurse reflects on his/her actions and finds a way to improve in similar situations.

In Education

A high school teacher conducts a lesson on persuasive writing. However, midway through the lesson, the teacher notices that students seem disengaged and confused, specifically in the discussion of rhetorical strategies.

1. Reflection-in-action: The teacher responds by shifting the activity to analyse a familiar advertisement, increasing student participation.
2. Reflection-on-action: After the lecture, the teacher reviews the session and realises the original content was abstract and boring.

These are the scenarios of schön reflective model examplein which you can identify how reflective practice model have helped to a great extent.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Schön's Reflective Model

Now let's take a closer look at both the advantages and disadvantages of Schön's Reflective Model:

Advantages of Schön's Reflective Model

1. Flexibility: The biggest advantage of Schön's is that it does not box you in. There are also no rigid steps that you need to stick to. Meaning, you can shape it to fit your own situation. It also works across different fields and adapts to whatever context you are in.
2. Deeper Learning: This reflection model also pushes you to go beyond just “doing” things. It will encourage you to actually understand them. Deeper learning is actually the difference between just gaining experience and actually learning from it.
3. Real-Time Reflection: Most of the reflective models will ask you to think after the event is done. But Schön's is unique because it will encourage you to reflect on your behaviour in the moment. You have to adapt right then and there.
4. Continuous Learning: Last but not least, with Schön's model, you never really stop learning. It creates an ongoing cycle where you reflect during a task, then again after it, and then carry those lessons into the next experience.

Disadvantages of Schön's Reflective Model

1. Subjectivity: This model is highly subjective because it is built entirely on personal reflection. It is shaped by individual feelings, perceptions, and biases. The thing here is that two people can go through the same experience and then walk away with very different takeaways.
2. Lack of Structure: Unlike other models, like Gibbs' and Rolfe reflective model, will not give you a clear, step-by-step process to follow. This can be overwhelming, especially for people who are new to it. And it makes it easy to feel unsure about whether you are even doing it right.
3. Difficult for Beginners: The core concept of this model “reflection-in-action”, can be quite abstract and a bit hard to grasp for a lot of people who are just starting out.
4. Limited Practical Guidance: Schön's model will tell you what to do, but not how you are supposed to do it. It also does not give you specific tools, templates, or techniques to help you reflect effectively.

Schön's Reflective Practice vs Other Learning Models

In this section, we will look at Schon's reflective model and its comparison with different models like Kolb's reflective learning and Gibbs Reflective Cycle. Also, it will highlight how Schön's approach emphasises real-time reflection and what sets it apart from others.

How to Use Schön's Model in Assignments

Writing a reflective assignment using Schöncan feel a bit tricky at first. Especially because it does not have a step-by-step process. But that is exactly the point. It is a genuine reflection and not a box that you need to tick.

Below is a straightforward guide that can help you understand how to use schön reflective model in your academic work:

Choose a Real Experience to Reflect On

You can first start with a specific moment or situation from your placement or studies. One thing you should note is that this model will work best if the experience you faced was challenging, unexpected, or made you stop and think.

For this, you can ask yourself:

• Was there a moment when things did not go as I planned them?
• Did I really have to make a quick decision under pressure?
• Was there a situation where I felt either uncertain or surprised?

Describe the Situation Briefly

Before you go straight into reflection, you should first give the reader enough content to understand what actually happened. You have to keep this section short and factual. This is not the place for analysis yet. You can think of this as setting the scene.

Here, you can cover the basics like:

• What was the setting?
• What were you doing and what was your role in it?
• What happened that made this moment worth reflecting on?

Apply Reflection-in-Action

In this, you have to explore what was actually going through your mind when the event was happening. You have to think about the split-second judgements, instinctive adjustments, or on-the-spot decisions you had to make when things were actually unfolding.

You can ask yourself:

• What did I notice in that moment that told me something was not working?
• How did I respond when the event was going on?
• Did I adjust my approach on the spot? If yes, why and how?

In your assignment, this section will tell your examiner that you were actively thinking during the experience and not just going through the motions.

Apply Reflection-on-Action

Now you have to take a step back and analyse the experience. This is the time when your deeper thinking will happen. You have to look at your actions critically and honestly like what worked, what didn't, and why.

You can ask yourself:

• Now when I look back, why did I respond the way I did?
• What different assumptions or beliefs influenced my decisions?
• What will I do differently if I ever face the same situation again?
• What does this particular experience show about my strengths or gaps in knowledge?

Connect Your Reflection to Theory

A good academic assignment will not just reflect on the past. It will also link any personal experience to your wider knowledge. After you understand what actually happened and why it happened, you need to connect your insights to relevant theories, literature, or professional standards in your field.

An example of this includes:

• If you are a nurse, then you can link your reflection to clinical guidelines or communication frameworks.
• If you are in education, then you need to connect it to learning theories or maybe the standards of teaching.
• And if you are in business, then you can relate it to leadership or decision-making models.

Identify What You Will Do Differently

Lastly, you should note that every good reflection needs to lead somewhere. So, make sure that you end your assignment with a clear and honest look at how this experience will play a role in your future. This also does not have to be dramatic. Even small and specific changes will count.

You can think about:

• What skills would you like to develop as a result of this experience?
• Are there any gaps in your knowledge that you plan on fixing?
• How are you going to approach a similar approach next time?

When Should You Use Schön's Model?

Lastly, not every reflection model will suit every situation. And Schön's model will work the best when your work involves real-life experience, quick decision-making, and a genuine desire to grow.

Below are a few key moments when using Schön's Reflective Model will make the most sense:

1. When things do not go to plan: You should use this model if a situation surprises you, challenges you, or simply does not turn out the way you expected.
2. When you are in a people-facing role: This model was mainly made for practitioners like teachers, nurses, social workers, managers, and anyone who has to deal with a lot of human situations.
3. When you are writing a reflective assignment: Schön's model is actually widely accepted in academic settings. Most particularly in health, education, and social care courses. Many students also seek assignment help to better understand how to apply the model effectively in their reflective writing.
4. When you want to improve your practice over time: If you want to become better at what you do, then using Schön's model will give you your thinking a clear sense of direction and purpose.

Key Takeaway

Schön's Reflective Model encourages real-time, continuous reflection and allows you to adapt and improve. Unlike the traditional ways that focus on structured understanding, Schön's model helps with actionable insights that drive both personal and professional growth. Also, it is effective in fast-paced environments like healthcare and management. Management students may find it challenging to write their academic papers, so they can seek MBA assignment help from experienced experts.