My awareness of reflective practice increased when I did my MA in Library and Information Management. Although not termed ‘reflective practice’ I have done this for several years within my employment. As a school librarian each year I have had to write a departmental development plan and this is based on the three components of reflective practice: Review, Plan, Do.
The whole process, and my increased development as a reflective practitioner, grew when I undertook the Chartership programme. Those who have undertaken the programme will be all too aware of the requirement for candidates to demonstrate their ability to reflect on what they have done and learned from any particular activity. When doing this, the thing that I initially found difficult was writing in a reflective manner. I guess that I had got into the habit of writing for the university and changing to the reflective personal style, using the personal pronoun (I), seemed difficult at first.
Being reflective allows us to evaluate what we have done and consider ways to develop and improve upon our performance in the future. It’s a good way of learning. Recording ideas in such as a journal, even a blog, enables thoughts to be revisited at a later date. The skills involved in becoming a reflective practitioner can be developed over time and these can have a positive impact on the individual and their library service.