Nature and Purpose of Reflective Practice in Community Engagement

This article discusses the nature and purpose of reflective practice in community engagement. It explores how reflective practice facilitates personal growth, development of thinking and analytical abilities, self-assessment, and the identification and solution of problems. The article also introduces Gibbs Reflective Cycle as a model for reflective thinking and provides a reflection on personal experience with an organization using this model. Additionally, it examines the relationship between relevant theory, such as Gibbs Reflective Theory, and the gained experience.

Community
Engagement

Contents
MAIN BODY.................................................................................................................................................3
Nature and purpose of reflective practice...............................................................................................3
Reflection on personal experience with the organization.......................................................................4
Reflection on the relationship between relevant theory and the experience.........................................6
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................8

MAIN BODY
Nature and purpose of reflective practice
Reflective practice is a modern term and an evolving framework which is commonly
used for the purpose of self-improvement (Aitken, Haggett and Rudolph, 2016). It helps in
assessment of our own thoughts and actions for facilitating personal learning and development.
Nature of reflective practice-
 Facilitation of personal growth- Reflective practice facilitates personal growth of a
person. As he finds out what mistakes he had done while performing a task in the past he
can improve on it in the future time period.
 Development of thinking ability- Reflective practice leads to development of thinking
ability of a person. This happens because it requires a person to constantly analyze the
situation and accordingly take an action which will be beneficial for him.
 Development of analytical ability- Reflective practice leads to the development of
analytical ability in a person (Cherney and Hartley, 2017). This happens due to the
analysis he has to perform while completing specific tasks. This enhances his abilities
and skills. This enables him to analyze what went wrong while performing a task so that
he does not repeats the same mistakes while performing that particular task in the future.
 Self-assessment- Reflective practice leads to self-assessment of an individual. The self-
assessment can be done through many methods and techniques. It helps in finding out
one’s strengths and weaknesses. This facilitates the eradication of weaknesses by the use
of strengths in the right manner which enables self-development of the individual and
enhances the motivation level.
Purpose of reflective practice-
 To mention the experience- The purpose of reflective practice is to mention the
experience gained during completion of a task. This experience is invaluable to various
other individuals who will perform the same task.
 To identify the problems- Another purpose of reflective practice is to identify the
problems which were faced by the individual while completing the task. This helps in
finding out a solution to them.
 To find solution of problems- One of the purposes of reflective practice is to find the
solution to the problems which have been identified by the individual during the course
of completion of task. This will also help those individuals who will face the same task in
the future.

 To develop effective strategies- Reflective practice enables development of effective
strategies to face different challenges which occur while completing a task (Sung and
Hepworth, 2017). This helps in better preparation and dealing with the problems.
Gibbs Reflective Cycle-
Gibbs Reflective Cycle is a model which is used extensively for encouragement of
reflective thinking (Chilisa, Major and Khudu-Petersen, 2017). It helps individuals to
think systematically about the experiences they had in a particular situation, event or
activity. By using a circle, their reflection can be easily structured into different phases.
This helps the people as by recounting what they did while performing a particular task
and the mistakes they made during the task they can avoid repeating the same mistakes
and errors in the future. Also the cycle enables individuals to devise effective strategies
for countering their problems and issues. This enables a learning experience for them
which can be shared with others so that they can get help regarding completion of the
same task performed by some other individual.
This cycle goes on in a clockwise manner and is structured into different steps which are
mentioned below-
Step 1: Description
Step 2: Feelings
Step 3: Evaluation
Step 4: Analysis
Step 5: Conclusion
Step 6: Action plan
Reflection on personal experience with the organization
When I was studying in the college, I was part of a group project which was based on
H&M Company which is a Swedish multinational company. While completing this assignment
being a member of the group it was a whole new experience for me (Delannon, Raufflet and
Baba, 2016). I have made the use of Gibbs Reflective Cycle below to recount my experience in
completing it. It is a cycle which an individual can use to give reflection on the experience
occurred while completing a particular task (Gibbs Reflective Cycle by Graham Gibbs, 2018). It
has been explained as follows-
The cycle has different steps such as-
 Description- The project on H&M involved many people within the group. Each one of
the members had their unique skills such as some excelled in understanding ability, some
in research ability, some in analytical ability etc. Thus the different skills of members

were put in the right use within the context of the project. The project involved giving
various types of details about H&M and a thorough analysis of its working pattern and
business model. As it was a group project the responsibilities were divided equally and
accordingly task were assigned. I was assigned the research task as I excel in my
researching abilities.
 Feelings- There was mixed feelings initially when I started out working on the
assignment (Kang, Shin and Gong, 2016). There was excitement about what is to come
and there was zeal and enthusiasm to work on a new project which I had never done
before. Also, I was a little apprehensive about my performance in particular as I though
whether I would be able to perform to the best of my abilities or not. Some other
members of the group were also feeling nervous at the beginning of the assignment.
However, we were able to keep all out doubts aside once the work started.
 Evaluation- After working very hard for some time and putting in all our efforts and
abilities to great use we were finally able to complete the project. After it was checked by
the evaluator we received a positive result and were praised for our efforts. This
increased our motivation level. Looking back, I feel what went well for us was that we
had dynamic personalities in our team which each one of them excelling in his/her talent
and skills. However, there were also some times when there was conflict of opinions in
the team but we were able to sort them out because of the effective leadership skills
which were displayed by our team leader.
 Analysis- Analyzing the work done during the whole project, I feel that it was very
satisfying experience for me personally (Maher, 2019). However, I also feel that certain
conflicts could have been avoided and our efficiency, effectiveness and productivity as a
team could be a bit higher. In future, if I get a chance again to be a part of such a team I
will look to improve my own performance as well as will also look forward to increasing
the motivation and morale of other team members so that they perform to their maximum
potential.
 Conclusion- When I look back at that time, I feel that two incidents were very important.
One was positive and other the one was negative. In the positive incident, when we
encountered a major problem before us the members displayed cooperation and
coordination to solve it effectively. In the negative incident, there was a major dispute of
opinion which was settled after the intervention of the team leader. I feel that the dispute
of opinion incident could have been handled more effectively by the team leader. In the
future, these factors have to be taken care of while working on the project.
 Action plan- I feel that the next time I am part of such a project I will come up with an
action plan for performing it. I will make sure to include how to settle common disputes
and clash of opinions, using of skills and talent of members of team in an effective
manner in the action plan so that I can benefit us.

Reflection on the relationship between relevant theory and the experience
The theory which I have used for giving a reflection on my experience is Gibbs
Reflective Theory. It is a widely used theory for giving reflection (Mosconi and et.al., 2017).
There is a relationship between this theory and the experience which I have gained. It is
explained as follows-
In the Description step, the experience related to the details about the project and its
various other aspects have been recounted by me. I have explained my experience related with
the assignment and the team which I was a part of while in college. The dynamic aspects of the
team and the talent and skills of members have also been mentioned. Thus it has helped me in
recounting my experience related with the assignment and sharing it by giving detailed
description which can help other students when they work on the same project.
In the Feelings step, I have mentioned my feelings related with the assignment while
being a part of the team. I have mentioned that I had mixed feelings at the starting which was
also the case with other members of the team. They were quite anxious and nervous at the
beginning. Thus, in this step I have given my relevant experience regarding what I felt during the
course of the project. Thus this theory has provided me the chance to write about my experience.
In the Evaluation step, I have mentioned how we completed the assignment and what
type of problems we faced as a group (Nicotera and et.al., 2019). Thus this theory has helped me
in recounting the relevant experience so that other students can be benefited in the future. This is
crucial for the members of team also as it gives them a chance to improve their performance in
similar projects allotted to them in the future so that maximize their talent, skills and potential.
In the Analysis step, I have mentioned about how I felt about the project. I mentioned my
own satisfaction level while working in the team. This has helped in recounting the experience
related to the analysis of the work done during the assignment. It is very crucial for performing
of various other activities in the future.
In the Conclusion step, I have mentioned about the two incidents which were quite
important during the course of completion of the project (Ojha and et.al., 2016). One was
positive and negative in nature. This step will enhance and help in dealing with the certain
situations which may crop while working as a team in the future. Thus the relevant experience
given with the use of this theory is quite important.
In the Action plan step, I have mentioned about the action plan I will adopt if I get a
chance to be a part of a dynamic team. Thus this step of the theory has helped in finding out the
relevant experience and sharing it for the benefit of others as development of an action plan to
deal with the problems, issues and challenges will certainly help other students who have been
allotted this particular project.

In conclusion, I can say that Gibbs Reflective Model is quite a useful model for the
purpose of recounting of experience while doing a particular task or work. This helps a lot in
sharing the experience using its various steps of Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis,
Conclusion and Action plan. The use of this theory enabled me to share my personal experience
which can be greatly helpful for the other students when they have to do the same assignment as
a part of a dynamic team. This will help them in performing to the best of their abilities and
skills.
CONCLUSION
From the above reflective report, I can conclude that the project work on H&M Company
was a challenging experience which led to learning of new skills. This will greatly help in
development of my skills for the future. The nature and purpose of reflective practice is helpful
in finding out its benefits. The personal experience related to working on assignment can be
shared using Gibbs Reflective Cycle and its various steps. There is a link between this theory and
the experience gained. It is so because this theory is very helpful in sharing the experience
gained in its every step.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Aitken, M., Haggett, C. and Rudolph, D., 2016. Practices and rationales of community
engagement with wind farms: awareness raising, consultation, empowerment. Planning Theory
& Practice. 17(4). pp.557-576.
Cherney, A. and Hartley, J., 2017. Community engagement to tackle terrorism and violent
extremism: challenges, tensions and pitfalls. Policing and society. 27(7). pp.750-763.
Chilisa, B., Major, T. E. and Khudu-Petersen, K., 2017. Community engagement with a
postcolonial, African-based relational paradigm. Qualitative Research. 17(3). pp.326-339.
Delannon, N., Raufflet, E. and Baba, S., 2016. Corporate community engagement strategies and
organizational arrangements: A multiple case study in Canada. Journal of cleaner
production. 129. pp.714-723.
Kang, M., Shin, D. H. and Gong, T., 2016. The role of personalization, engagement, and trust in
online communities. Information Technology & People.
Maher, R., 2019. Squeezing psychological freedom in corporate–community
engagement. Journal of Business Ethics. 160(4). pp.1047-1066.
Mosconi, G. and et.al., 2017. From facebook to the neighbourhood: Infrastructuring of hybrid
community engagement. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). 26(4-6). pp.959-
1003.
Nicotera, N. and et.al., 2019. Dedication to community engagement: A higher education
conundrum?. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship. 4(1). p.5.
Ojha, H. R. and et.al., 2016. Delocalizing communities: Changing forms of community
engagement in natural resources governance. World Development. 87. pp.274-290.
Sung, H. Y. and Hepworth, M., 2017. Modelling community engagement in public
libraries. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science. 18(1).

Online
Gibbs Reflective Cycle by Graham Gibbs. 2018. [Online]. Available through: <
https://www.toolshero.com/management/gibbs-reflective-cycle-graham-gibbs/>