Personal Reflection during Placement Using Gibbs Reflective Model and Cycle - Essay Example

Reflective Essay Name Course Title Instructor’s Name Institution Location Date Reflective Essay During placement period, people tend to experience and learn a number of numerous aspects hence they need to determine critical incidences that they consider to be of great impact to them and their lifes (Starre et al. 2014, pg1440). Mohammed, (2016, pg 27) defines critical incident as an event or situation which is of great significance to the learner and assists the learner to develop a point of change in his or her own life. A critical incident in its own setting can be either positive or negative (Hrovat and Luke 2016, pg8). Learners must therefore, determine positive aspects of a critical incidents and learn from them as well as determine the negative aspects and establish various ways to counter the negative occurrences (Jarvis and Newman, 2013, n.d). To be in a position to determine and address the negative as well as the negative critical incidences, an individual must be in a postion to describe an effective personal reflection on experiences and encounters during the placement period (Potter, 2015, pg338). Husebø, O'Regan and Nestel (2015, pg370) expounds that critical reflection and analysis on experiences assists the learner and the institution in dermining weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats which are critical in enhancing effectiveness and performance. As Kumar (2016, n.d) also argues, learning is a continuous process created through transformation and experience. Such a concept is of great neccessity in enhancing effectiveness of the workplace as well as enhancing children care services (Böttiger et al 2016, n.d). The analysis in this essay is a reflection on personal reflection during placement using Gibbs reflective model and cycle. Gibbs determines that effective personal reflection is a six step process beginning by describing the critical incidences, followed by determination of feelings during such incidences then evaluation of feelings (Spodek and Saracho, 2014, n.d). After evaluation the learner takes a critical analysis on the experiences followed by conclusions on occurrences and then develops an action plan on how to enhance response to incidences. The analysis in this paper takes into consideration this Gibbs outline. Description During my placement at the nursery, I experienced a number of events that I believe I can reflect on with respect to Gibb’s model. There were some unique events that really stood out for me and I would wish to present them as well in this paper. Some of the basic daily duties I undertook during the practice consists of assisting the teacher make some playing materials, comfort the children in a scenario of sleepiness, Assisting the teacher in organizing and embarking on games, picnics and nature walks and train the children during games time and care for them effectively. As I recall, in the 2th week of my placement period, I got into a conflict with one of the teachers but after I joined him in making playing materials, the teacher became relaxed in his duties. Most of the time, the teacher would let me make the playing materials as he went to make stories and laugh with other teachers and children. I spent at least 2 hrs a day making the playing materials, something which took a maximum of 45 minutes when we were assisting each other. Mostly I got angry but because of my calm nature, I never considered taking the next step. The teacher made it a habit of leaving his duties for me such that by week 4 I would make the playing materials by myself, take the children out for games by myself and lull the children to sleep in case need be by myself. He was only thrilled when it came to picnics and nature walks. On the 5th day of the 5th week, I could not tolerate it any more and I decided to report the issue to the school manager. I enlightened him on how the teacher was quite lazy when it came to caring for the children, how he left me to do almost everything, and how he never took his work seriously. The manager responded immediately by summoning the teacher in his office. The teacher attempted to deny the allegations but afterall everybody knew that I was right, including the manager who claimed that most of the time he would see me in the field alone with the children without knowing the whereabouts of the teacher. The teacher however, failed to transform his behavior and on the 3rd day of the 7th week, the school manager suspended him. Feelings When I began my placement service, I thought this was the best teacher to work with as he was highly cooperative and acted more like a leader. As time went by, such feelings started to fade away as the teacher started keeping off from work. By the end of week 2 when he would totally avoid his duties, I felt sorry but I didn’t know of what to think or what to do hence, I did all his duties though I didn’t like it. I really got concerned on what the problem might be but when I shared the experience with one of the staff, her answer was, “Always expect that when joining the real work industry!” which to me was not wise enough. However, my anger was always quenched by the children who were ever charming, playful and humorous. One day I asked the children what they think about their teacher and most of them were like, “he treats us so badly, he yells at us and frustrates us” and I think this is what propelled me to report hi to the manager. However, I felt terrible and guilty when he got suspended. I considered that suspending the teacher was not actually the best option. To some extent however, I perceived the school manager’s take to be the right one and I felt wonderful for having eliminated the most non-performing teacher. Evaluation Despite my feelings, I believe that my take and response to the problem was quite right. The teacher’s take to depart from his duties and have me do them was not right as I became overworked. I think my take to report him and have the issue sorted was right and justified. Additionally, it seemed that the children were never satisfied with him but felt that he was highly self-centered and non-caring. The children as well required their requests attended to and addressed accordingly and I believe that my action to report the teacher and explain incidences to the school manager was highly informed. Through my actions I perceived that the children would benefit a great deal. However, I was not happy on how the other staffs of the school responded to the problem where they never provoked nor reacted to the teacher’s behavior. I believe that only could they have involved actively on the problem, the issue could not have reached the manager as we could have devised a better resolution to the problem and save the teacher from the suspension. If only the staffs could have been cooperative then I could have shared the children’s perception on the teacher with them which ideally could have assited in the techer’s transformation process. Finally, I perceive the teacher’s reactions when summoned by the manager as unresponsive and unprofessional especially when he decided to deny all the allegations despite how true they were. I think it would have been wise if he could have accepted. Probably, the manager could have just warned him and refrained from suspending him as I consider honesty as a crucial aspect when dealing with children as well as a group of people. I may not be right but I think the teacher never returned to the school. Analysis Through my placement period, I have had numerous experiences where some were shocking as others were good. However, as discussed in the above section, the major problem I experienced was lack of corporation with the teacher whom I was working hand in hand with. The teacher as presented was highly selfish with elevated desires to meet his own selfish interests without necessarily taking much consideration on other people’s feelings and expectations more so the children we were dealing with. Effective workplace begins by people realising that individuals within the primary are of different attitudes, interests and behaviors and that people would work through means to achieve ends to their own desires. I recognized that the school was not putting into practice some of the crucial but mandertory factors into practice. To begin with, effective communication is critical to effective workplace practices (Potter 2015, p.336-342). People need to communicate to each other on various bases concerning various issues. For instance, in the school, the staff members rarely communicated with each other and as such most conflict conflicts went unsolved and various issues unaddressed. If the school could have been fostering a communication positive environment, the staff members could have assisted in solving the conflict between me and the teacher before I eventually contacted the school manager. With effective communication, I feel that we could have come up with a better solution and the teacher would have not been suspended in the first place. Additionally, because of lack of proper communication strategy, the school could not get effective communication from the children themselves. My attempt to assess the children on what they think about their teachers really produced much fruits as the report I presented to the manager genuinely assisted in determining the performing and non-performing staff. It also assisted in assessing the children needs and expectations as is as well necessary in enhancing their commitment and performance in the school. While in the organization, I learnt that collaboration was of great essence in determining performance and effectiveness of the team and a school as a whole. Through my outstanding collaboration with the children, I got to learn that despite them being young, children would always speak the truth and through their innocence, they are of great confidence when communicating unless the instructor or teacher is intimidating them. Developing common core skills in children also greatly depends on effective communication with them and collaborative effiently with them. Conclusion Throughout my placement period, I learnt that I possess great communication skills with necessary team building capabilities. Through my relatively good communication skills I was in a position to assess the problem and address it effectively having gotten the necessary information relating to the problem. I believed that rushing to the manager would actually worsen off the situation hence, I considered it wise collecting necessary information from the children and other staffs before determining the next move. I expected to have the problem solved at the staff level but because of their incorperative nature, I had no otherwise but to approach the manager. My weakness was that I failed to approach the teacher before making the decision of approaching the manager. If only I could have done that, the teacher might have seen the genuine side of the issue and changed thereby avoiding his suspension and other consequences. Action Plan In the future, I seek to enhance my engagement and collaboration skills. I require boosting my collaboration skills such that I enhance how I relate with the other people within a schooling environment consisting of managers, fellow staff, the children, and surbodinates. Additionally, I look forward to enhancing my communication skills to enhance how I communicate with fellow staff members as well as other stakeholders within the school. If only I had better communication and collaboration strategies, I could have consulted the teacher and other staff members and have the problem solved at the staff level without necessarily reporting to the manager and saving the teacher from suspension and its penalties. Therefore, I have realised my weaknesses which can only be coutered by consistent learning and self development process. To achieve the mentioned, it shall be of neccessity to me to consider taking courses concerning communication and interpersonal relationships. As Common Core and Knowledge for the Children’s Workforce (2010) attempts to explain, I look forward garnering the six fundermental skills on working and sharing information with children, young people and families, promoting children transition processes and safeguarding and promoting children welfare. With better proffessional, communication, and relationship skills, I shall be in a position to boost my listening, questioning, understanding and response techniques. In conclusion, the analysis in this reflection has absolutely enhanced my understanding on what was previously hidden in my mind. Through this analysis, I have come to determine my experiences during the placement period and analyse them effectively. The reflection has certainly assited me determine how my experiences shapes my feelings and what the feelings are capable of. Through this reflection, I have come to apperciate my strengths and weknesses. Additionally, I have developed an action plan that I deem necessary in changing my weaknesses into strengths and in perking up my forte. This reflection is indeed necessary in enhancing my professionalism, communication strategies, and collaboration techniques. References Böttiger, B.W., Bossaert, L.L., Castrén, M., Cimpoesu, D., Georgiou, M., Greif, R., Grünfeld, M., Lockey, A., Lott, C., Maconochie, I. and Melieste, R., 2016. Kids Save Lives–ERC position statement on school children education in CPR. Resuscitation, 105, pp.A1-A3. Hrovat, A. and Luke, M., 2016. Is The Personal Theoretical? A Critical Incident Analysis of Student Theory Journals. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 8(1). Husebø, S.E., O'Regan, S. and Nestel, D., 2015. Reflective practice and its role in simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 11(8), pp.368-375. Jarvis, P. and Newman, S., 2013. Investigating the use of critical incident analysis in the teacher peer review process. Kumar, K., 2016. Reflection and its uses in Problem Solving and Personal Development. McLeod, A., 2010. ‘A friend and an equal’: do young people in care seek the impossible from their social workers?. British Journal of Social Work, 40(3), pp.772-788. Mohammed, R., 2016. Critical incident analysis: reflections of a teacher educator. Research in Teacher Education, 6(1), pp.25-29. Potter, C., 2015. Leadership development: an applied comparison of Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle and Scharmer’s Theory U. Industrial and Commercial Training, 47(6), pp.336-342. Spodek, B. and Saracho, O.N., 2014. Handbook of research on the education of young children. Routledge. van der Starre, C., van Dijk, M., van den Bos, A. and Tibboel, D., 2014. Paediatric critical incident analysis: lessons learnt on analysis, recommendations and implementation. European journal of pediatrics, 173(11), pp.1449-1457. Read More