Reflective Writing

I had the opportunity to attend a Reflective Writing Workshop being run by Margaret Chapman for Yorkshire and Humberside Career Development Group. This was the second time I'd been able to participate in this workshop, which gave me a valuable opportunity to update my previously gained skills and knowledge. The content of the workshop proved invaluable in helping me to write my Chartership portfolio and to put the practice of reflective writing into practice on a day-to-day basis.

Before attending the workshop I wouldn't have called myself a natural reflector. I never seemed to give myself the time or opportunity to actually reflect on development opportunities or experiences and understand what I'd gained or not gained from them and how I was able to put what I'd picked up into practice. Both workshops have put me on the road to becoming a better reflector.

The workshop aimed to help those attending to appreciate the importance of reflection, to recognise the difference between descriptive writing and reflective writing (which is most important when building a Chartership portfolio), to explore the circumstances under which reflective writing might be necessary and useful (not just from a Framework of Qualifications aspect), to develop personal confidence in learning and developing through reflection and to develop a style of reflective writing.

Margaret's presentation and workshop exercises were informative and helpful in enabling me to apply and put into practice my own stlye of reflective writing, which ultimately enabled me to gain Chartership. I learnt that it's important to reflect on both positive and negative experiences and that it's valuable to conduct an initial reflective exercise and then to reflect again later to gain a full and overall appreciation of what you've taken away from a development opportunity or event in your life, which is helpful if you've made some mistakes in order to learn and develop from them.