The importance of reflection

Pwysigrwydd myfyrio

Supervision and appraisal

In order to improve practice, current skills and strengths and areas for development must be noted. In order to do so, the individual must take a look back at performance and reflect on work practices e.g. a piece of work, an event, a meeting or a conversation.

Achievements must be evaluated by considering the following:

  • what is being done well
  • why and how it is being done well
  • what is not being done as well and how this can be improved.

By doing so, childcare workers reflect on their work i.e. become reflective childcare workers. Professional development is important as it helps to develop knowledge and understanding of the work. It gives childcare workers an opportunity to improve their skills and develop new ones. Reflecting on practice provides an opportunity to try out new situations and to prepare for new roles and responsibilities.

Questions to ask when reflecting on practice:

  • what did I learn?
  • what worked well and why?
  • how do I feel about the experience?
  • what would I have done differently?
  • what could I have done to improve the result?

Keeping a reflective diary can be of assistance to reflect regularly on practice. A reflective diary is a personal record of experiences at the setting. It is used to record thoughts, feelings and opinions rather than a list of the day's events. It can be used to describe and evaluate activities that were provided for the children and how childcare workers responded to their behaviour. A reflective diary is a good way of reflecting on how an individual communicates with colleagues and parents/carers.

The people who childcare workers work with and for, e.g. employers, colleagues, parents/carers, make comments on the way they work; this is called feedback. Feedback is very important and will include positive comments which help to identify strengths. Feedback can also include comments that help to identify weaknesses and areas for improvement. These comments may be presented orally or as written feedback; both types are useful. Oral feedback provides an opportunity to discuss performance and to ask questions about how improvements can be made. Written feedback provides an opportunity to think about the comments and to write notes about how improvements can be made. Receiving feedback can help childcare workers to become aware of their progress and can give them ideas about how to plan their development. It enables them to compare what others say about their work practices with their own opinions and ideas. It is beneficial to have feedback from a number of different people as this will provide an opportunity to consider all the information as it will not all be positive or negative.

Er mwyn gallu gwella ymarfer, mae'n rhaid nodi’r sgiliau a'r cryfderau presennol a'r meysydd i'w datblygu. Er mwyn gwneud hyn, mae'n rhaid gallu edrych yn ôl ar berfformiad ac adlewyrchu ar arferion gwaith, e.e. darn o waith, digwyddiad, cyfarfod neu sgwrs.

Mae angen gwerthuso'r hyn sydd wedi’i gyflawni drwy ystyried:

  • beth sy’n cael ei wneud yn dda
  • pam a sut maen nhw’n cael eu gwneud yn dda
  • beth sydd ddim yn cael ei wneud cystal â sut y gellir gwella.

Drwy wneud hyn, mae gweithwyr gofal plant yn adlewyrchu ar eu gwaith, h.y. yn ymarferwyr adlewyrchol. Mae datblygiad proffesiynol yn bwysig am ei fod yn helpu i ddatblygu gwybodaeth a dealltwriaeth o'r gwaith. Mae'n rhoi cyfle i gweithwyr gofal plant wella eu sgiliau a meithrin rhai newydd. Mae myfyrio ar arfer yn rhoi'r cyfle i brofi sefyllfaoedd newydd a pharatoi ar gyfer rolau a chyfrifoldebau newydd.

Cwestiynau i’w gofyn er mwyn myfyrio ar ymarfer:

  • beth wnes i ei ddysgu?
  • beth weithiodd yn dda a pam?
  • sut ydw i’n teimlo am y profiad?
  • beth fyddwn i wedi’i wneud yn wahanol?
  • beth allwn i fod wedi’i wneud i wella’r canlyniad?

Gall cadw dyddiadur adlewyrchol fod o gymorth i fyfyrio ar arfer yn rheolaidd. Mae dyddiadur adlewyrchol yn gofnod personol o brofiadau yn y lleoliad. Mae’n cael ei ddefnyddio i gofnodi meddyliau, teimladau a barn yn hytrach na rhestr o ddigwyddiadau’r dydd. Gellir ei ddefnyddio i ddisgrifio a gwerthuso gweithgareddau sydd wedi’u darparu ar gyfer plant a sut mae gweithwyr gofal plant wedi ymateb i’w hymddygiad. Mae dyddiadur adlewyrchol yn ffordd dda o fyfyrio ar sut mae rhywun yn cyfathrebu gyda chyd-weithwyr a rhieni/gofalwyr.

Mae'r bobl y mae gweithwyr gofal plant yn gweithio gyda nhw ac iddyn nhw, e.e. cyflogwyr, cydweithwyr, rhieni/gofalwyr, yn rhoi sylwadau ar y ffordd y maen nhw’n gweithio; gelwir hyn yn adborth. Mae adborth yn bwysig iawn a bydd yn cynnwys sylwadau cadarnhaol sy'n helpu i nodi cryfderau. Gall adborth hefyd gynnwys sylwadau sy'n helpu i nodi gwendidau a meysydd y mae angen eu gwella. Efallai y caiff y sylwadau hyn eu cyflwyno fel adborth llafar neu ysgrifenedig; mae'r ddau fath yn ddefnyddiol. Mae adborth llafar yn rhoi'r cyfle i drafod perfformiad a gofyn cwestiynau ynglŷn â sut y gellir gwella. Mae adborth ysgrifenedig yn cynnig cyfle i feddwl am y sylwadau ac ysgrifennu nodiadau ar sut y gellir gwella. Mae derbyn adborth yn helpu gweithwyr gofal plant i ddod yn ymwybodol o'u cynnydd a rhoi syniadau ynghylch sut i gynllunio eu datblygiad. Mae’n eu galluogi i gymharu'r hyn y mae eraill yn ei ddweud am eu harferion gwaith gyda'u safbwyntiau a’u syniadau nhw eu hunain. Mae'n dda cael adborth gan nifer o wahanol bobl oherwydd bydd yn rhoi cyfle i bwyso a mesur y wybodaeth gan na fydd o i gyd yn gadarnhaol nac yn negyddol.

The importance of reflection

Why is it important to reflect on practice in order to improve your own practice? Note down your ideas on the diagram.

Pwysigrwydd myfyrio

Pam mae myfyrio ar ymarfer yn bwysig er mwyn gwella ymarfer eich hun? Nodwch eich syniadau ar y diagram.

Reflective practice Arfer myfyriol

Possible answers

Changing the behaviour of children - by thinking about your response to their behaviour, you will be able to develop new strategies.

Meeting the needs of individual children - by reflecting on the way they learn and your role in this, you should be able to better meet the children's needs.

Working with colleagues - reflecting on the way you interact with colleagues can help you to develop a better relationship with them and create better teams.

Working with parents/carers - by thinking about how you work with parents/carers, you can develop stronger partnerships.

Your role with children - by thinking about the way you are with children, you can tailor your method of work to correspond to their interests and needs.

Planning to meet the needs of children - by considering the efficiency of your plans, you can develop new planning and recording systems that are quicker or more effective.

Atebion posib

Newid ymddygiad plant drwy feddwl am y ffordd rydych wedi ymateb i ymddygiad plant rydych chi’n gallu datblygu strategaethau newydd.

Cyfarfod anghenion plant unigol drwy fyfyrio ar y ffordd mae plant yn dysgu a’ch rôl yn hyn, dylech allu cyfarfod ag anghenion plant yn well.

Gweithio gyda chydweithwyr, gall myfyrio ar y ffordd rydych yn rhyngweithio gyda chydweithwyr eich helpu i greu perthynas well â nhw a chreu gwell timau.

Gweithio gyda rhieni/gofalwyr drwy feddwl drwy sut rydych chi’n gweithio gyda rhieni/gofalwyr, gallwch ddatblygu partneriaethau cryfach.

Eich rôl gyda phlant drwy feddwl am y ffordd y rydych chi’n gweithio gyda phlant, gallwch deilwrio eich dull o weithio fel ei fod yn gweddu i’w diddordebau a’u hanghenion.

Cynllunio i gyfarfod ag anghenion plant drwy ystyried effeithlonrwydd eich cynlluniau, gallwch ddatblygu systemau newydd o gynllunio a chofnodi sydd yn gyflymach neu yn fwy effeithiol.