Reflective writing aims to get you to think about and understand your learning experiences. It can include keeping a reflective journal or learning log with multiple entries – particularly for professional placements – or be part of an essay or report. CSU’s Academic Skills advice outlines one approach to reflective writing called the DIEP strategy (adapted from Boud, D., 1985. Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning). It has four steps which are to Describe, Interpret, Evaluate and Plan.
D – Describe objectively what happened
Answer the question: what did I do, read, see, hear, and so on?
I – Interpret the events
Consider why events happened in the way they did. Explain what you saw, heard or read, your new insights, your connections with other learning, your feelings, your hypotheses and/or conclusions. Answer the question: what might this mean?
E – Evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of the experience
Make judgments that are clearly connected to observations you have made. Answer the questions: what is my opinion about this experience?, what is the value of this experience?, why do I think this?
P – Plan how this information will be useful to you
Consider in what ways this learning experience might serve you in your course, future career, life generally. Answer the question: how will I transfer or apply my new knowledge and insights in the future?
By following the DIEP strategy for reflective writing you should be able to achieve these outcomes:
- analyse your own performance as a learner
- evaluate your gains in understanding and completing tasks
- verbalise how you feel about your learning
- make connections with other experiences, ideas
- demonstrate transfer of learning
- integrate the concepts taught in courses (including the literature where relevant)