Gibbs Reflective Cycle and Gibbs Model of Reflection

Do you want to know how to improve your emotional and self-awareness skills through Gibbs Reflective Cycle?

You’re at the right place. My assignment help experts will help you in understanding this topic. In this article you will find:

1. What is Gibbs Reflective Cycle?

2. Process of Gibbs Reflective Cycle

3. Reflective Practice Nursing Example

4. How to use Gibbs Reflective Cycle?

5. Pros & Cons of Gibbs Reflective Cycle

What is Reflection?

First, let me tell you what reflection is.

Reflection is a process where you analyze the situation you have been in, how the situation has gone, how the situation could have gone, what action steps you could have taken & precise decisions that you could have made in a situation.

 

What is Gibbs Reflective Cycle?

Now, what is Gibbs Reflective Cycle?
Gibbs Reflective Cycle is a reflective practice that includes six stages starting from describing the situation, your feelings involved in the situation, evaluating the good or bad in the situation, analyzing, concluding with takeaways from the situation, and planning action steps for differently you can do if you land up in the similar situation again.

Gibbs Reflective Cycle Process (Step-By-Step)

Steps	Gibbs Reflective Cycle Process
Step 1	Description
Step 2	Feelings
Step 3	Evaluate
Step 4	Analysis
Step 5	Conclusion
Step 6	Action Plan

Originated by Graham Gibbs, Gibbs Reflective Cycle gives people a strategic approach on how to analyze a situation.

Few Words About The Creator of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle

Professor Graham Gibbs is a researcher, learner & professor who expertise in research methods, qualitative research, the use of computers in research & computer-assisted learning.

He developed Gibbs Reflective Cycle in 1988 in his book “Learning by Doing” to give structure to the learnings you can get from a situation with the idea of learning by doing and experiencing.

About the Reflective Cycle Book

“Learning by Doing” is the name of the book which is a guide to creating the methods for the learners.

The book carries lots of learning sessions about the reflective cycle tried on people in different workspaces.

You will find different questions that are asked in a situation and how exactly reflecting on the situations can help you become better in those situations.

With so many examples and situations being explained in the book, you will get lots of benefits from the book.

Gibbs Reflective Cycle Diagrammatic Explanation

 

Process of Gibbs Model of Reflection

Description

1. A description is mainly explaining everything about the situation. The questions that help to describe the situation can be: – What happened in that situation?
   – What were the actions by the others in the situation?
   – What were the actions by yourself in that situation? (Similar with reactions)
   – Why did that situation arise?
   – Who initiated the situation problems?
   – What happened at last? (The Result)

 

Feelings

Feelings cover all the emotional aspects of the situation.

The questions that can help to know the emotions behind the situation are:

– What were you feeling at that moment?
– What were others feeling at that moment?
– Are you still feeling emotional (anxiety, fear, etc) about that moment?
– Are you comfortable talking about the situation that happened?
– What was the overall atmosphere when the situation arose?

 

Evaluate

Evaluation comes with a non-judgemental mindset. Listening and understanding the situation with an open mind.

The questions that can help to evaluate the situation is:

– What exactly happened in that situation?
– What do you feel about that situation? Was it right or wrong?
– What do you learn from that situation?
– Was the situation normal or went out of control in the end?

 

Analysis

The analysis is simply an analysis of all things that made sense in that situation.

The questions that can help to analyze the situation is:

– Were you firm with your decisions or got emotional at the end?
– What do you think went right?
– What do you think went wrong?
– What do you think that can be improved?

 

Conclusion

The conclusion is the mix of knowledge from all the above points and making conclusions from it.

The questions that can help in concluding the situation are:

– What can be the takeaways from the situation?
– How should I feel in that situation?
– How should I talk in that situation?
– What do you learn from the whole situation and your acts?
– What can you do the next time to get better results?
– What skill to learn to not repeat the same things the next time?

 

Action Plan

Action Plan is to make plans for the next time and thinking about it now that will help you get better when you face a similar situation again.

The questions that help to make action plans are:

– What action should you take immediately?
– How long do you need to stay committed to learn the skill?
– How long do you need to work on the things that went wrong from your side?

Reflective Practice in Nursing

Nurses handle the patients and take care of them. Nurses need to regulate their performances with the handling of patients.

For this purpose, they can use the Gibbs Reflective Cycle.

Reflective Practice is a valuable learning tool for nurses. Nurses, with the help of a structured model of Gibbs Reflective Cycle, help nurses reflect before the action, at the time of action & after the action.

Nurses practice the reflective cycle to make precise decisions at the moment to take better care of their patients.

Skills that are improved with reflective practice are emotional & self-awareness skills.

Process of Gibbs Reflective Cycle Nursing

 

Description: Describe the situation while dealing with the patient.

– Describe how the patient felt in a situation
– Describe your treatment to the patient.

 

Feelings: What were you feeling while dealing with the patient?

– How were you feeling in that situation?
– How patient was feeling in that situation?

 

Evaluation: Evaluate the good and bad that happened while you were dealing with the patient.

– What result does your care result in patients’ health?
– What things went right and wrong while caring for the patient?

 

Analysis: Analyse what made sense while dealing with the patient.

– Analysis of the whole situation after knowing all the details through description, feelings & evaluation.

 

Conclusion: Conclude what you could have done while dealing with the patient.

– Analyse the good and bad about the situation.
– Analyse what things to improve from the next time in a similar situation.

 

Action Plan: Make an action plan on what different you will do the next time while dealing with the patient.

– Make an action plan on things you need to implement & improve from the next time in similar situations.

How to use Gibbs Reflective Cycle (via an example)

Let’s understand how to use Gibbs Reflective Cycle through an example.

A Fictional Story

Suppose you’re a corporate person and working in a private institute. Your daily work is to handle the financial documents of your clients.

Your clients are high-paid bankers and one day while auditing their financial documents, you made an error in judgment and did an audit in the documents wrongly.

Everyone came to know about your error in judgment as your client reported the issues & claims and here comes the situation.

Now, the situation you’re in is that you had to report to your seniors about the mistake you made in the audit and show responsiveness.

You’re in the situation right now, you try to explain your part but can’t fully accept the mistake. Your seniors are upset with you and want a full report from your side. Also, the corrections you need to make in the audit document that you did wrongly.

After the situation, one of the seniors helps you with Gibbs Reflective Cycle to avoid the mistakes like this in the future and teaches you to take full responsibility as well.

Here is how you can do it:

1. Description

   First, you need to describe what had happened in that situation, how it happened, where it happened, in what circumstances you were in while it happened, what were you thinking in the situation when you made the mistake.

   Similarly, why you couldn’t accept your full mistake in front of your seniors. What were you thinking in that situation? What was going in your mind in that situation?

   All questions are necessary to describe the situation rightly.

2. Feelings

   What were you feeling when you were asked to make audit reports, were you in the right phase of mind, were you a bit low when you were making audit reports, what exact emotions you were feeling in that situation.

   Similarly, what were your feelings when seniors were asking you about your error, and what were you feeling when you were not able to accept your full mistake?

3. Evaluate:

   Now, you need to evaluate what possibly went wrong, what possibly could have gone right, what possible scenarios could have arisen if you were in a better mindset & accepted responsiveness in both situations when you were making audit documents and also when you were reporting to seniors.

   All the things are necessary to evaluate the situation properly.

4. Analysis

   Now, analyze what all things made sense to you, what all things could have made sense to your seniors if you properly said your things and accepted full responsibility, where the things could go right if you express the proper scenario better to your senior.

   Similarly, analyze your situation when you were making audit documents with all the questions and details you told and then make improvements.

5. Conclusion

   After you learn about all the details of the situation and analyze it with what could have gone better, you learn from the situation.

   You improve where you lacked, either in feelings or when working, what exact problems were there.

6. Action Plan

   Then, at last, you make an action plan on what things you need to improve from now onwards to not let this situation happen ever again.

Pros & Cons of Gibbs Reflective Cycle

 

Point of Distinction	Pros	Cons
Application	Planning to do Gibbs Reflective Cycle is easy & easy to understand.	Execution of Gibbs Reflective Cycle is tough in the heat of tough situations.
Skill Improvement	It helps in building self-awareness & emphatic skills.	You have to do it over & over to improve your skills while it always varies from person to person.
Accuracy	It is accurate if done with an expert as it helps you to understand where you’re lacking and can improve.	Expressing your actual feelings to anyone other than yourself varies from person to person. The person might lie.