Reflection developed through writing 125 

Reflection through writing is not identical to reflection in the absence of writing. Students and supervisors discuss the benefits of writing in addition to other forms of reflective practice. Writing is seen as beneficial to the development of

reflection by the participating students in this study. Although it can be viewed as a chore initially, once students attempt reflective writing, they do not find it overly onerous.

Not all students reflect well through writing, and supervisors understand this point, while acknowledging that the act of writing reflectively is in itself unique and distinct from other forms of reflective activity and thought. The example below is from a supervisor, reflecting on how reflective writing may be a guide or helpful process or approach:

… maybe this process sort of guides what can we do with those … and so even if you do have those thoughts what do you do with all that information and is it helpful to write it down so even learning to journal or to write it down is that a helpful process to me - am I that person who can work through it by writing it down or am I not, is that not the approach for me (2002-2 interview).

Many students acknowledge that writing is useful and different than reflective thinking without an output. Writing can help organize reflective thought, provide a record of it for future further reflection, and can even trigger different reflection than one might engage in without writing. One student notes that written reflection helps you “do it in your head” later on (example shared later in this section). The two quotes below are to separate examples of students reflections on the usefulness of reflective writing:

ummm no it is helpful to get it on paper, and it kinda gets you thinking not just a big cloud of thoughts … and helps you organ organize it into a sequence of events … (1006-2 interview).

yeah I just find the writing process helps a lot for me instead of just sitting and thinking about it I actually do like to write it down um you know how things went how things didn’t go (1010-2 interview).

Although the initial motivation to write may not be a natural tendency, once they begin, some students do find that reflective writing occurs quite easily and naturally (although the submissions suggest that the depth and critical nature of writing is not something that students achieve uniformly without guidance). As mentioned, students may at first find reflective writing to be a chore of sorts, and

may not look forward to it. However, for some students, it does become an enjoyable activity that they perceive to be worthwhile.

I remember kinda being at first okay I have to do this reflection it kinda did seem like a chore, I think a lot of that is I wasn’t sure you know, the situations to pick so I had to actually think back to the people I saw and kinda pick somebody so that kinda seemed a bit of a task at first trying to do that, but I found when I actually started writing the reflection it went much easier than I actually figured it would. It just kinda started coming out when I started thinking about that person, what we had done, so… (1010-1 interview).

[Researcher]: some people are more comfortable doing things like this in writing and others will talk more than they can write. [1012]: right, and I’m the opposite … so I would write and I can think easier when I’m writing than talking...so again like, yeah. I think writing my thoughts is easier and especially emotional things, it’s way easier to write than to talk about it. For me, anyway. (1012-1 interview).

Students and faculty also seem to subscribe to the benefits of written reflection, although the time and motivation to make time are perceived barriers to regularly engaging in written reflection. Writing, though most often used by students to reflect on action, also provides a mechanism through which reflective thought could begin to emerge more naturally in the form of reflection-in-action. This form of reflection is seen to demand less time and is thus more likely to be

incorporated in future practice.

[Researcher]: Realistically thinking ahead, do you think you would take the time at the end of the day to do a written reflection? Or… [1012]: Well, I did it

[Researcher]: you did it, yeah! [1012]: in the summer so … I think it it…could be done, it’s like…people journal, right? It would be the same thing, but for your professional your job. That being said, yeah, I dunno if you’d actually do it, but … I don’t see it as like a completely long-term thing. You would do it to get in the habit, and then you would just do it in your head, I think. (1012-1 interview).

There are times that reflective writing enables, encourages, or leads a student or practitioner to reflect on topics they did not set out to explore. In this way,

reflective writing takes on a learning process of its own and can promote consideration of an alternate perspective.

ummm I think it uh kinda reflecting on like what his thoughts might have been helped me like at the time I wasn't thinking about that at all but then ... writing it kind of helped me um I guess like understand his point of view maybe a little bit better? (1007-2 interview).

Interestingly, a few students plan to continue to write reflectively throughout their careers. For example:

I actively reflected daily during my 23 day stay in the country (I journaled for many days as well) and again, the reflection has helped me gather my thoughts and feelings and process them in an effective way. The whole experience has allowed me to provide better patient care by better understanding the human connection and that is something I can bring back with me to the clinic in Canada.[…]I think that overall the act of reflecting has really helped me

personally and professionally. It’s become much more automatic now but still just as important as always, just more efficient I guess. I’m glad I got to write about my experiences because writing things down is something that works well for me and gets me thinking. I’m not overly verbal with my feelings and thoughts so by writing I’m able to express myself more and having an audience is a great help too. I’m definitely going to continue what I learned from you in the future and I think that active reflection will continue to serve me well! (1012-2).

Reiterating from Chapter 1, reflection can occur in-action (in the moment) or on- action (following an experience). This processual property of the developing behaviour facet shows that reflection-on-action can take place and perhaps develop through writing. When writing leads to unexpected or unplanned

thinking, it may involve reflection-in-action. Some students and new practitioners enjoy and find benefit in writing as a way to process experiences transforming

them into meaningful learning experiences. This property suggests that elicited, guided, reflective writing may help students develop as reflective practitioners.