Brookfield (2005) discusses reflection and highlights two reasons why we might engage in reflection. The first is that the power relationship such as the relationship between the teacher and pupil may influence the way an event is perceived. The second is that assumptions should be questioned and experiences considered from beneath the surface. 

The model is designed on the principle that if people reflect they can examine assumptions, the way they have acted and as a result better respond in situations in the future. Brookfield's (2005) model involves looking at the experience through four lenses or perspectives to develop a comprehensive understanding of the event. 

The four stages are:

• Self reflection
• The student experience
• Colleagues experiences
• Scholarly literature

You can watch the video below the diagram to learn more about the model. 

Brookfield (2005) discusses the importance of considering how an event can influence others such as colleagues, students and teachers in a school. This may form useful discussion and form discussion about how the perspectives relate to academic literature around the topic. 

The What? So What? Now What? model was coined by Driscoll (1994) and based on original questions asked by Bourton (1970).

The model of reflection focusses on three key questions.

1. What?
2.  So What?
3. Now What or What Next?

By answering these questions you are encouraged to think about your experience in context, going into detail about why it matters and what could be learned from the experience. It may be useful to try using the model to see how it works and what comes to mind for different situations. 

The model is easy to remember but due to only answering three questions students may struggle to engage with questions in depth. However, it can be applied to any subject area or context. It may be referenced as being produced by Rolfe, Freshwater and Jasper (2001) as different theorists have adapted and written about the reflective model. 

You can watch the short video below the diagram to explore the reflective cycle in more detail. 

The Driscoll (1994) reflective cycle has mainly been used in nursing and education but has slowly been adopted in other disciplines. 

A criticism of the model include that due to the lack of structure it may be easier to spend more time being descriptive rather than analytical. 

It may be useful for focussing on one event, including considering any consequences as a result of the event with particular targets for improvement or development. 

Gibbs reflective cycle provides a detailed structure for students to organise their thoughts. 

The structure of a piece of reflective writing, whether it be an essay or learning log entry, might consist of six components that follow Gibb’s cycle.

1. Description- what happened during the event?
2. Feeling- how do you and others feel about the event?
3. Evaluation- Make sense of the ideas or themes that have been highlighted from the steps above. 
4. Analysis- Use literature to break down the themes. Do they relate to each other?
5. Conclusion- What does this mean for practice?
6. Action Plan- Create goals or aims that could influence future practice.

As a student the Gibbs model may be useful as it breaks down your reflection into distinct sections, encouraging you to briefly describe the event and consider your feelings around it. 

It also includes evaluation and analysis sections allowing you to focus on if the response was positive or negative and how you can make sense of the response. This may be through reading academic literature around the topic to result in evidenced conclusions and recommendations.

Watch the below video to gain further understanding of the stages of the Gibbs Cycle and how you may use it at university. 

While the Gibbs model was designed as a way of promoting reflective thought, it may not always be the most effective way to do this. 

If you get the chance to choose a model of reflection it may be useful to justify why you have chosen that model and why it is useful for your reflective practice. 

Criticisms of the Gibbs model of reflection include that there are many sections and if you have a short word count it can be difficult to balance each section with enough detail. It can also be difficult to separate the analysis section from the conclusions and action plan due to them following on logically and closely from one another. 

These criticisms are not necessarily reasons not to use the Gibbs model in your reflection but are examples of areas to be aware of when writing an academic reflection. 

The ERA Model of Reflection stands for experience, reflection, action and was devised by Jasper (2013). This was designed to enable the person reflecting to build an understanding of the experience through thinking about what has taken place. 

It relates to Kolb's (1984) cycle of reflection which mentions active experimentation or engaging in action to learn and develop. All reflective models are built on repeating the process in order to learn from it and influence the future.

By reflecting on a regular basis it may become quicker and more effective, it may also become easier to recognise when reflecting may be beneficial. It may also have longer term benefits such as planning time more effectively.

See the model below. 

Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle is designed to help students learn from their experiences. 

It can be used to help you structure your thinking and reflective writing. The cycle is designed to complete each step in a logical order. 

• Concrete experience

This is experiencing something and will usually involve describing what was experienced. 

• Reflective observation 

Linking your skills and knowledge to your experience in order to reflect upon it. 

• Abstract conceptualisation

Focus on learning from your experiences, the meaning of your reflection and possibilities for the future. This may result in identifying what went well and what didn't to influence future experiences and interactions. 

•  Active experimentation

The focus of this stage is on setting goals and making action plans.

It is important that any goals for the future are SMART. 

That is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound. This means having a set deadline at which the goals will be reviewed to ensure that they continue to be relevant and appropriate. 

Discover more about the Kolb experiential learning cycle in the video below. 

Schön's reflective model focuses on two different stages to promote reflection. 

These are:

1.  Reflecting in action - during the event, relating to how you choose to act at that time.
2.  Reflecting on action - after the event, relating to your feelings on the event and what you would do differently if it happened again.

It may be a useful model to use if you are reflecting on a practical event as you can consider how you are feeling during the event and how this has effected your actions. Your feelings after the event may differ to during it. 

A criticism of this model could be that due to only using two steps it may promote a surface level reflection, if literature is not incorporated into the discussion by the student. 

Discover more about Schön's model of reflection in the video below the diagram: