Using alternative genre
The idea of using different genre alongside learning about reflection may seem
quite daunting. When using a model such as Kolb, Greenaway, Gibbs or others
a series of steps are gone through to help improve practice for the future.
When you are confident with your understanding of your chosen models off reflection
experiment with a different approach to presenting some, or all, of your reflection.
Presenting your reflection using an alternative genre can help you gain new
perspectives, you might relate to it differently, see aspects you had not noticed.
For example:
If I think about a critical incident by becoming a newspaper reporter or a reporter
for my professional journal doing a story, then I see it differently, more objectively,
I put myself on the outside of the event looking in, i provide my reader with
a concise factual or emotive account that really cuts to the essence of what
I want them to understand.
If I present my reflections as a poem or song, I lose some inhibition and allow
the role of feelings to surface much more than if I was producing a 'normal'
reflection.
When engaging with your artistic side you run the risk of your meaning not being clear to the audience, sharing your pieces in the online community will be an important means of validating that your meaning is clearly conveyed.
You may like to see the types of media and genre previous researchers have used, here are some examples to inspire, if you ask in the online communities researchers from other cohorts may well be happy to share their examples with you as well.