Guidance for Completion of Notepad
This version of the notepad has been devised to help support the NQSW practitioner’s development of critically reflective practice. This encourages a critically reflective review of the learning activities undertaken during the NQSW year, and will help develop the skills of reflective writing and critical analysis of practice. These skills are important at this early stage of professional development as they will significantly enhance not just professional training experiences but also day to day professional practice.
The Consolidation programme requires practitioners to provide a written reflective account of their practice to
· Critically evaluate the effectiveness of their practice
· Critically review knowledge and theoretical frameworks
· Use reflection and analysis to think critically about your practice
The following guide suggests ways and means of achieving these.
Reflective Writing
Writing about practice and for practice are not unfamiliar skills for social work practitioners, but ‘reflective’ writing introduces another skill level. Reflective writing refers to the processes involved in writing that can be utilised as means in themselves to help us learn from our experiences. (Rolfe et al 2001 cited in Keen et al 2009)
Reflective writing is an exercise that enables the student to literally take another look at practice, using the processes involved in transferring thoughts to paper to clarify, decipher and gain a deeper understanding. (Moon, 2005 cited in Keen et al 2009). It is therefore a process that enhances the learning potential of practice and it also supports the development of skills in critical reflection, to which it is closely linked.
Critical reflection
Critical reflection is a process that requires time and space, and should be encouraged initially within the supervision process for NQSWs so that it becomes a normal and integral part of practice at this early career stage. There are many interpretation of critical reflection and many authors who provide definitions and models to support critical reflection, (See reading list). However, students are encouraged to initially adapt one model or method that works for them, or to continue to use methods adopted during qualifying training.
Analysis
Using a simple questioning technique will draw out the important elements of the practice for analysis- one simple technique (adapted from M. Forsyth Smith in Keen et al 2009) asks:
What did you do? (description- introduces practice scenario with brief relevant background information)
Why did you do it? (explanation- critical review of understanding and decision making -role, responsibility, professional ethics and code of practice, knowledge relevant to situation, )
How did you do it ? (explanation- critical review of activity- models, methods, skills, anti-oppressive practice applied)
How did it go? –(It went well or it went wrong?) ( critical evaluation of effectiveness of practice, relating to desired or expected outcomes)
Why did it go? (well or wrong?) (critical review of effectiveness of initial decisions and understanding, relevance of methods used, and critical review of own application of knowledge and skills)
What did you learn from this experience? (conclusion- how future practice will be changed/strengthened by this experience)
(What, Why, How x 2 , MFS 2010)
These questions will enable the level of analysis that is required for a full critical evaluation of the practice. The descriptive element is the smallest portion of the writing, with the analysis being driven by the explanation and evaluation of the practice.
This model can be applied to small and succinct practice scenarios to enable identification of learning relevant to the Evidence Statements for the Record of Achievement for NQSW, and it can also guide the level of analysis required for the fuller evaluation of practice that is expected for the Practice Analysis for the CPSP, particularly when used to evaluate the specialist practice expectations that are outlined within the CPSP handbook.
Reading List
Trevithick P. (2005) Social Work Skills: A Practice Handbook- (reflection, analysis of skills base, methods and models of practice)
Brown and Rutter (2009) Critical Thinking for Social Work (reflective writing, analysis, critical thinking skills )
Thompson N (2009) The Critically Reflective Practitioner (critical reflection, evaluation, professional values, developing relevant skills)
Keen et al (2009) Newly Qualified Social Workers: A Handbook for Practice (advice and guidance for practice within different areas of specialism, preparation for Post Qualifying training)