I how found over the years not just to react to a situation, but step back for a second analyze the situation and all the possible out come before making a decision you cant take back
Tracey,
I can this strategy "connecting the dots". You are helping your students through reflective questioning to use the content that has been shared and apply it to solve real life problems. The more experience they have in this the greater their depth of experience will be. This sets them up for success in the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Reflective thinking has many benefits in relation to problem solving. Being able to reflect on how a situation reflects on your life may give you a new perspective that you never thought about before.
There are many times in class that I will use reflective questions pertaining to the chapter but the students have to apply it to a real life situations. It gives them new insight from hearing others comment on how it relates to many different situations that they come across on a day-to-day basis.
Candace,
This is a key point about how to expand the reflective thinking abilities of students. They need to learn how to reflect and consider options before jumping into the solution phase.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Using reflective thinking is a crucial step in determining if what we are doing is working. When we make changes, we need to stop a minute and reflect on the outcome. So often we are rushing through life while making numerous changes and are not taking the extra time to reflect on the outcomes.
Reflective thinking creates a space for pulling in as much information as well the impact of any action. Working out scenarios in advance prevents making mistakes.
Reflective thinking allows one to think about and consider all of the information they have gathered and how it can help in solving the problem. Many times people act before thinking about all of the possibilities for solving a problem and the consequences their reactive decisions may have. Reflective thinking can help "all of the pieces" come together in a final decision or equally important make one realize the negative consequences of the decision that "first comes to mind".
Bernie,
This is one of those situations where it is better to slow down so you can speed up. Today's generation think all of life's problems can be solved with a google search. As we doesn't happen. Stopping and thinking through alternatives will yield much better results.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In the IT field, they're constantly dealing with solving problems. Typically IT students want to get their hands on the computer, click away, and solve the problem. But often time is wasted and effort spent because they don't take the time to reflect on the situation. I use multiple examples for them of how taking the time to analyze, document, then troubleshoot ultimately saves time and effort.
Joel,
This is a great way to problem solve since it involves self discipline and reflective thinking. The more that this can be done the better one will become as a decision maker and problem solver.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am a believer in making decisions/reacting after taking a step back and looking at all the angles. Reflective thinking in most cases will allow for the most beneficial decision making process.
Finding that Aha moment is on of the benifits of reflective thnking. Considering a different perspective to the problem, allowing the information to move around and find a different relationship to previous informtion can reveal, or result in a new solution to the current problem.
Reflective thinking is a part of the critical thinking process referring specifically to the processes of analyzing and making judgments about what has happened. It provides students with the opportunity to step back and think about how to solve a problem using certain set of problem solving strategies for achieving their goals.
It allows you to take a moment, step back and take everything in collectively. This gives you a more accurate full picture which aids in solving the problem.
Cynthia,
As a former carpenter I can really appreciate your use of the saying "measure twice cut once". You are right about how it applies to all types of life settings because we do need to step back reflect, consider and then act. By doing so hopefully our decisions will be better made.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I helped build a house once and found the meaning of
"Measure twice cut once" to not just be true to carpentry but to life. Taking a step back and being sure of something after thinking things thru does help.
Patricia,
Yes, it does. It is a step back and think process that can yield many results on many different levels.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The best part of reflective thinking is the ability to learn without having to actually complete a task. Also it gives you the opportunity to interpet information at your pace and in your own thoughts.
Looks like everybody has about the same answer, but I'll add that my father was right when he said to take a breath and think before talking. Mark Twain said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." Which is a good definition of why reflection can work well in human interactions.
But you must be prepared to get results that others don't like and must be prepared to be marginalized or ignored until events prove you right. At which point you're likely to be blamed. Barbara Tuchman's wonderful "The March of Folly" discussed how very intelligent people can charge into situations with their only narrow unquestioned viewpoints as they talk to each other, with everybody having the same non-reflective mindset (or perhaps one should say "reflecting" each other without illumination). We are celebrating the centennial of such a case (one she discussed in a great book), how such lack of critical thinking led to World War I. But there are many other examples, including a big one made by the US government in 2003.
Kleinkauf,
You make a good point for understanding how progress is made in terms of reflective thinking. It is a building process for sure because each experience should help the problem solver to be better the next time that situation is encountered.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
