Saturday, June 25, 2011

Writing about that namby pamby stuff

The paper I am planning for the How to Write a Paper in 6 weeks is about blogging and reflective practice. This paper will be based on my personal experiences as opposed to a research project, and is a paper I have been thinking about writing for some time. I made a start in the form of an essay for my EdD - now I have to get on and finish it off as a paper for publication.

Here is the mapping I have done which meets the requirements of Week 2 of my writing project.

Reflective practice

  • what it is
  • why it is important for practicing midwives different models and processes - confusing at the best of times
  • journaling is consistently seen as a valuable tool for reflective practice
  • clarify the difference between reflective practice & journaling – what are the other ways/tools for reflective practice

Journaling

  • journaling and reflective practice
  • what makes journaling so effective
  • how you do it – model for reflection – levels of learning (Bronwyn's thesis)
  • evidence of reflective journaling for midwives – why they have to do it
  • problems with journaling – learning styles, level of learning – people do not engage with deeper learning
  • one adaptation is the modern blog

Blogging

  • what a blog is...is similar to journalling but it is a separate thing with its own pros & cons....open journalling
  • how it can be used for reflective practice - how it differs from paper journaling evidence about its effectiveness – do people do deeper reflection in a blog?
  • problems with blogging – confidentiality, online reputation, digital literacy, Internet access

My experience

  • multi-media suits my different learning styles
  • I write in an anonymous way that protects the events/people I am reflecting on, as well as myself
  • open blogging allows me to engage with readers - community of learning
  • challenged to take me reflection to a deeper level – does my experience tie in with what the literature says
  • information shared, connections made, conversations all add to my learning – conversations go else where...can leap frog into FB, Twitter etc...or go from blog to blog...don;t know who is going to respond to that post...or what perspective is offered...any perspective will make you think
  • different perspective, not just from colleagues – I hear from health consumers and people from all walks of life
  • people support me when the going gets tough
  • people see what I have learned and how I have responded to that learning – accountability to the people I care for & teach
  • contribute to others' learning eg article about burn out
  • challenging to people who are uncomfortable with reflective practice, especially in open environment
  • views people have about admitting your mistakes in public, especially in obstetrics
  • what I blog about – some examples, with the comments people leave (probably this in interwoven through my narrative)

Recommendations

  • Give it a go
  • Keep things simple – digital literacy education
  • Think about your online profile – how you're going to present yourself
  • Get a mentor – some great midwifery bloggers and other healthcare professionals about to model your practice on and to link in with
  • Get your posts checked if you think you're likely to breach confidentiality
  • Blog in general terms rather than specifics
  • Be patient – takes time to build a community of learners


1 comment:

AJ Cann said...

This is my take on academic blogging:
Everyone's in favour of of reflective practice, but reflection is the thing which always get squeezed out by the "busy". regular blogging imposes the discipline necessary for reflection, either through self- discipline (targets), or feedback from a readership.