1 Building a reflective log
As well as doing practical activities, you are also encouraged and advised to keep a reflective learning log on this course. This is not a compulsory activity but is extremely helpful, because an important aspect of your role as a facilitator is to be able to reflect on and learn from what you are doing.
As you work through the course, it will be useful to look back on your notes.
Reflection is defined as an activity that involves learning from your experiences by critically reviewing your actions, considering the impact of those actions and planning what you would do in similar situations in the future. Reflection can sometimes seem quite a difficult (and perhaps not very relevant) activity for someone who deals with lots of quickly changing situations and challenges, such as those you might come across in an online conversation. However, reflection provides an excellent way for you as a facilitator to better understand what is happening and how you might be able to do things differently in future.An extremely simple way of reflecting on your role is to use a three-question approach:
- What? Critically review your actions.
- So what? Consider the impact of those actions.
- Now what? Plan what you would do in similar situations in the future.
Learning outcomes