How to develop personal reflection. Definition of reflection in psychology: what is it?


Personal reflection is understood as a specific ability of consciousness for a specific form of purely theoretical activity, which is expressed in turning back, understanding one’s own actions, their mechanism and sequence.

Reflection and its types is a unique indicator of a person’s activity aimed at self-knowledge, and also reflects his spiritual world.

In psychology, reflection is understood as an individual’s turning to himself. The focus of attention and analysis on one’s personality, one’s personal patterns of behavior, values, motivation, and other functions of consciousness that are part of the structure of personality as such.

Reflection options

Experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry have identified quite diverse options for reflection.

For example, it is customary to distinguish situational reflection separately. It characterizes the ability to assess the relationship between the situations occurring with the subject and his abilities for adequate, purposeful behavior in them. In other words, situational reflection is those complexes of motivation and self-esteem mechanisms that influence the behavior of an individual in a given situation.

In addition, reflection is also divided into retrospective and prospective. The first is an assessment of probable events that happened to the subject in the past, focusing on one’s own personal qualities. If we talk about prospective reflection, then it is a completely opposite activity, being aimed at the upcoming reality. Such reflection includes an assessment of possible further actions and their consequences, choosing the most optimal solution to problems and current situations to achieve the goal.

The most common classification of reflection and its types is the identification of elementary, scientific, philosophical, psychological and social reflection. It is worth noting that elementary reflection is inherent in each of the individuals. The clearest example is a banal analysis of one’s own actions, an assessment of actions and their results. This type of reflection makes it possible to learn from mistakes and avoid their repetition.

Social reflection is a more complex process. It is often also called “internal betrayal.” Social reflection is an understanding of another subject by thinking for him, an idea of ​​another person based on other people’s reasoning about him. This type of reflection emphasizes the importance of others’ judgments about the subject in the social environment. Such reflection makes it possible to know oneself through other people's reasoning, a view from the outside.

The main purpose of reflection

It is necessary to understand that reflection, first of all, is the ability to compare one’s activities, analyze and evaluate them. Reflection makes the learning process itself possible. A subject who repeats the same actions hundreds of times according to instructions will not learn anything if he completely lacks the skill of reflection.

Thus, it can be argued that the main goal of reflection is to identify, understand and remember all the key elements of activity. It contains all the possible ways to solve problems, meanings, methods. Without highlighting learning mechanisms, possible ways knowledge and application, the learning individual is unable to master the knowledge that he has acquired.

Reflection training

Any person who is a clear thinker and strives to improve his thinking, acting and social skills should not neglect reflection. In this case, accessible and simple reflection training, which represents specific self-discipline and development, is always relevant.

The following ways of developing reflection are distinguished:

  • Always analyze your personal actions immediately after the incident of any kind. important event. Evaluate all the consequences and how they relate to the choices you made.
  • Always strive to evaluate yourself and your actions objectively and adequately.
  • Reflect on how your actions looked in the eyes of other people, your loved ones and those around you. Consider everything possible options actions and think about which choice was the most optimal.
  • Evaluate your views of other people from time to time. Evaluate the criticality and adequacy of your opinion.
  • Try to communicate as often as possible with people who are as different from you as possible. Attempts and efforts to understand the opposing point of view maximally activates and stimulates the processes of reflection.

Most common mistake in discussions and arguments is the fear that you will understand your opponent. This is not entirely true, since the concept of your "rival"'s point of view does not fully accept it. It is worth emphasizing that communicating with people who have a completely different worldview, different from yours, is the most optimal and effective way to train your ability to reflect.

The most extensive and in-depth, comprehensive view of a situation or issue makes your ability to think as flexible as possible. This property makes it possible to quickly and effectively search for the most optimal and adequate solution to any problem or situation. If you know how to always find in a given situation positive sides or even a certain amount of comedy, then this is an indicator of a high level of reflection. Personal reflection is primarily expressed in the ability to look at the situation from a different angle, from a different point of view, which allows you to find non-standard and effective ways out of the situation.

The development of reflection is not a complex training, but consists only in the constant habit of evaluating one’s actions and comparing them with real results. Approximately a few months after such “training”, you will notice that you have become better at understanding the people around you, you can predict their actions and the consequences of their decisions, and find solutions to problems quickly and effectively.

Reflection is subtle and effective tool, which can be applied in any area of ​​your life.

For the full development of personality, it is important not only to regularly acquire knowledge, but also to be able to understand it, in order to then successfully apply it in practice. Reflexivity helps a person formulate and process new information. Reflection is the ability of an individual to realize one’s own uniqueness, the ability to form and understand goals and a person’s purpose.

Reflection is the basis for understanding one’s own personality

These two concepts are closely related and are often confused. In fact, there is a significant difference between them. Self-awareness is the subject’s understanding and awareness of his own thoughts, feelings, actions, social status, interests and motives of behavior. Self-awareness comes through:

  • culture (spiritual, material);
  • feeling of one’s own body (any action);
  • formulation by society of norms of behavior, rules, ethics;
  • interaction and relationships with other people.

With the help of self-awareness, personality is constantly changing, improving or worsening innate and acquired qualities. Life itself teaches a person, with the help of self-awareness, to exercise self-control and self-regulation.. Thanks to this, a reasonable person is able to take responsibility for own actions and the results obtained.


Reflection from the point of view of different positions

Self-awareness is very closely intertwined with reflection; self-awareness affects the phenomenon of reflexivity, expanding it in a unique way.

Reflection, what is it?

Reflection is a word of Latin origin, it is translated as “turning back.” To understand what reflection is in psychology, you need to know the following definitions: “introspection”, “deliberation”, “self-examination”, “introspection”. These words are synonymous with reflexivity.

If self-awareness is a person’s awareness of what is happening, then reflection is the subject’s ability to understand and evaluate reality with the involvement of his own “I”.

The definition of reflection in psychology is a combination of the results of human reflection about one’s own personality and its assessment through communication mechanisms. Without society there is no reflexivity. The levels of introspection are multifaceted: from ordinary, simple self-awareness to deep self-examination, with reflection on the meaning of being, the morality of life.


Scientists who have studied reflection

Any human manifestations of conscious activity can become reflexive: thoughts, actions, motives, feelings, emotions. But they become reflections only if they are addressed to one’s own consciousness:

  • sensations relating to personal feelings;
  • reflections on one’s own thoughts and actions;
  • imagination, which affects what someone (the person himself or those around him) has fantasized (imagined).

Only by reflecting on his own consciousness does a person create an individual understanding of commensurability with the real world, perceiving himself and reality as one whole. Such a reflexive comparison allows the subject to act in life as a certain personality - one of the components of the world where a person exists.

Reflexivity as a psychological part of personality

Reflexivity in psychology is a person’s ability to reflect and analyze his own personality, including:

  • events that have already occurred;
  • actions taken;
  • feasible successes or failures;
  • current emotional state;
  • characteristics of inherent character qualities.

The depth of reflective self-analysis varies from person to person. It depends on the degree spiritual development the subject, his level of self-control, moral qualities, degree of education. Reflection also clarifies (supports or stops) the ongoing action.


Reflection plays a huge role in the development of personality

For internal harmony, it is important that these concepts are interconnected. This is confirmed by the following facts:

  1. Reflection without action leads to a person becoming fixated on his own “I.”
  2. Action without reflection leads to stupid, frivolous and thoughtless actions.

In the field of psychology, reflection is important key point. Most psychological research is based on reflexology. The study of this phenomenon (its structure, dynamics of development) helps to understand the deep mechanisms of the formation of human personality.

Reflection has always attracted the attention of thinkers, philosophers and psychologists. Aristotle also spoke about this part human consciousness, as about “thinking acting on thinking.”

To fully disclose reflexive processes in psychology, this phenomenon is considered from the level of different approaches in research:

  • personalities;
  • consciousness;
  • thinking;
  • creativity.

Reflection as a method of studying the psyche

Reflective processes are successfully used in psychology when conducting introspection. Introspection (translated from Latin as “looking inside”) is a way of studying the psychological qualities of a subject. It is based on the observation of personal psychological processes without using any standards.


Types of reflection in psychology

The founder of introspection, British psychologist and philosopher John Locke, explained that an individual has two permanent sources of knowledge necessary for the development of the human psyche:

  1. Objects of the surrounding world. As a person grows up, he interacts with the world around him through external senses (vision, touch, hearing). In response, he receives certain impressions, which form the perception of reality in his consciousness.
  2. The activity of the human mind. This includes education and personality development through all manifestations of feelings.

These two sources are inextricably linked; their joint activity is what organizes reflexivity. According to Locke: “Reflection is observation born of activity.”

How self-analysis helps

When a psychologist uses reflection methods in his work, he pushes the patient to look at himself from the outside. As a result of successful work, a person learns to deeply and truly analyze his own actions and better understand his inner world.

Using reflexive methods in work, the psychologist teaches the individual to independently choose the only correct solution any problem.

During reflective work, the psychologist, analyzing a certain situation, helps the patient to realize the following points:

  • what exactly the person feels at a given time;
  • what vulnerable place in your own consciousness was damaged in the situation;
  • How to use the difficulties that have arisen to your advantage.

The independent search for answers determines the essence of the work of a psychologist who uses reflexive methods. Reflection helps not only to look at your inner self, but also to get to know your social self (that is, the personality that people around you perceive). And also to recognize yourself as improved (the one that a person sees ideally).


Reflection functions

Reflective ways psychological work help the patient realize the six parts of his own personality. Let's list them:

  1. I, as the subject myself.
  2. I am like a person in public.
  3. I'm like a perfect creation.
  4. I am in the perception of an outsider.
  5. I am like a person in public in the perception of others.
  6. I am like an ideal creature in the perception of outsiders.

An example of reflection in psychology helps to understand what reflexive manifestations are:

“A man watches an interesting movie and suddenly realizes that main character reminds me of him. He is similar in appearance, emotional manifestations, actions, actions. Or a mother, looking lovingly at her child, tries to identify familiar traits in the character, looking for similar traits. All these are unconscious reflexive manifestations.”

Signs of reflection

Psychologists, using methods of reflexivity in their work, identify two differences between this phenomenon in individuals. This:

  1. Situational. This sign allows the subject to deeply “enter” the situation and comprehend the slightest nuances of what is happening.
  2. Sanogenic. Characterized by the ability to regulate emotional manifestations to relieve worries and difficult thoughts.
  3. Retrospective. The ability to evaluate past events in order to gain new useful experience through analysis and awareness of one’s own mistakes.

Psychologists are convinced that reflection is a direct path to creating internal harmony and self-improvement of the individual. Developed reflexive mechanisms help transform vague and incomprehensible thoughts “wandering” in the subconscious into successful ideas, bringing prosperity.


Reflection and its role in human life

People who do not know how to work with their own reflexive manifestations are not able to organize their lives systematically. They are unable to take control of what is happening to them and passively go with the flow.

How to develop such abilities

To become successful, harmonious personality, it is important to master reflexive inclinations and use them profitably. Psychologists have developed several exercises that should be performed regularly:

Analyzing actions. After making any decision, you should look at yourself from the perspective of an outsider. Consider the action, whether there was another way out of the situation. Maybe he could become more profitable and successful? What conclusions can be drawn from decision taken, where it leads, whether there are any errors in it, what kind.

The purpose of this exercise is to understand the fact of personal uniqueness and learn self-control.

Evaluating the past. Every day, in the evening, in a calm environment, “review” your day again. But in more detail and slowly, analyze even the smallest episodes of the past day. If you feel that a certain event has caused dissatisfaction, focus on it.

Try to evaluate the past day from the point of view of a disinterested person. This will allow you to identify your own failures and prevent their repetition in the future.

Learning to communicate. This skill is important for improving and enhancing communication skills. What to do? Expand your circle of acquaintances, trying to communicate with people of different views and points of view. For a sociable person this is not difficult, but for a closed introvert you will have to work.

Remember the impression made on you by new people, and periodically check the opinion that you form about them in the future. This exercise helps to activate and improve innate reflexivity.

As a result, the individual learns to make informed, competent decisions and determine the most profitable way out of the situation.

Reflection is a powerful psychological weapon that helps you better understand yourself and others. Over time, a person develops the ability to predict events, sense the thoughts of others and predict the outcome of events.

REFLECTION

REFLECTION

Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 .

REFLECTION

a form of theoretical activity of a socially developed person, aimed at understanding one’s own. actions and their laws; the activity of self-knowledge, revealing the specifics of the spiritual world of man. The content of R. is determined by object-senses. activities: . ultimately there is an awareness of practice, of the objective world of culture. In this sense, R. is a way of defining both philosophy and R. of reason. R. thinking about the laws of formation of socio-historical. reality, about the ultimate foundations of human knowledge and behavior is the actual subject of philosophy. The change in the subject of philosophy was also expressed in a change in R.’s interpretation.

The problem of R. first arose with Socrates, according to whom the subject of knowledge can only be that which has already been mastered, and since The activity most subject to man is his own. soul, is the most important task of man. Plato reveals the importance of self-knowledge in connection with such a virtue as knowledge of oneself (see Charmides, 164 D, 165 C, 171 E); there is some kind of knowledge, which has no other object except itself and other knowledge (see ibid., 167 C). Theoretical , philosopher R. is rated as the highest. Aristotle considers R. as a deity. reason, which in its pure theoretical. activity posits itself as an object and thereby reveals the unity of the object of knowledge and knowledge, conceivable and thought, them (see Met. XII, 7 1072 in 20; Russian translation, M.–L., 1934). In the philosophy of Plotinus, self-knowledge was the method of constructing metaphysics; having distinguished between the soul and the intellect, he considered self-knowledge to be an attribute only of the latter: only the identity of oneself and the conceivable can be thought, for here the thought about the thought is one, since the thinkable is a living and thinking activity, i.e. active thought itself (see P. P. Blonsky, Philosophy of Plotinus, M., 1918, p. 189). Self-knowledge is unity. mind, R. is the opposite of practice (see ibid., p. 190): “...You need to transfer the object inside the subject and contemplate it as a single thing, the process of contemplation should be similar to the process of self-contemplation” (Enneads, V, book 8; cit. according to the book: Brush M., Classics of Philosophy, vol. 1, St. Petersburg, 1913, p. 479). Only by plunging into the depths of one’s own. spirit, can merge together with both the object of contemplation and “the deity approaching in silence” (ibid., p. 480).

In the Middle Ages. philosophy of R. was considered as a way of existence of deities. reason, as a form of its realization: it cognizes the truth insofar as it returns to itself. For example, Augustine believed that the most reliable knowledge is a person’s knowledge of his own. being and consciousness. By delving into one’s own, a person reaches the truth contained in the soul, and thereby comes to God. According to John Scotus Eriugena, the contemplation of one's essence by God is creation.

The thinkers of the Renaissance, putting forward the idea of ​​man as a microcosm, in which all the forces of the macrocosm are expressed in a concentrated form, proceeded from the fact that knowledge of natural forces is at the same time self-knowledge of man, and vice versa.

Changes in the interpretation of R. in modern times are associated with bringing to the fore the problems of substantiating knowledge. In Descartes' Metaphysical Meditations, reasoning was based on methodological principles. doubt: only one thing is reliable and beyond doubt - my own. and thinking, and thereby mine (see Izbr. prod., M., 1950, p. 342). The consciousness about oneself obtained with the help of R. is unity. reliable position - is the basis for subsequent conclusions about the existence of God, physical. tel etc.

Locke, rejecting Descartes' concept of innate ideas, pursues the idea of ​​the experiential origin of knowledge and, in this regard, distinguishes two types of experience - feelings. and R. (internal experience). The latter is “... to which the mind exposes its activity and the methods of its manifestation, as a result of which ideas of this activity arise in the mind” (Izbr. filos. prod., vol. 1, M., 1960, p. 129). Possessing independence in relation to external experience, R. is nevertheless based on it.

In Hegel's philosophy, R. actually represents driving force development of the spirit. Considering rational R. as a necessary cognition. process and criticizing the romantics in this regard, Hegel at the same time reveals its limitations: fixing abstract definitions, . reason is not able to reveal their unity, but claims to be final, absolutely. knowledge. In the "Phenomenology of Spirit" the R. of the spirit about itself appears as a form of self-development of the spirit, as a basis that allows one to move from one form of spirit to another. Hegel traces here the specifics of the movement of R. at each of the three stages of development of the spirit. Logical R.'s forms correspond to the historical ones. forms of self-consciousness, which culminates in “unhappy consciousness”, divided within itself and therefore fixing abstract moments of reality in their isolation from each other (see Soch., vol. 4, M., 1959, pp. 112, 118–19 ). Being an objective idealist, Hegel believes that the spirit is embodied in an object, which reveals itself in it (as Hegel put it, the object reflects into itself, see ibid., p. 13). This, materialistically rethought, was used by Marx to express the fact that the sides or aspects of a material object that has become a commodity are mutually reflected in each other and in themselves (see “Capital”, in the book: Marx K. and Engels F. , Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 23, p. 121; "Das Kapital", V., 1961, S. 116). The essence of logic in a logically generalized form is considered by Hegel in The Science of Logic in connection with the analysis of essence and appearance; Unlike the categories of being, which are characterized by a transition from one to another, and from the categories of the concept, where their development is concerned, in the doctrine of essence the relationship of paired categories is fixed, each of which is reflected - reflected, shines in the other ( see Soch., vol. 1, M.–L., 1929, p. 195). Hegel distinguishes three types of R.: believing, edge corresponds to describing. sciences, the external, or comparing, edge reflects in the science of the method of comparison, and the defining, edge captures the moments of essence in their independence and isolation from each other. In general, Hegel’s doctrine of R. reveals the categorical structure of that science, which fixes identity and opposition, but does not comprehend the contradictions, science, which opposes the subject as its subject and does not reveal their unity, given in practice.

In Marxism, the development of the problem of R. was carried out in two interrelated ways: along the line of criticism of metaphysics. understanding of R. and along the lines of philosophical analysis. knowledge as R. about the culture of mankind, about its social history. Negative the attitude towards R. as a specifically rational way of identifying the characteristics not of an object, but of everyday consciousness, was accompanied by a study of the conditionality of R. by practice, by all human activities. Already in The Holy Family, the founders of Marxism showed what brings the real together, the actual. person to self-awareness, and his practical. actions - to thinks. criticism of one's own consciousness (see K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, 2nd ed., vol. 2, pp. 43, 58). In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels reveal the class calls for the intensification of R., characteristic of the bourgeoisie. philosophy of the 19th century: it consists in internalizing the institutional, making it a matter of conscience of every person, so that the state is complemented by censorship of conscience; Thus, the actively creative spirit in a person is killed. attitude towards reality, the hypochondriac is fueled. self-control and inactive self-digging in the depths of one’s soul. Criticizing rational R., which opposes itself to practice, Marx and Engels show that in reality, reflective individuals never rise above R. (see ibid., vol. 3, p. 248). The fundamental limitations of rational R., its inability to penetrate into the essence of the subject under study, was convincingly revealed by Marx in connection with the criticism of vulgar political economy, which was ossified in reflective definitions and therefore was unable to grasp the bourgeoisie. production as . Marx and Engels' criticism of the rational understanding of R. was essentially a criticism of the principles on which it was based, using metaphysics. method. This criticism merged with methodological. study of the categorical structure of metaphysical, rational thinking, with theoretical. comprehension of objective and practical the basis of this transformed form of thinking.

Marx and Engels associate the defects of metaphysical-rational reflection with the specifics of human development in conditions of division of labor and alienation, when a person turns into a partial person, and the one-sided development of his abilities leads to the fact that a partial social function becomes his life calling. It is under such conditions that R. thinking about oneself becomes the vocation of a philosopher and is opposed to practice. This limitation is overcome by the development of universally practical. relationship to the world, as a result of which the mind appears as the R. of practice in its universality and integrity. We can distinguish different levels of philosophy. R.: 1) R. about the content of knowledge given in various forms culture (language, science, etc.), and 2) R. about the process of thinking - analysis of the ways of forming ethical. normal, logical foundations and methods of formation of the categorical apparatus of science. In its essence, R. is critical, because, by forming new values, it “breaks” the existing norms of behavior and knowledge.

The positive meaning of R. lies in the fact that with its help the mastery of the world of culture and human productive abilities is achieved. Thinking can make itself the subject of theory. analysis only if it is objectified in real, objective forms, i.e. externalized and can relate to oneself indirectly. Rejecting the reduction of R. to an understanding of the prejudices of everyday consciousness, the dialectic. sees in philosophy self-knowledge of world-historical. practices of humanity, in which the universe shines through. characteristics natural world. Marxist philosophy is dialectical. R. about thinking, which is objectively embodied not only in language, but also in the products of labor, in the achievements of science, in the entire culture of mankind.

R. becomes the center. concept in bourgeois philosophy of the 19th–20th centuries, expressing the originality of the subject of philosophy in the system of sciences and the specificity of philosophy. method. Since philosophy has always been interpreted as R. about knowledge, as thinking about thinking, the emphasis on the problem of R. in modern. philosophers expresses the desire to defend the isolation of philosophy from objective feelings. activity, limit its subject to self-consciousness of knowledge. This line in pure form carried out in neo-Kantianism (Cohen, Natorp, Nelson, etc.). At the same time, Nelson specifically highlights psychological. R. as awareness of direct knowledge (a variety of this R. - - was the main method of introspective psychology).

Husserl specifically singles out R. among the universal essential features of the pure sphere of experience (see “Ideen zu einer reinen Phänomenologie und phänomenologischen Philosophie”, Bd 1, Haag, 1950, S. 177). He gives R. a universal methodological. function. Phenomenology itself is substantiated with the help of R.: phenomenology is based on the “productive ability” of R. (see ibid.). R. is for Husserl “for acts in which the flow of experience with all its varied events ... becomes clearly comprehended and analyzed” (ibid., . 181). In other words, R. is the name of the method for understanding consciousness. Phenomenology is intended to dismember different kinds R. and analyze them in different orders. In accordance with the general division of phenomenology, Husserl distinguishes three forms of R., considering them an attribute only of the transcendental, and not of the empirical. subject. The first form is the individual’s awareness of the content of perceptions, figurative representations, comprehension of the act of perception itself; rising to pure consciousness, transcendental experience, the individual flow of experiences passes to the second form of reflection - R. about R.; highest form R. is transcendental-eidetic, which substantiates phenomenology in its purity and allows one to discover things.

A person's appeal to his own. existence is one of the chapters. slogans of existentialism. A person’s existence can only be revealed when he is left alone with the silent voice of his conscience, in fear of. Requiring to intensify R., turns the main. to the inquisition of conscience, without leaving a single corner in the soul that is not poisoned by R.T.O., here we are not talking about epistemological. R., as in neo-Kantianism and phenomenology, but about ethical. R., edges should awaken guilt in a person, determine his morals. position in the world (see, for example, G. Marcel, Homo Viator, P., 1944, p. 224, as well as Heidegger M., Sein und Zeit, Halle, 1927, p. 273). This interpretation of R. is extremely close to the idea of ​​human sinfulness and constant reminders of this preached by Christianity.

Neo-Thomism in R.'s understanding returns to pre-Kantian philosophy. Justifying the possibility of metaphysics, neo-Thomists and Catholics. philosophers distinguish between psychological and transcendental R. The first (the area of ​​aspirations and feelings) determines the possibility of anthropology and psychology. The second, in turn, is divided into logical (abstract-discursive cognition) and ontological (focus on), with the help of which the possibility of philosophy proper, set forth according to all the canons of pre-Kantian metaphysics, is substantiated.


But with experience comes the understanding that reflection greatly helps the teacher to control the class, to see already during the lesson what was understood and what was left for improvement, that is, to “keep a finger on the pulse.” We should not forget that reflection is something new that modern pedagogy strives for: teaching not science, but teaching how to learn. Reflection helps the child not only understand the path traveled, but also build a logical chain, systematize the experience gained, and compare his successes with the successes of other students.

In the structure of a lesson that meets the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard, reflection is compulsory stage of the lesson. Particular emphasis is placed on activity reflection; it is proposed to carry out this stage at the end of the lesson. In this case, the teacher plays the role of an organizer, and the main actors students speak.

What is reflection?

The dictionaries give a clear definition: reflection is introspection, self-assessment, “a look inside oneself.” In relation to lessons, reflection is a stage of the lesson during which students independently evaluate their state, their emotions, and the results of their activities.

Why is reflection needed?

If the child understands:

  • why he is studying this topic, how it will be useful to him in the future;
  • what goals should be achieved in this lesson;
  • what contribution he can make to the common cause;
  • can he adequately evaluate his work and the work of his classmates,

…then the learning process becomes much more interesting and easier for both the student and the teacher.

When to do it?

Reflection can be carried out at any stage of the lesson, as well as based on the results of studying a topic or an entire section of material.

Kinds

There are several classifications of reflection as a lesson stage. Knowing the classification, it is more convenient for the teacher to vary and combine techniques, including reflection in the lesson plan.

I . By content : symbolic, oral and written.

Symbolic - when the student simply gives a grade using symbols (cards, tokens, gestures, etc.). Oral language presupposes the child’s ability to coherently express his thoughts and describe his emotions. Written is the most difficult and takes the most time. The latter is appropriate at the final stage of studying an entire section of educational material or a large topic.

II . By form of activity : collective, group, frontal, individual.

It is in this order that it is more convenient to accustom children to this species work. First - with the whole class, then - in separate groups, then - selectively interview students. This will prepare students for independent work above oneself.

III . By purpose :

  • Emotional

It assesses mood and emotional perception of educational material. This is a reflection from the categories “liked/disliked”, “interesting/boring”, “it was fun/sad”.

This type of reflection helps the teacher assess the general mood of the class. The more positive, the better the topic is understood. And vice versa, if there are more conditional “clouds”, it means that the lesson seemed boring, difficult, and difficulties arose with the perception of the topic. Agree, we get bored and sad when we don’t understand something.

How and when to do it?

Reflection on mood and emotionality is easy to carry out even with first-graders. There are a lot of options: handout cards with emoticons or iconic pictures, display thumb(up/down), show of hands, signal cards, etc. It is more convenient to carry out at the end of the next stage of the lesson: after explanation new topic, after the stage of fixing the topic, etc.

At the beginning of the lesson, emotional reflection is carried out in order to establish contact with the class. You can put on music (choosing a tune that matches the theme), quote a classic, or read out an emotional poem. Afterwards, you should definitely ask 3-4 students: “What are you feeling now? What is your mood? Etc. Firstly, students (even the smallest ones) get used to assessing their state, their emotions, and secondly, they learn to argue for their point of view.In addition, such reflection will help students tune in to the perception of the topic.

  • Reflection of activity

This type of reflection is more convenient to use when checking homework, at the stage of consolidating material, and when defending projects. It helps students understand the types and methods of work, analyze their activity and, of course, identify gaps.

How to carry out (examples of work organization):

  • Ladder of success. Each step is one type of work. The more tasks are completed, the higher the drawn man rises.
  • Tree of success. Each leaf has its own specific color: green - you did everything right, yellow - you encountered difficulties, red - you made a lot of mistakes. Each student decorates their tree with the appropriate leaves. In the same way, you can decorate the Christmas tree with toys, decorate the meadow with flowers, etc.
  • Carriages. Each trailer corresponds to a specific task. For example, let's say you're planning a consolidation phase consisting of three mini-games and one creative activity. You have 4 trailers. Invite your students to put the little people (animals, leave a token) in the trailer whose task was completed easily, quickly and correctly.
  • "Signs"(convenient when teaching penmanship). Ask students to circle/underline the most beautifully written letter or word.

Thanks to such techniques, the teacher will always have a clear picture of what they have understood and realized, and what still needs to be worked on.

  • Reflection on the content of the material

This type of reflection is more convenient to carry out at the end of the lesson or at the stage of summing up. It gives children the opportunity to understand the content of what they have learned and evaluate the effectiveness of their own work in the lesson.

How to do it:

  • Offer to children Tag Cloud", which need to be supplemented. For example, on an interactive whiteboard you can display a slide with options:
    • today I found out...
    • it was difficult…
    • I realized that...
    • I learned…
    • I was able...
    • It was interesting to know that...
    • I was surprised...
    • I wanted... etc.

Each student chooses 1-2 sentences and completes them. Such reflection can be carried out orally, but it can also be done in writing (on pieces of paper or directly in a notebook).

  • Graphic: table with signs on the board

In the table, the lesson objectives can be written down by the teacher himself (for elementary school students). You can set goals together with your elders. At the end of the lesson, students add a plus next to each goal and in the column that they consider more acceptable.

  • Questionnaire

  • "Three M"

Students are asked to name three things they did well during the lesson and suggest one action that will improve their performance in the next lesson.

The following examples of reflection will fit perfectly into the concept of humanities subjects:

  • Akroslovo

For example, characterize Woland, the hero of M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”:

V - omnipotent

O - represents justice

L - moon, black poodle and "devilry"

A is the antipode of Yeshua

N is not absolute evil

D - devil

  • Phraseologism or proverb

Choose an expression that matches your perception of the lesson: heard out of the corner of your ear, flapping your ears, moving your brains, counting crows, etc.

A few comments on the topic, or suggestions from students

  • Techniques such as insert, syncwine, cluster, diamond, POPS do not need explanation and have proven themselves to be very effective. With one "but"! If the teacher uses them constantly, so that the children can get used to such work. Otherwise, creating the same syncwine will turn into hard labor, and not a positive and effective conclusion to the topic.
  • It is advisable to adapt the form to the age of the children. Naturally, you can’t go to 10th grade with gnomes and bunnies. But even in elementary school, you shouldn’t get too carried away with colorful pictures. Choose one option so that students get used to it and do not have to explain the meaning of pictures or gestures every time.
  • I heard a remark from a child on one of the forums: “One teacher has a red leaf that means “understood everything,” another means “I didn’t understand anything,” and a third teacher has stars and clouds instead of leaves. And how am I supposed to remember all this? " This is already a dead-end question. It seems that within the framework of at least the unification method, it makes sense to agree on a single meaning of the symbols/colors/signs used for reflection.

What I have diligently collected, bit by bit, over many years of continuous psychotherapy (thanks to my once very non-random, although predominantly intuitively chosen therapists, supervisor, teachers and mentors), and what I now constantly and confidently use in ordinary life, in my opinion, cannot be acquired through books.

I'm talking about the ability to reflect. In order not to delve into abstruse terms, I will try to explain this concept more simply.

In fact, reflection is a person’s ability to consciously direct attention deep into oneself, observe your mental space, focusing on the internal content.

On Wikipedia, for example, you can read that reflection distinguishes humans from animals, and it is thanks to it that a person can not only know or feel something, but also know about his knowledge or experience. This is the ability to track what is happening at different levels of consciousness, with the possibility of further rethinking.

Having originated in philosophy, the concept of reflection expanded over time. As a psychologist, the formulation closest to me is that of psychoanalyst, Doctor of Sciences A.V. Rossokhin. He describes personal reflection as " active subjective process of generating meanings , based on unique ability personality to awareness of the unconscious ».

Children have practically no reflection. Childhood is a time of affect, impulse, so to speak, a time of immediate reaction or, if it is stopped, for some reason being inaccessible, then an unconscious adaptation to reality through mental defense mechanisms.

No self-observation has yet developed in the child’s psyche, since the ability to reflect “matures” precisely in contact with an accessible Other, and then can develop throughout life if a person is interested and does not suppress this opportunity.

Unlike animals and small children, a person is mentally mature and has sufficiently developed reflection, capable of independently learning and organizing self-knowledge in contact with everyone and everything he encounters.

Thanks to this developed property, he becomes able not to react affectively, but to observe, track the emergence of one or another of his feelings, states, and explore them, asking all sorts of questions about himself, his individual “structure” and the situation that gives rise to such a reaction.

It can detect cause-and-effect, temporal s e, spatial and other connections (in fact, thanks to connection, integrity is achieved).

And therefore, for an adult, everything until the end of his life can be an Unlimited Fount, a Teacher, and with this approach, a meeting with any creature will bestow this person with new facets of knowledge of “himself-in-the-world.”

Thanks to reflection, a person gradually introverts (you can read about introverts), his personal picture acquires depth, facets and possibilities appear that he had not previously discovered in himself.

Against the background of what has been said, psychotherapy is a so-called transitional space in which people who are not yet capable or little capable of reflection have the opportunity to acquire and develop it to the extent that, over time, the need for therapy will disappear, and the person, having received at his disposal the invaluable ability to “psychotherapeutize” everything around him, becomes able to extract useful understanding in this way and appropriate life experience.

However, of course, as always, writing about this is easier than going through the path of developing awareness.

For example, a person coming from trauma, having structural personality disorders (any borderline or psychotic level) or diagnosis will most likely have a more difficult time reaching this ability, and therefore will probably take longer than, for example, a neurotic client (and probably not with one therapist).

Reflection develops in contact with the present and reflective Other.
People who come to therapy in a difficult mental state cannot rely either on this fact or on their experience of themselves in contact.

They don't know how to do this because no one taught them. And besides this deficiency, their past experience speaks either of the absence of an interested loved one, or of the danger, the actual lethality of the Other, who finds himself in close proximity. Therefore, these clients cannot bear the reflection, nor even the very possibility of being perceived, and therefore their impulse arises to distance themselves and close themselves off from the person sitting opposite (the therapist), who creates a “threat” to self-recognition with his presence.

I recently came across one valuable statement online about the predominance of perception over representation (reproduction of what is perceived):

“People with psychosomatic functioning overinvest in perception, which inhibits or interrupts thinking. Sometimes this can be detected directly during a session, when the patient, instead of walking through his inner world, begins to listen to sounds, noises from the outside, look at the wallpaper in the office, etc. Patients resort to perception in order to stop the painful representation.”

It is clear that a person who is in extreme pain, feels bad and does not like to discover in the depths of himself those experiences that are hidden there, is quite painful, scary, ashamed and anxious to be close to the Other. All of this can potentially be experienced again. I say “again” because these are traces of past events that have already occurred and have preserved in the depths of the unconscious difficult experiences blocked and not processed by the psyche.

It is quite understandable that a person who has long ago suffered unbearable suffering for him is primarily drawn to control, monitor the therapist, manage, examine him, check and analyze him, attack him with questions or bombard him with personal judgments and assessments - in general, do anything, thus running away from oneself, outside. After all, choosing to study with a therapist, looking at the walls or your palms, in extreme cases, is much safer than studying the internal, mental world order, from meeting which a threat can certainly come in the form of reproduced and previously unbearable mental pain.

Having violations in almost all areas: personal structure, thinking, perception, emotional-volitional and behavioral spheres, such clients will need time and a certain, so to speak, habit of the fact that there is no threat for them in the office (this is the topic of the Ethics of a Psychotherapist), they will need “ attachment" to the therapist, so that there is still an opportunity to get to reflection, sooner or later.

After all, first in the therapy space, a decent amount of time is spent on adaptation, all kinds of automatic reactions, as well as the abundant use of protective mechanisms characteristic of a person in everyday life and manifestations of this in actions.

Take for example night calls (this is a strange phenomenon even for everyday life, isn’t it?). If it is typical for a person to impulsively call someone at any time of the day or night (I’m not talking about force majeure now, that’s something else), sooner or later, but most likely he will call his therapist at an inopportune time.

When trying to talk about this in a session, the client will be less disturbed and more tolerant, more accepting of his “imperfect” self, will probably think and most likely begin to remember not only how it happened and what happened to him, but will probably be able to make assumptions or be able to withstand The therapist's interpretations of needs, timing, and roles are where this impulse comes from.

That is, this event, this fact can be quite calmly discussed and explored together with the client, bringing it into therapy in order to find an understanding of the unconscious motives and needs that automatically triggered this behavior. To put it simply, where did it come from (not about external circumstances talk, but explore internal needs).

This was an example of reflection in progress, where, with the help of the therapist, the client learns to discover and understand himself, and trains himself to do this.

When there is no reflection - precisely due to disturbances in perception, thinking, the predominance of impulse, affects over rational vision, and against the background of all this - naturally! - a prevailing and oppressive feeling of insecurity - the therapist's attempts to explore what these actions could mean for the client are likely to regard them as persecution, attack, accusation, attack, that is, they will see danger and hostility in the therapist's work itself.

Or he may experience emptiness and observe a complete lack of connections between this event and possible internal motives, which is especially typical for patients with alexithymia. Nand against its background, any attempt by the therapist to seek an understanding of what is happening is limited to an answer from the series “I don’t know,” “There is nothing.”

That's why therapy is a space where this ability can develop , and thanks to reflection, on its basis, many other properties and capabilities of an adult can be built.

As an example, I’ll give you one that is probably familiar to many: life situation to describe what can manifest itself externally and what happens to a person inside, in his mental reality, with or without reflection.

Let's take a queue. Viscous, slow moving. But definitely for some important reason, which is theoretically possible to do without, but would not be desirable (withdraw money from the bank, issue a foreign passport, get advice from an important specialist who came for one day, in general, anything).

So, many people have probably found themselves in similar circumstances and seen how differently people behave in them.

Someone, upon discovering a line, will decide to abandon his intention and goal, will not want to stand or will not be able to take the time, will turn around and leave.Among those whose intention to get what they want still prevails, people will also manifest themselves differently.

There is often someone who is extremely annoyed and does not try to hide it. Such people usually tend to react emotionally, explosively, throwing out all their dissatisfaction and intolerance outside (in best case scenario through facial expressions and gestures). As a rule, it is these people who start noisy scandals with someone from the queue, not sparing and smearing the “enemy” from the heart. Or they stubbornly complain and bemoan their fate, quickly finding someone who will “agree” to listen to their incessant complaints. It happens that they find like-minded people among other “victims” who are also dissatisfied and upset, but not inclined to lead or not so aggressive.

In such suddenly formed groups, even heated debates can unfold, built on complaints far beyond the specific situation.

There are very responsible citizens who will cope with their discontent through activism and vigorous activity. They are not inclined to “destroy” anything and do not intend to quarrel, but inaction is difficult for them. It is they who usually draw up lists and self-elect in order to establish the order of priority, and then ensure that it is not violated by anyone.

Most people bury themselves in all sorts of gadgets, only occasionally looking up to check the situation. Some will have a snack, read, listen to music or talk on the phone.

There will be those who will begin to motorly relieve tension. More often these are men walking from side to side, pacing the space.
There will be others who will look at the interior or study people, observing what is happening around them.

There are also very quiet people, standing on the sidelines and seemingly thinking about something. But this is also an interesting question, because it will not always be a reflection; in most cases, thinking turns into permanent grinding obsessive thoughts, mental walking in circles - and this is not any reflection, but rather an obsession.

It is not uncommon to encounter people who react somatically. Without realizing their feelings and experiences, they begin to experience bodily discomfort, even suffering. Someone becomes covered in spots, begins to cough, itch, feel nausea or stomach pain. In older people, blood pressure can often rise, leading to fainting, crises, or even something more serious.

What I described are not reflexive, but rather reflexive, scripted, that is, ways of responding that have already become a habit. In particular, behavior unconsciously organized to cope with one’s aggression.

In short, someone is bubbling and foaming like a boiling pot. Someone avoids unpleasant feelings by distracting themselves with any accessible ways: eating, listening, thinking or chatting. Who sublimates by writing satirical poems. Some people engage in reacting through movements, bodily states, or more complexly organized actions.

But the essence is the same: leave, avoid your own “dangerous” experiences, stop contact with your own sensory content.

I suppose that a reflective person could deal with his aggression a little differently. Being able to withstand his different feelings, he would first notice what was happening to him. I would have discovered irritation, or more vividly, downright anger inside myself. Following this, he could already think about what exactly such a reaction arose to.

Having assessed the circumstances (whether there is a real threat to life or not) and made a decision (whether I will stand or not), such a person could begin researching, for example, what exactly is it so difficult for him to bear in this situation?

This is a question not externally, but to oneself, through a volitional effort, organized observation of oneself, as if from the outside. But it is precisely the observation of one’s content, one’s reaction to what is happening, and not judgments about the external, from the series “what monsters everyone is,” “what a terrible state,” “what an unfair world,” “how weak and worthless I am,” or “how viscous time is.” .

It might be interesting to answer the question of what I personally can’t stand right now. Why is this so difficult for me? How does my experience of anger manifest itself outwardly? What is this experience like in my experience? Under what circumstances have I felt this way before? From what earliest period of my life is this memory? How and for what reason can I endure this right now, and without harming myself and those around me?

By asking yourself all sorts of questions, you can pass the time well. And you can study yourself even better, which will make it possible to build some kind of better contact with the world. Find traces of past experience and build connections with the current situation, as this has the potential to reduce the intensity of anger if it was excessive, completely inappropriate in strength to the situation.

For example, this is how a person can reproduce, “remember” some of his very early states and realize that this is his childhood experience. Thanks to symbolic thinking and incoming images, the experience may arise that once in childhood he was very bored and was waiting for his mother. But she still didn’t come, and time dragged on unbearably slowly, and he couldn’t bear it all. And those states of unbearability are very similar to this state of despair that has arisen right now in this queue (and is clearly not symmetrical in charge). Then it may turn out that this situation is not so unbearable. After all, back then he was small and powerless, but now he is an adult, and an adult is quite capable of waiting an hour without killing anyone “as punishment.” Or even two, for the sake of a foreign passport.

I have now given an example of using reflection to cope with anger through the use of more mature, secondary defense mechanisms instead of primitive avoidance. And this is an example typical of an “experienced user” of his inner world, for example, a person who has undergone psychotherapy, or who has trained through other practices that develop awareness.

Naturally, this story can be about any “difficult experience” and the automatic impulse to avoid it, whether it is anger or something else, such as boredom, impatience, indignation, tension, apathy, anxiety, disappointment. If a person comes, finds himself in line, and is fine, we can assume that there is no internal conflict or that it has already been resolved in a way that is successful for the person.

It is important for me to emphasize that the development of reflection is quite accessible (even though it may take some people quite a long time to master it). But when this property of the psyche appears, completely new life horizons open up, the quality of life improves noticeably, and the person himself is able to be self-therapeutic, and not need any specially organized permanent forms of therapy, unlessnature of a hobby, that is, from interest, and not from the need to be treated and get out of protracted suffering.