What Is Brookfield’s Reflective Model?

Reflection is an important part of academic and professional learning. It assists students in reflecting on their past experiences, identifying what they did well, and finding areas for improvement. Reflection also increases self-awareness and critical thinking, which are important for personal and academic development.

Think about turning in an essay and realising that you could have done it another way if you had reflected on it sooner. That is where a good reflection strategy, such as Brookfield’s, can help.

The Brookfield Reflective Model is one of the best frameworks applied in the process of reflection. It aims at guiding the learner to study his or her experiences in various ways, which stimulates deep and substantial learning and not superficial thought.

In case you want to learn more about yourself as a student and write better academic work, the Reflective Model by Brookfield, also known as the Brookfield model of reflection, can be the right place to begin.

And if you’re new to reflective writing or struggling with your coursework, Locus Assignments offers professional assignment help tailored for UK university standards

What Is the Reflective Model of Brookfield?

The Reflective Model of Brookfield, often referred to as the brookfields reflective model, was developed by Stephen Brookfield, a renowned scholar in the field of adult education. This model is designed to promote reflective thinking, where the learners assess their behaviour, beliefs, and assumptions from multiple perspectives. The model assists you in identifying biases, challenging your assumptions, and enhancing the way you learn. Brookfield explained that reflection requires more than one perspective, and these are “the four lenses”, commonly called brookfields lenses.

The key objective of the model is to enable learners to critically examine their behaviour, identify areas in which they need enhancement and apply the knowledge to future scenarios.

A Brief Background

This model of adult education was developed by Stephen Brookfield to assist individuals in learning throughout their lives. This model has been widely used in higher education, particularly in programmes that include reflective writing, such as education, nursing, and business studies. Today, the Brookfield Reflective Model remains one of the most trusted frameworks for reflective learning.

The Four Lenses of Brookfield’s Reflective Model

Each lens offers a unique perspective on your learning experience. Using all four together provides a balanced and complete reflection, which is the foundation of the brookfield model of reflection.

a. The Self (Our Autobiography as Learners)

This lens encourages you to incorporate your own learning experience into the reflection. Think about why you made certain decisions, what issues you faced, and how you managed to resolve them.

Example: Think about a project that began to fail but eventually succeeded. This can help you identify your resilience and problem-solving skills.

This lens enables you to understand how your experiences in the past influence your present behaviour, discover your strengths and weaknesses, and cultivate a growth mindset.

b. The Students’ Eyes (Learners’ Perspective)

In this case, you are able to see your behaviour from the perspectives of other people, such as classmates, tutors, or group members.

Example: If others tell you that your presentation was not clear, you can use this information constructively to improve your communication skills.

Reflection with this lens promotes empathy, open-mindedness, and cooperation, which improves teamwork and learning results.

c. Colleagues’ Experiences (Peer Perspective)

This lens focuses on learning from others through discussion and shared experiences.

Example: Another student in the class may have a study technique that allows them to understand concepts faster. You can adopt such techniques to improve your results.

Exchanging experiences promotes group learning and helps you see challenges from different perspectives.

d. Theoretical Literature

The final lens connects your experiences to academic research and theories. 

Example: The realisation that group work can increase confidence can be related to theories of group learning. This lens makes sure that your reflection is evidence-based and enhances the credibility of your analysis.

Why Is Brookfield’s Model Important for Students?

The Reflective Model by Brookfield is also extremely beneficial when applied to university students in the UK, where reflective writing is an important component of the coursework and professional growth. Here’s why it’s important:

1. Encourages Deep Learning: It challenges you to analyse experience as well as describe experience and encourages critical thought.

2. Improves Academic Writing: The four lenses allow you to write thoughtful and organised reflective essays.

3. Enhances Self-Awareness: It enables you to understand your strengths and weaknesses so as to build your individual and academic identity.

4. Prepares for Professional Life: Reflective skills are also required in nursing careers, school careers, business careers, etc.

5. Supports Lifelong Learning: Reflection is an ongoing process, with the aid of which you can adapt and evolve after university life.

If you struggle to write your reflective paper, professional assignment help like Locus Assignments can provide structured, plagiarism-free guidance. 

How to Apply Brookfield’s Reflective Model in Assignments

It is not as difficult as it sounds to apply this model in your academic writing. To make your reflection meaningful and structured, follow the following steps:

1. Choose a Learning Experience: Select an important situation or project where you learnt something important.

2. Use Brookfield’s Four Lenses: Reflect using the Four Lenses: Get feedback on all four lenses from yourself, peers, colleagues, and theoretical references.

3. Analyse Your Learning: Find out what you have learnt, how you have changed your thinking and what you would have done differently next time.

4. Link to Academic Theory: Support insights with citations and research.

5. Conclude with Future Goals: Explain how you’ll apply the learning in future studies or work. 

If you find this process overwhelming, you can seek online assignment help. Expert writers can help you write reflective assignments effectively and craft your work according to UK university standards. Reach out to Locus Assignments for personalised support and professional help in structuring your reflective report as per your course requirements.

Brookfield’s Model vs. Other Reflective Models

The Brookfield model of reflection has been compared to the reflective cycle created by Gibbs and the learning cycle created by Kolb by many students. Compared to Gibbs, who dwells on a six-step approach, and Kolb, whose approach revolves around experience, the approach taken by Brookfield is unique in its emphasis on multi-perspective.

It not only queries you about what has happened but also how it is perceived by others and what theory tells you about it. This makes it a more holistic and severe reflection tool.

Final Thoughts

The Brookfield Reflective Model is an excellent approach to critical thinking, enhancing academic writing skills, and developing self-awareness. Examining experiences from multiple perspectives enables students to gain a better understanding of their learning process.

Locus Assignments is here to help students who struggle with reflective writing. Our team of experts can provide well-structured and plagiarism-free assignments that are suitable for UK universities.

Reflective writing is not just a requirement for academic writing; it is a skill that can help you develop as a learner and as a professional.

Frequently Asked Question

1. What are Brookfield’s 4 lenses of reflection?

There are four ways to reflect: your own experience, feedback from others, learning from peers, and linking experiences with theory.

2. What is Brookfield’s critical theory?

It encourages questioning assumptions and beliefs to think more critically and improve learning.

3. What is a Brookfield reflective model example?

Reflect on a presentation by using your view, classmates’ feedback, peers’ ideas, and relevant learning theories.

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Brookfield’s reflective model?

1. Advantages: improves critical thinking, self-awareness, and reflective writing.

2. Disadvantages: time-consuming, needs feedback, and can be hard for beginners.

About Author

Dr Evelyn Adams is a senior lecturer in education and an academic learning consultant with over eight years of experience in reflective practice and student development. Her academic focus includes adult learning theory, reflective writing, and critical pedagogy, with particular expertise in models such as Brookfield’s Reflective Model. She specialises in helping university students understand and apply reflective frameworks in assignments, portfolios, and professional practice, making complex learning theories practical, clear, and easy to use in academic work.