From the individual view we may imagine silent, introspective reviewing of experiences that we have had or we might see groups of people carrying out post mortems on issues or events they have shared. The common thread through the definitions is that reflection involves action and that the interaction of thoughts, feelings and actions is paramount. Reflection occurs within a social setting. It is not an internal, solitary process. Even when reflection takes place in the mind, the ideas, the form and the language of reflection are acquired through the culture and values in which the action is situated.
Reflection is action orientated.
The reflective response occurs as the learner constructs, reviews and links experiences to prior, present or proposed learning experiences. To be able to do this the learner needs to be able to question, self question, assess, evaluate, find alternatives and to express their feelings. Reflection is historically embedded which means that reflection must be related to a context or situation. To understand or make sense of the reflections the learner must know something about the action, the people involved and where they orient themselves in the action. Reflection also has a political aspect in that the interest and needs of the people involved in any reflective process will be different.