- Tell the difference between description and reflection
- Use a simple cycle to structure a reflection in five minutes
- Write a CPD entry with evidence of impact
Description is not reflection
Most CPD logs are attendance registers with feelings attached. "Attended a webinar on assessment. It was useful."
Reflection asks three harder questions:
- What did I think before, and what do I think now?
- What will I do differently, specifically?
- How will I know whether it worked?
If an entry could have been written before you attended, it is not a reflection.
A cycle you will actually use
Gibbs' reflective cycle runs: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, action plan. It is thorough and most people never finish it.
The short version that keeps the value:
- What happened? Two sentences, no more.
- So what? Why does it matter, what does it change about how you see it?
- Now what? One specific action, with a date.
The weight should sit on "now what". That is the part anyone reviewing your CPD is looking for.
Which CPD entry would hold up best in a professional review?
Making a log inspection-ready
Whatever body you report to, the same features make a record credible:
- Dated entries written close to the event, not reconstructed in June.
- A mix of activity types. Courses, reading, observation, mentoring, in-house training, mistakes.
- Hours that are honest, including the short ones. A 20-minute article that changed something counts.
- Impact noted later. Adding a line two months on saying what actually happened is the single strongest feature of a good log.
- Links to standards where your profession has them.
Quantity is the weakest signal. One reflective entry a fortnight beats thirty certificates.
5 questions. Pick an answer to see whether it is right and why.
1.The most important part of a CPD entry is usually:
2.'I will apply this in my practice' is weak because:
3.The short reflective structure in this course is:
4.Which adds most credibility to a CPD log?
5.A 20-minute article that changed your practice:
Rewrite your most recent CPD entry using what, so what, now what. Paste the 'now what' here.
Your reflection is saved to your CPD log when you mark the course complete.
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