Reference
Reflective frameworks
A reflective framework is a set of prompts that moves you from "what happened" to "what it meant" and "what I will do". No model is compulsory; the best one is the one that helps you think honestly. Here are the models the toolkit supports.
Gibbs' Reflective Cycle (1988)
A widely used six-stage cycle, popular where feelings matter and a full structure helps: Description (what happened), Feelings (what you thought and felt), Evaluation (what was good and bad), Analysis (why — making sense of it), Conclusion (what else you could have done, what you now understand), and Action Plan (what you would do next time).
Best for: detailed reflections where the emotional dimension is important. Watch out for: stopping at evaluation and never reaching analysis.
What? So What? Now What?
A compact three-question model, useful for short reflections and fast-paced practice. What? describes the situation; So what? works out why it mattered and what it means; Now what? decides what you will do differently. The framing originates with Borton (1970), was developed as trigger questions by Driscoll (1994), and expanded by Rolfe, Freshwater and Jasper (2001).
Best for: tight word counts, journals, healthcare reflections. Watch out for: spending too long on "What?" and rushing the other two.
Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle (1984)
A learning-focused cycle: Concrete Experience (having the experience), Reflective Observation (reviewing it), Abstract Conceptualisation (drawing a general lesson or linking to theory), and Active Experimentation (trying the new approach). It is strong when you want to connect a specific experience to a general principle.
Best for: linking practice to theory. Watch out for: jumping to a "lesson" without genuine observation first.
Brookfield's Four Lenses (1995)
Rather than stages, Brookfield offers four viewpoints to examine the same experience: your own autobiographical view; the students' or service-users' eyes; your colleagues' or peers' perspectives; and the theoretical or literature lens. Looking through all four surfaces assumptions a single viewpoint hides.
Best for: testing assumptions, teaching and practice reflection. Watch out for: treating it as four boxes rather than genuinely shifting viewpoint.
The DEAL model (Ash & Clayton, 2009)
A critical-reflection model common in US higher education and service-learning: Describe the experience objectively; Examine it across academic, personal and civic categories; and Articulate Learning — what you learned, how, why it matters, and what you will do next. It is designed to push beyond surface description toward demonstrable learning.
Best for: experiential, civic and service-learning in US courses. Watch out for: examining only the personal category and neglecting the academic and civic.
Choosing a model
If feelings are central and you have room, Gibbs. If you are short on words, What? So What? Now What?. If you want to connect experience to theory, Kolb. If you want to challenge your assumptions, Brookfield. For US experiential and service-learning, DEAL. If a course or regulator names a model, use that one. The toolkit's Choose a Model tool (FW5) can recommend one for your specific task.