Hello everyone. I'm currently an over 5s childminder training to care for early years and part of my course is to join a online forum to discuss the importance of reflection in relation to professional development.

My question is.............is there any particular theory/model you follow when it comes to professional development? Does professional development even place high on your list of priorities in childcare?

After looking at a few theories I think I would use Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) which basically states that we have the actual experience then we reflect on that experience then we learn from the experience and then we test out what we have learnt and this cycle then continues.

It seems like a pretty common theme and self-explanatory so I was just wondering if this is what you guys do, and if not then how do you reflect on professional development.

Thank you!