reflectioninaction

Reflection-in-action, also written as reflectioninaction, is a form of professional reflection that occurs while a person is engaged in an activity. It involves noticing what is happening, thinking about how one’s actions affect the situation, and adjusting course in real time to address unexpected developments or ill-defined problems. The concept was popularized by Donald A. Schön in The Reflective Practitioner (1983) to describe how skilled practitioners improvise and learn within practice. It is contrasted with reflection-on-action, which takes place after an event.

In reflection-in-action, practitioners draw on tacit knowledge and experimental inquiry, testing ideas within the unfolding situation. It requires attention to critical cues, willingness to reframe problems, and readiness to revise plans without stopping the work. The aim is to improve outcomes as the situation evolves, rather than merely reconstructing the past.

Applications of reflection-in-action span many fields, including education, medicine, nursing, engineering, social work, design, and management. Examples include a teacher adapting a lesson in response to student misunderstanding, a clinician altering a treatment approach based on a patient’s changing condition, or a designer modifying a prototype during field testing.

Relation to other concepts: it complements reflection-on-action and contributes to the idea of knowing-in-action—the tacit understanding that guides performance. Critics note that real-time reflection can be demanding, culturally dependent, and not universally feasible, potentially leading to ad hoc practice if not followed by retrospective reflection.

See also: reflective practice, reflection-on-action, knowing-in-action.