The ORID method is a structure for effective reflection for individuals or groups with or without a facilitator. ORID is an acronym that stands for Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, and Decisional.

The Institute for Cultural Affairs developed the method; the technique involves asking four levels of questioning. Each level building on previous levels to be more conscious of the actual data, analyze facts and deal with emotional responses, ask about interpretations, implications and make decisions intelligently.

What the method can do is:

• Provide for constructive and logical thinking
• Broaden perspectives
• Develop clear ideas and conclusions
• Result in action and change

This brief description of a ‘critical thinking’ method will be beneficial in your “reflective practice” and will help improve your writing and participation in conversations or discussions.

Four Levels of Inquiry

ORID” is derived from the first letters of the four levels of inquiry:

• • • Objective

    • Reflective

    • Interpretative

    • Decision

Objective: Facts, Data, Senses

• Objective questions related to thought, sight, hearing, touch, and smell are used to draw out observable data about the learning experience (i.e., assignment). For example:

  • • What images or scenes do you recall?

    • Which people, comments, ideas, or words caught your attention, and why?

    • What sounds do you recall?

    • What tactile sensations do you recall?

[Participants in the conversation/discussion learn that people have different perspectives on observable reality and may recall the same experience differently.]

Reflective: Reactions, Heart, Feelings

• Reflective questions relate to the affective domain - emotional responses, moods, and hunches. Examples:

  • • How did the learning experience (materials or assignments) affect you?

    • What was the high point?

    • What was the low point?

    • What were your feelings while completing the assignment?

[Emotional or intuitive responses are important data but frequently are not acknowledged. When taken into consideration in decision making, they strengthen and support the decision. Ignored, they often jeopardize the decision. If you have difficulty identifying feelings, think about, for example, “During the assignment where you surprised/angered/ curious/confused?”]

Interpretative: So, What?

• Students should consider the learning experience’s value, meaning, or significance of the assignment for them. For example:

  • • What was your key insight?

    • What was the most meaningful aspect of this activity?

    • What can you conclude from this assignment?

    • What have you learned from this assignment?

    • How does this relate to any theories, models, and/or other concepts?

Decision: Now What?

• What are your future resolutions and/or actions? For example:

  • • How, if at all, has this assignment changed your thinking?

    • What was the significance of this assignment to your study/work/life?

    • What will you do differently as a result of the assignment?

    • What would you say about the assignment to people who were not there?

    • What would it take to help you apply what you learned?

Advantages

A great deal of your time in college (university) will be spent thinking; thinking about what people have said, what you have read, what you yourself are thinking, and how your thinking has changed. It is generally believed that the thinking process involves two aspects: reflective thinking and critical thinking. Critical thinking and reflective thinking are closely connected (Brookfield 1987).

Critical thinking is used to describe: "...thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal-directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on the desired outcome." Halpern (1996).

Reflective thinking is used to describe: Part of the critical thinking process referring specifically to the processes of analyzing and making judgments about what has happened – assessing what one knows, what one needs to know, and how one bridges that gap – during learning situations.

In summary, critical thinking involves a wide range of thinking skills leading toward desirable outcomes, and reflective thinking focuses on the process of making judgments about what has happened.

Reflective thinking, and why is it important?

Reflective thinking is important in prompting learning during complex problem-solving situations. It provides students with an opportunity to step back and think about what they know, how they solve problems, and how a particular set of problem-solving strategies are appropriated to learn and improve, and for achieving their goal.

Writing reflectively involves critically analyzing an experience, recording how it has impacted you and what you plan to do with your new knowledge. The key to reflective writing is to be analytical rather than descriptive. Always ask why rather than just describing what happened during an experience. You are aiming to strike a balance between your personal perspective, and the requirements of good academic practice and rigorous thinking. This means:

• developing a perspective, or line of reasoning

• demonstrating that you are

• well informed, have read relevant literature, and reflected on its relevance to your own development

• showing that you recognize that situations are rarely simple and clear-cut

• writing about the link between your experiences/practice and your reading

• writing in an appropriate style.

Before you can begin to assess the words and ideas of others, you need to pause and identify and examine your own thoughts. Doing this involves revisiting your prior experience and knowledge of the topic you are exploring. It also involves considering how and why you think the way you do. The examination of your beliefs, values, attitudes, and assumptions forms the foundation of your understanding. 

Reflective thinking demands that you recognize that you bring valuable knowledge to every experience. It helps you to recognize and clarify the important connections between what you already know and what you are learning. It is a way of helping you to become an active, aware and critical learner.

Review the Reflective Essay Prompt Guidelines and Checklist Links to an external site.