Suggested Guidelines for Writing Reflective Case Narratives

Abstract

Reflective case narratives are a practical mechanism for conveying lessons learned for practice improvement. Their ability to transform experience into knowledge in a colloquial, narrative style positions reflective case narratives as a powerful learning tool with pedagogical benefits for the evaluation community. However, one criticism of reflective case narratives is they suffer from loose guidelines and lengthy discussions that obscure lessons learned. Through the use of adult learning theory, a restructuring of reflective case narratives are presented to facilitate learning. The restructuring consists of five sections to increase the likelihood of reflective case narratives as a resource for transferring knowledge, sharing ideas, and keeping a pulse on the dynamic and fluid process of evaluation.