Revista de Educación,
Motricidad e Investigación
VOL. 19 (2022)
ISSN 2341-1473 pp. 92-101
https://doi.org/10.33776/remo.vi19.7224
GIBBS’ CYCLE REVIEW - EMOTIONS AS A PART
OF THE CYCLE
REVISIÓN DEL CICLO DE GIBBS. LAS EMOCIONES COMO PARTE DEL CICLO
Fabio Galli
M.Sc MedEd student University of South Wales/Learna LTD, United Kingdom.
Karl J. New
Faculty of Life Sciences and Education, University of South Wales, United Kingdom.
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[ 93 ]
Abstract
The Gibbs’ cycle, used in reflective practice, is a tool for
self-reflection, mental wellbeing monitoring, academic
learning and teaching activities, personal and professio-
nal development. It is structured in six phases: descrip-
tion, feelings, evaluation, conclusions, and action plan.
Considering well-being and mental health as fundamen-
tal players in development paths (academic, professio-
nal, human), it becomes important to consider emotions
in a new structure of the Gibbs’ model. The narrative re-
view is based on the observation of twenty manuscripts,
in which the consideration and analysis of emotions in
the reflective cycle was sought.
Palabras claves
Medical Education; Reflective practice; Student-Cente-
red learning; Mental wellbeing; Professional develop-
ment.
Fecha de recepción: 27/03/2022
Resumen
El ciclo de Gibbs, utilizado en la práctica reflexiva, es una
herramienta para la autorreflexión, el control del bien-
estar mental, las actividades académicas de enseñan-
za-aprendizaje, y el desarrollo personal y profesional.
Se estructura en varias fases: descripción, sentimientos,
evaluación, conclusiones y plan de acción. Consideran-
do el bienestar y la salud mental como actores funda-
mentales en las trayectorias de desarrollo (académico,
profesional, humano), resulta importante considerar las
emociones en una nueva estructura del modelo de Gi-
bbs. La revisión narrativa se basa en la observación de
veinte manuscritos, en los que se buscaba la considera-
ción y el análisis de las emociones en el ciclo reflexivo.
Keywords
Educación médica; Práctica reflexiva; Aprendizaje cen-
trado en el estudiante; Bienestar mental; Desarrollo pro-
fesional.
Fecha de aceptación: 19/05/2022
GIBBS’ CYCLE REVIEW - EMOTIONS AS A
PART OF THE CYCLE
REVISIÓN DEL CICLO DE GIBBS.
LAS EMOCIONES COMO PARTE DEL CICLO
Fabio Galli
M.Sc MedEd student University of South Wales/Learna LTD, Uni-
ted Kingdom.
Karl J. New
Faculty of Life Sciences and Education, University of South Wales,
United Kingdom.
Contacto:
fbogalli86@gmail.com
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[ 94 ]
The reflective journal is one of the reflective practice methodologies that plays different roles con-
cerning self-reflection, self-learning, monitoring (active and passive) of personal and professional
development (Coe et al., 2022). Emotions, different from feelings, need to be recognized, develo-
ped, and monitored, as part of the development of emotional intelligence (EI) described as the abili-
ty to perceive, interpret, demonstrate, evaluate, and use emotional background (basic emotions and
complex emotions), whose influence is related to the development of social skills, communication
skills, self-awareness, and mental wellbeing (Gayathri & Meenakshi, 2013).
Objectives
The reflective journal is a tool for reflective practice, and it is a valuable tool for monitoring and
self-monitoring, personal growth, and professional growth, based on self-reflection. The Gibbs’ cy-
cle is a framework used in drafting the reflective journal, in which feelings are discussed but not
emotions. The objectives of this manuscript are:
• Propose a narrative review of the Gibbs’ cycle, which seeks reflection on emotions.
• Propose a review of the Gibb’s cycle that includes emotions as an area to investigate.
• Highlight the difference between feelings and emotions.
Feelings and Emotions
Feelings and emotions are two different terms, mistakenly used interchangeably. Emotions are de-
fined as both unconscious and subconscious manifestations or reactions connected to bodily reac-
tions, while feelings are manifested consciously, and are natural traits. Feelings are manifestations
that can be generated by both emotional and physical events, emotions develop unconsciously or
consciously through the emotional experiences from which they are generated and have a clear
neuroscientific process (Adolphs & Anderson, 2018; Celeghin et al., 2017; Damasio & Carvalho,
2013).
A student might write in the reflection journal: I am aware that I am ready to take the exam, but I am
angry that the study material was delivered late and that is why I could not sleep at night.
In this case, we can analyze two important contents: the awareness of being prepared turns out to be
a feeling, as opposed to the emotion of anger, which triggers a physical reaction not allowing, in this
case, the correct night’s rest (Adolphs & Anderson, 2018; LaBar & Cabeza, 2006; Tyng et al., 2017).
Compared to the standard Gibbs’ reflective cycle, it is therefore essential to also pay attention to
emotions, as they influence the path of development, learning, memory, and mental wellbeing. The
analysis and monitoring of emotions and feelings, becomes a fundamental tool for increasing and
deepening the use of the reflective journal, not exclusively as a tool for professional and personal
development (skills, abilities, knowledge) and for monitoring a path, but also for monitoring of the
mental wellbeing (Berking & Wupperman, 2012; Prado-Gascó et al., 2019).
1. Introduction
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Gibbs’ cycle narrative review
The model called Gibbs’ cycle provides as a standard model 6 reflection steps identified as: des-
cription, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, action plan (Davies, 2012; Sibson, 2008). In the
narrative review of the literature (Aromataris & Pearson, 2014; Paul & Criado, 2020) presented in
table 1, 20 manuscripts were observed, with the aim of identifying the presence of changes with
respect to the original model, and with the aim of researching Gibbs’ cycle used in the drafting of
reflective journals (Moon, 2006) in which it was evidently present a step concerning emotions. The
literature search was performed using the insertion of the terminology “Gibbs’ reflective cycle” using
the database PubMed (Falagas et al., 2008).
Figure 1. Narrative review framework.
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Table 1 shows the narrative review of the Gibbs’ cycle.
Table 1.
Gibbs’ reflective cycle review
Yea r Title Author/Reference PMID Structure Emotions
2007 Do not resuscitate: reflections on an ethical di-
lemma.
Jones, 2007 17711245
2008 Reflective practice: a learning tool for student
nurses.
Wilding, 2013 18773590
2009 Novice researchers’ reflection on conducting a
focus group.
O’connor & Mur-
phy, 2009
19517955
2009 Pain management: an adolescent scoliosis pa-
tient.
Koya-Rawlinson,
2009
19743676
2011 The advanced scrub practitioner role: a stu-
dent’s reflection
Brame, 2011 21560551
2012 Contemporary issues in operating room care: a
critical incident
Ford, 2012 23248926
2012 Intellectual disability nursing assessment: stu-
dent reflections
Dood et al., 2012 22584930
2013 The relationship between facilitators’ questions
and the level of reflection in postsimulation de-
briefing.
Husebø et al., 2013 23343839
2013 Enhancing skills of critical reflection to eviden-
ce learning in professional practice.
Paterson & Chap-
man, 2013
23643448
2013 Honesty in critically reflective essays: an analy-
sis of student practice.
Maloney et al., 2013 22926807
2013 Bullying in nursing: roots, rationales, and reme-
dies
Szutenbach, 2013 23495431
2013 Reflective folios for dental hygiene students:
what do they tell us about a residential aged
care student placement experience?
Wallace et al., 2013 24127765
2016 Complexities of management of a urostomy in
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a reflective account
Oxenham, 2016 26973007
2017 Nursing Students’ Reflections After Meetings
with Patients and Their Relatives Enacted by
Professional Actors: Being Touched and Feeling
Empathy.
Söderberg et al.,
2017
28215111
2017 Inviting articles for and on the Wisdom of Ex-
perience.
Janke et al., 2017 30497615
2017 Reflective student narratives: honing professio-
nalism and empathy.
Dhaliwal et al., 2017 28803221
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2019 Reflective and feedback performances on Thai
medical students’ patient history-taking skills.
Tawanwongsri, &
Phenwan, 2019
31088550
2020 Peer-mentees’ challenges in an undergraduate
peer-group clinical mentoring programme in a
nursing education institution.
Ntho et al., 2020 33101718
2021 When the student becomes the teacher: Disco-
vering individual teaching style.
Hagopian, & No-
hria, 2021
33454076
2022 An exploration of the impact of working in pairs
on the dental clinical learning environment:
Students’ views
Dargue et al., 2022 35100467
After having observed the narrative review, it is possible to understand that the concept of emotions
appears exclusively in 1 manuscript out of 20 that have been considered; moreover, it is possible
to observe that an alternative to the standard structure was proposed in 3 manuscripts out of 20.
Following this narrative review, it is possible to understand the need to implement the steps of the
Gibbs’ cycle with the aim of offering adequate space for the consideration of emotions, which turn
out to be different from feelings, and which cover a fundamental area in professional and personal
development, and in monitoring the user’s mental wellbeing and stress.
Revisited Gibb’s cycle
The Gibbs’ cycle proposed in Figure 2 focuses not only on feelings but also on emotions, as the
analysis of the emotions themselves can be a tool for monitoring potentially harmful situations, if not
controlled. The main emotions that could be found in the reflective journal prepared with this new
Gibbs’ cycle can be identified as fear, anxiety, anger, disgust, embarrassment, pride, shame, guilt,
hubris, gratitude, compassion, sadness, empathy, depression; emotions thus play a fundamental
role in the new Gibbs’ cycle, as they can influence behaviors, memory, attention, judgment (Barrett,
2017; Stevens, 2021).
1. Description: the narrator answers the question “what happened?”; is the overview area of the
period to be observed.
2. Feelings: the narrator describes feelings and thoughts regarding the events of the period un-
der observation.
3. Emotions: the narrator describes the emotions perceived. It is fundamental to describe at least
if there were basic emotions (anger, fear, happiness, sadness, disgust, surprise) or if the period
was emotionless.
4. Evaluation: the narrator proposes an evaluation of the experiences of the observed period, and
describes positivity, negativity, advantages, disadvantages, opportunities.
5. Analysis: the narrator describes the presence of other points of view or options present with
respect to what has been described.
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6. Conclusion: the narrator describes how should have acted or reacted, and what could have
been done.
7. Action Plan: the narrator describes the actions based on what has learned, in case of already
lived. Furthermore, the subject can describe the planning of future actions, or areas to be mo-
nitored.
Although the narrative review has a limited number of manuscripts, and it is not systematic with me-
ta-analysis, the consideration and monitoring of emotions plays a fundamental role and deserves
to be considered additionally to the standard Gibbs’ cycle, as proposed in the revised Gibbs’ cycle
presented in Figure 2. The reflective process offers the opportunity to form emotional self-aware-
ness, and the monitoring of emotions can be considered a tool for the prevention of mental health
disorders, stress assessment, and to improve emotional intelligence.
The author declare that he has no conflicts of interest.
This research received no external funding.
Figure 2. Revisited Gibbs’ cycle.
2. Conclusions
3. Conflict of interest
4. Funding
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