INTENTIONAL REFLECTIVE PRACTICEDr. Steve Mills and Jillian White

DSA Professional Development Conference 1.20.12

Reflection

Process of deriving meaning from experience

Engages participants in conscious, intentional, critical thinking for the examination of an experience

Giving serious thought to something and connecting it to both past and future actions

Allows the participant to clearly develop his or her story about an experience

Personal Patterns of Reflection

Table Discussion

How does reflection happen for you? Please discuss the why, what, and/or

when of your personal reflective practices.

How Does It Happen for You? What works best for you?

Time – on the drive to work, before bed Place – coffee shop, nature Action – running, journaling, dancing Ritual – prayer, meditation, yoga Medium – journaling, creative arts, verbal Technology – social media (Twitter, FB),

blogging

Kolb’s Process of Experiential Learning

Kolb’s Process of Experiential Learning

Why Reflect?The unexamined life…

Why Reflect?

Corresponding Truths

Blind Spot direct result of useful feature (blind spot as misused or overused

strength) Blind Spot fills in based on previous

experience(blind spot as outlived habit)

Thank goodness for the other eye!

Group Polarization Effect

Group discussion/interaction tends to drive groups toward a greater extreme in whatever direction they were already headed.(For example, conservative groups become more conservative, and liberal groups more liberal). Why? 1) Groups marinate in their own logical

arguments. 2) We seek distinctiveness in the direction

of group values.

Groupthink: Clinging to a Mistaken View

Concentrating on similarity, minimizing difference…

Happens when groups: are fairly cohesive from the start have a strong, directive leader are isolated from others outside their dominant

perspective have a high self-esteem as a group

Serious delusion may result!

Devil’s advocates essential!

Table Discussion

What do Blind Spots and/or Group Polarization suggest about reflective intention?

Reflection

Action without reflection leads to burnout.

Reflection without action leads to cynicism.

Albert Einstein

Reflective Practice

What? Facts and occurrences Objective reporting without judgment or

interpretation So what?

Looks at consequences of actions Shifts from descriptive to interpretive

Now what? Taking lessons learned and applying them

to future Big picture, goal setting, and long-range

planning

Reflection as a Habit

Regular practice Miss blind spots if you aren’t regularly

reflecting Chance to look at an event, program,

etc. holistically and piece by piece Discover what is present and meaningful

but not urgent Must explore the notion that reflection

may simply lead to frustration and/or despair

Personal Reflection Plan

What obstacles get in the way of your reflection?

Can you name an area of your professional life currently suffering from a lack of reflection?

Is there a remedy?

Reflection Resource

http://thecenter.fsu.edu/educated/reflection.handbook.pdf