Pause and Reflect How Reflective Practice Can Make

Pause and Reflect: How Reflective Practice Can Make You a Better Advisor Presented by: Sarah Drennan, Annette Levario, and Courtney Cross Texas State University

Objectives • Define Reflective Practice • Discuss the Origins of Reflective Practice • Find out how we can support Mindfulness (Reflective Practice) • Develop your own Personal Practical Theory of Advising • Discuss other Reflective Practice Tools • Discuss benefits of Reflective Practice

What is Reflective Practice? Reflective practice is a process by which you: stop and think about your practice, consciously analyze your decision making and draw on theory and relate it to what you do in practice. Reflective practice is, in its simplest form, thinking about or reflecting on what you do. It is closely linked to the concept of learning from experience, in that you think about what you did, and what happened, and decide from that what you would do differently next time.

Where did Reflective Practice come from?

Where did Reflective Practice come from? “To reflect is to look back over what has been done so as to extract the net meanings which are the capital stock for intelligent dealings with further experiences. It is the heart of intellectual organization and of the disciplined mind. ” Dewey 1938 John Dewey (October 20, 1859 -June 1, 1952) American Philosopher, Psychologist, and Educational Reformer.

Where did Reflective Practice come from? Dewey’s ideas provided a basis for the concept of ‘reflective practice’ which gained influence with the arrival of Donald Schon’s (1983) ‘The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action ’. Donald Schon (September 19, 1930 -September 13, 1997) Influential Thinker and Researcher

How can we support mindfulness (reflective practice)?

Developing Personal Practical Theories “The systematic set of beliefs (theories) guiding teachers practices (practical) that are based on prior life experiences (personal). ”

Developing Personal Practical Theories Identifying your PPT’s can empower you to be more thoughtful and help you to apply and adapt new approaches and theories into your advising practices.

Encouraging Reflective Practice

My Personal Practical Theory of Being an Excellent Academic Advisor is… Personal Practical Theory Source – Where did I learn this from? Why do I believe this? Example: Excellent academic advisors have high expectations for students. Example: My high school English teacher had exceptionally high expectations for me and my classmates and she pushed us to become better writers than we thought we were capable of becoming. Example: Does not make decisions for students, but helps students make their own decisions. Example: My middle school counselor helped me through some tough decisions, but empowered me to make my own decisions.

Discuss PPT Exercise

What are some other reflective practice methods?

Advising Portfolio

Advisor Portfolio Outline Personal Information – Resume, Advising Philosophy, etc. Activity Report and Goals – Accomplishments for the year, Goal setting, etc. Feedback and Evaluations – Post appointment surveys, Reflection statements, etc.

Contributing to the Field of Advising Ø Developing presentation proposals and attending professional conferences. Ø Writing articles for professional publications. Ø Sharing knowledge with colleagues learned in professional development.

Increasing Advisor Knowledge

Keeping a Learning Journal

Example 1: Note taking and sense making “The Experience” “Sense Making” and “Future-Planning” In this section you might include: • Notes about the type of activity (i. e. appointment, meeting, professional development) And/or • Task; • Location; • Date; • Duration of activity; • Who is involved in the activity/task; • Purpose of activity/task; • New ideas/resources/concepts; In this section reflect one: • What the experience meant to you, and what it might mean for you in the future. For Example, the experience may: • Affirm particular behaviors or strategies; • Identify new ways of looking at similar experiences in the future leading to the utilization of different concepts and practices

Example 2: Guided Questions Learning Journal What happened? Describe the experience. How do I feel about the experience (before, during, after)? What insights have I gained through this experience? (e. g. self or others) What do I think helped or hindered my learning? (e. g. self or others) What will I do the same/different because of this experience?

What other ways do you reflect ?

Contact us! Sarah Drennan – sd 33@txstate. edu Annette Levario—al 30@txstate. edu Courtney Cross – courtney. cross@txstate. edu