Reflection Provides Direction

Whether we are conscious of this or not, we all undertake activities to think about our experiences, learn from them, and develop a plan for what we will continue to do (or stop doing). Can you think of a time when you came home at the end of a week where everything had gone wrong? Or maybe when everything had gone well? What are your next steps? Are you able to answer the question, “Why am I doing what I am doing?”

In order to continue to develop a reflective practice that will serve us in college and in the workplace, we need to examine and understand the reasons for our reactions, our feelings, and our interactions with others. Creating a formal practice of reflection leads us to become a reflective practitioner.

Reflective practices

Reflective practice has developed across many academic disciplines to help us intentionally learn from our experiences. There was a time when reflective practice would have been considered an optional skill, but over the past few years, reflective practice is no longer considered a desired disposition—it’s now essential to success.

Reflective practice has been explored and defined by many scholars including Bolton (2010), Moon (2001), Rodgers (2002), and Schön (1983). Reflective practice is a systematic, rigorous, self-directed meaning-making process where a person moves from one experience to another through the development of insights and practice with the intention of coming to a deeper understanding of one‘s personal values and intellectual growth. Schön (1983) suggests that in practice, reflection often begins when a routine response produces a surprise or an unexpected outcome. The surprise gets our attention, which may begin a process of reflection. Reflective practice is “a dialogue of thinking and doing through which one becomes more skillful” (Schön, 1983, p. 56).

Notwithstanding the definitions given above, it’s important to remember that reflection is a highly personal skill or disposition, and different people will define it in different ways. There is no one “right” way of defining what reflection is or how it should be done. Your ability to develop an effective reflective practice will depend on your own personal circumstances and school or work environment.

For this reason, this chapter will explore elements of reflective practice that will help you develop your own practice. In describing reflective practice, the text has interchangeably referred to it as a skill and/or a disposition. In the workplace, a skill is something that can be acquired, while a disposition is a way of being or a mindset. Current thinking suggests that reflection is not a skill but rather a way of being or disposition. Reflection involves an evaluation of our ethics, values, and feelings around our experiences, both positive and negative.

To learn more about reflective practice, watch the video “Understanding Reflective Practice by Lifetime Training”.

Mindfulness

Basically, mindfulness is about awareness. Specifically, it is about being aware of the present moment, or bringing our attention to the present moment. It’s being aware of what is happening right now in your present-moment experience in a way that is curious, accepting, and non-judgmental. Learning to observe your present-moment experiences in this way, learning to bring your mind to the present, whatever is happening, can be very helpful in dealing with challenges and stress. With practice, you can act with more choice and less reactivity. But, as with any art or skill, consistent practice is the key – aim for every day (but don’t be self-critical if you sometimes miss). You can try the body scan and/or breath awareness meditation on the video below if you’d like; each is under five minutes. There are more meditations on free apps, or across different YouTube videos. And see the Practice Anytime & Anywhere suggestions below as well!

Benefits of Mindfulness

Research studies have highlighted the benefits of mindfulness practice in areas such as depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, self-compassion, life satisfaction, and burnout (Mackenzie et al., 2006; Shapiro et al., 2005). In particular, college students can greatly benefit from mindfulness practice for both psychological and physical well-being, as well as academic achievement.

Research studies have consistently shown that college students who practiced mindfulness demonstrated enhanced self-regulation skills (MacDonald, 2021), an increase in self-efficacy and resilience (Vidic & Cherup, 2019), improved attention (Lindsay & Creswell, 2017), better adjustment to college life, and improved academic performance (Britt, 2011). They also experienced increased productivity (Kerrigan et al, 2017). Additionally, mindfulness has been shown to help college students reduce performance anxiety and general anxiety (Diaz, 2018; Stein, 2017), alleviate both overall and academic-related stress, depression (Deckro et al., 2002; Oman et al., 2008; Shapiro et al., 1998), as well as reduce psychological distress (Deckro et al., 2002).

Let’s Practice: Mindfulness

Hard to find time to add mindfulness? No worries! You can practice mindfulness anytime, anywhere. Whether between classes, standing in line at a cafeteria, on a bus, during a break at work, or even while walking across campus. While you stand in line, for instance, focus on your present surroundings, observe the sensation of your feet on the ground, the sound and sights around you, and the rhythm of your breath. During a break, observe your in and out breath, acknowledging any thoughts without judgment and letting them pass. Mindfulness practice does not require special equipment or settings. It only requires your presence!

Resources

EKU’s Counseling Center (Whitlock Building, 5th Floor)

To help you with the stressors of college life you can visit EKU’s Counseling Center. The Counseling Center not only focuses on mental health, but motivation, academic performance, and strategies for improving overall happiness. The office is staffed by trained mental health clinicians. Anything you share is held in the strictest confidence, and there is no charge for care. Whether you wish to better your mental health or need help with working through past or current struggles, the Counseling Center is here to help.

• Free to EKU students
• Walk-in and scheduled appointments available between 8 am – 4:30 pm Monday through Friday

EKU’s Psychology Clinic

EKU’s Psychology Clinic is another resource that is free for EKU students. The EKU Psychology Clinic is an outpatient integrated behavioral health care facility operated by the Department of Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University.

EKU Psychology Clinic Services:

• Individual Therapy
• Assessment, Evaluation, or Testing Services for different behavioral health diagnoses and disorders
• Consultation Services
• Couples & Family Therapy
• Therapy, Processing, & Support Groups such as the African American Specialty Clinic, the Autism Clinic, La Clínica, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Clinic and the Trauma and Suicide Prevention Clinic
• Outreach Services
• Telepsychological Services

Services are provided by doctoral students working on graduate degrees in clinical psychology. All clinicians have received specialized graduate training and are closely supervised by a licensed psychologist faculty member.

Wellness Rooms & Sensory Spaces

• EKU Counseling Center Relaxation Room – Whitlock 567
• Student Stress Management Center – interactive space for sensory support & a place to rest – Rowlett 145
• El Centro’s Decompression Room – McCreary 219

Navigate Goals and Expectations Your Way

Succeeding in college is rather like succeeding in life. It’s really much more about you than it is about college. So the most important place to start is to consider why you’re here, what matters to you, and what you expect to get out of it. Even if you have already thought about these questions, it’s good to reaffirm your commitment to your plan as we begin to consider what’s really involved in being a college student.

Goal Setting Techniques

You should physically write your goals down, because the act of finding the best words to describe your goals helps you think more clearly about them.

Follow these guidelines:

Goals should be realistic. It’s good to dream and to challenge yourself, but your goals should relate to your personal strengths and abilities.

Goals should be specific. Don’t write, “I will become a great musician;” instead, write, “I will finish my music degree and be employed in a symphony orchestra.”

Goals should have a time frame. You won’t feel very motivated if your goal is vaguely “to finish college someday.” If you’re realistic and specific in your goals, you should also be able to project a time frame for reaching the goal.

You should really want to reach the goal. We’re willing to work hard to reach goals we really care about, but we’re likely to give up when we encounter obstacles if we don’t feel strongly about a goal. If you’re doing something only because your parents or someone else wants you to, then it’s not your own personal goal — and you may have some more thinking to do about your life.

Write SMART goals

Unclear goals can be difficult to achieve since you may not know HOW to accomplish them. SMART goals take away this confusion.

Image X: SMART Goals

For example:

Unclear goal: “Work out more.”

This unclear goal is difficult to achieve since you haven’t yet identified how to accomplish it. What does “more” mean to you? What does “work out” mean to you?

SMART goal: “Run 3 kilometres on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week to improve my mood, energy, and cardiovascular health.”

The SMART goal, on the other hand, lays out an action plan. You don’t need to make the decision every day of how to work out, and tracking your progress will be easy since you’ve assigned yourself a timeline and hopeful outcome.

Set long-term goals

Long-term goals are goals that take a long time to accomplish – perhaps several years, or even decades. Examples of long-term goals are things like becoming a carpenter, learning French, or starting a family. These goals can be intimidating, so it can help to break them down into a series of short-term goals. This can make challenging long-term goals seem more doable. One helpful strategy is to work backward, creating short-term goals that will help you to get you closer to these long-term, lifetime goals.

Set short-term goals

Short-term goals are things that you can accomplish in the near future – maybe in the next year, month, week, day, or hour. These goals can help you achieve your long-term goals, working as stepping stones to bigger accomplishments.

Sometimes, though, you will have short-term goals that don’t clearly fit into your long-term plans: for example, having a clean apartment. These goals aren’t exciting, but they’re a necessary part of life. When you feel overwhelmed, defeated, or motivated about daily tasks, a to-do list can help you break down these goals and develop an action plan.

How can I motivate myself to achieve my goals?

There are two types of consequences:

Immediate consequences: Results of your goal that happen immediately. This can be natural (like when someone claps for your presentation), or a reward that you’ve created for yourself (like getting a treat after you go to the gym).

Delayed consequences: Results that may take days, weeks, months, or even years to happen, like graduating from a program. It can be difficult to persist when you aren’t seeing the daily benefits of all your hard work. In fact, studies have shown that immediate consequences are better motivators than delayed consequences.

If you find that you’re struggling to stay motivated, try tricking your brain by creating some immediate consequences for your goals:

• Buy a fancy coffee and share it with a friend. Take this time to also share your goals and thoughts.
• Take a hike with a friend. The fresh air will immediately feel good and you will be more energized in your day.
• Take a break or do something just for yourself. Give yourself permission to read a novel, go to the movies, or get a massage.
• Think of other rewards that are meaningful to you. How do they bring value to you?

How can I overcome other barriers in achieving my goals?

Sometimes the reasons students aren’t achieving their goals are multiple and complex. Sometimes they’re simple and straightforward. Regardless of the reason, in order to move towards achieving the goal requires some reflection. Below are some terms that help you frame and think through what you may be motivated by and how you set goals:

Extrinsic motivator: A reason for achieving your goal that comes from outside of yourself. These might be things like pressure from your family, or money.

Intrinsic motivator: A reason for achieving your goal that comes from within yourself. These might be things like enjoyment, interest, or sense of accomplishment.

Approach goal: A goal that focuses on a good outcome, like exercising regularly to have more stamina.

Avoidance goal: A goal that is focused on avoiding a bad outcome, like doing tasks at your job regularly to avoid getting fired.

Immediate consequence: A result that happens immediately. This can be natural (like when someone claps at your presentation), or a reward that you’ve created for yourself (like a treat after you go to the gym).

Delayed consequence: A result that may take days, weeks, months, or even years to happen, like graduating a program.

Preparing for Advising

To set goals for your academic and career path, you must first have an understanding of the options available for you to pursue and the requirements you will need to meet. Some students enter college knowing exactly what they want to major in. They may not only have their major planned out, but they may have an idea about next steps after graduation, further education, and even where exactly they want to work in the future. That’s great, but it is by no means typical.

What should you do if you are not sure what to major in and don’t feel called to anything in particular? Or if you are interested in multiple majors? It’s helpful to revisit your reasons for applying to college in the first place. Were you hoping to get a higher earning job? Looking for a meaningful career? Or were you interested in learning for the sake of learning? Some combination of all of those?

Part of your GSD class may include exploring these questions. But it is also important for you to be connected with your advisor.

What is academic advising?

Academic advising guides and supports undergraduate students by monitoring progress toward graduation, connecting students to resources on campus, and engaging students in discussions about their academic goals. You must meet with your academic advisor to receive your RAC number. Your RAC number is a unique identifier for you that allows you to register for classes.

Who is your academic advisor?

Find you academic advisor on your myEKU: click here and navigate to the appropriate card to send them an email

How to prepare for my academic advising appointment?

1. Prepare a list of your questions: you might have questions come up while we’re talking, so it is important to share with your advisor what you would like to cover before we run out of time. Look over DegreeWorks. Learn more about DegreeWorks here.
2. Prepare to take notes: your advisor may recommend you take certain actions or ask you to complete a form for them, so we recommend being prepared to do that.
3. If your appointment is virtual: we recommend using a laptop or another device that can connect to the internet so you can log into the video conferencing platform
4. Schedule your appointment before any major academic deadlines: if you want to make sure you are registering for classes right when your window opens, we recommend meeting with our office before that date. This will give you time to discuss with your advisor any degree requirement questions, identify other holds that will impact registration, and think about your course options to optimize your class schedule. Your advisor may recommend that you contact other offices (Financial Aid, Student Accounts, etc.) before you register for courses, so give yourself enough time to meet with those offices.

Summary

• Developing a reflective practice helps you understand where you have been and where you are going
• Being reflective is critical to learning and processing information
• Mindfulness is a way to stay present when things are overwhelming
• Having a vision for your future helps you feel connected to the work you are asked to do in your personal, academic and professional worlds
• A vision needs to be broken down into smaller, achievable goals
• Your academic advisor can help you with your academic goals
• The Office of Advising and Career Services can help you with your advising needs

Resources, Licenses, and Attributions:

Developing a Reflective Practice Copyright © by CWI 101 Leaders is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Bolton, G. (2010). Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Moon, J. (2001). Short courses and workshops: Improving the impact of learning and professional development. Kogan Page: London.

Rodgers, C. (2002). Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking. Teachers College Record, 104, 842-866. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9620.00181

Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.

College of Early Childhood Educators (2017). Code of ethics and standards of practice: For registered early childhood educators in Ontario. https://www.college-ece.ca/en/Documents/Code_and_Standards_2017.pdf

Reflective Practice. (2020). Understanding reflective practice. YouTube. https://youtu.be/iBmtH0Qx0YU

First Year Seminar Copyright © 2022 by Kristina Graham; Rena Grossman; Emma Handte; Christine Marks; Ian McDermott; Ellen Quish; Preethi Radhakrishnan; and Allyson Sheffield is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Britt, M. E. (2011). Effect of a mindfulness intervention on community college students’ writing apprehension and writing performance [ProQuest Information & Learning]. In Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences (Vol. 72, Issue 10–A, p. 3599).

Deckro, G.R., Ballinger, K.M., Hoyt, M., Wilcher, M., Dusek, J., Myers, P., Greenberg, B., Rosenthal, D.S. & Benson, H. (2002). The evaluation of a mind/body intervention to reduce psychological distress and perceived stress in college students. Journal of American College Health, 50, 281-287

Diaz, F. M. (2018). Relationships among meditation, perfectionism, mindfulness, and performance anxiety among collegiate music students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 66(2), 150–167. https://doi-org.laguardia.ezproxy.cuny.edu/10.1177/0022429418765447

Kerrigan D, Chau V, King M, Holman E, Joffe A, Sibinga E. (2017). There is no performance, there is just this moment: The role of mindfulness instruction in promoting health and well-being among students at a highly-ranked university in the united states. Journal of Evidence- Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22(4), 909-918. doi: 10.1177/2156587217719787

Lindsay, E. & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mechanisms of mindfulness training: Monitor and acceptance theory. Clinical Psychology Review, 51(2), 48-59.

MacDonald, H. Z. (2021). Associations of five facets of mindfulness with self-regulation in college students. Psychological Reports, 124(3), 1202-1219. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120937438

Mackenzie, C.S., Poulin, P.A. & Seidman-Carlson, R. (2006). A brief-mindfulness based stress reduction intervention for nurses and nurse aides. Nursing Research, 19, 105- 109

Oman, D., Shapiro, S.L., Thoresen, C.E., Plante, T.G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health. 56, 569-578

Rogers, H. (2016). The mindful twenty-something. New Harbinger.

Shapiro, S.L., Astin, J.A., Bishop, S.R. & Caordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomized trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12, 164-276

Shapiro, S.L., Schwartz, G.E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 21, 581-599

Smalley, S. and D. Winston (2010). Fully present: The science, art, and practice of mindfulness. DaCapo.

Stein, S. D. (2017). Impact of a 3-minute mindfulness-based exercise on anxiety and academic performance [ProQuest Information & Learning]. In Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering (Vol. 78, Issue 1–B(E)).

Vidic, Z., & Cherup, N. (2019). Mindfulness in the classroom: Effect of a mindfulness based relaxation class on college students stress, resilience, self-efficacy, and perfectionism. College Student Journal, 53(1), 130-142.

A Guide for Successful Students 2nd ed. Copyright © 2023 by Irene Stewart, Aaron Maisonville, and Nicolai Zriachev, St. Clair College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Liberated Learners Copyright © 2022 by Terry Greene et al. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.