INTENTIONAL REFLECTIVE PRACTICE Dr. Steve Mills and Jillian White DSA Professional Development Conference

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

Why Reflect? The unexamined life…

Why Reflect?

Social Blind Spots Noticeable aspects of our person that are difficult for us to see.

Blind Spots, naturally… We tend to evaluate ourselves more favorably than others. (Alicke et al., 1995) We tend to evaluate ourselves more favorably than others. (Alicke et al., 1995) We tend to judge our own behaviors as more situationally-driven than others. (Jones & Nisbett, 1972) We tend to judge our own behaviors as more situationally-driven than others. (Jones & Nisbett, 1972) We tend to take credit for our successes, but rationalize our failures. (Whitley & Friexe, 1985) We tend to take credit for our successes, but rationalize our failures. (Whitley & Friexe, 1985) We tend to believe our own judgments are less susceptible to bias than the judgments of others. (Pronin, Gilovich, & Ross, 2004) We tend to believe our own judgments are less susceptible to bias than the judgments of others. (Pronin, Gilovich, & Ross, 2004) We tend to believe we are more moral than others. (Epley & Dunning, 2000) We tend to believe we are more moral than others. (Epley & Dunning, 2000) We tend to believe we are less self-interested than others. (Miller & Ratner, 1998) We tend to believe we are less self-interested than others. (Miller & Ratner, 1998)

Blind Spots Noticeable aspects of our person that are difficult for us to see.

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 k.pdf