Reflections on Reflecting

  Here is a reflection on reflecting that I did recently as part of a grad school assignment.  It got me thinking about the need to incorporate more reflections into my daily life and in all areas of life, not just work. Great skill that is often either overlooked or avoided altogether by educators.

In 1999, in my first attempt at an Administration degree, the focus was on reflective leadership.  It was during this period that I began to keep a journal and regularly reflect on my experiences.  This practice has served me well and I still review journal entries from past years when I am facing problems.  Self-evaluation and reflection allow people to learn from experience and acquire skills through a combination of theory and practice (Martin, Wright, Danzig, Flanary, & Brown, 2005).  As a leader, reflective practice has allowed me identify areas of strength and weakness.  It has especially helped me to recognize the skills where I feel least competent and find ways to increase my abilities in these areas.  One of the ways I do this is through reading leadership books and periodicals in order to glean ideas and insights.  I then apply these to problems and evaluate the results.

Costa & Kallick (2000) describe using two voices, internal and external, in the process of reflection.  Internal reflection involves using “self-talk” to reflect on issues and prepare for future actions.  External is the practice of sharing reflections with colleagues and others.  For years, I thought that my habit of talking to myself was a hindrance.  Now, I realize that, when done properly, this practice is a tool for self-reflection, especially when thoughts are recorded and reviewed.  I still need to perfect the art of external reflection.  I also need to help students and colleagues learn to use these two processes to enhance their learning and professional practice. 

Sentence stems and questions can serve as stimulators for producing more thoughtful reflections (Costa & Kallick, 2000). I have found that it is helpful to have some prepared questions to use during the process of reflecting.  For me, some of these are:
* What did I do well today? 
* What do I need to change to be more effective and what steps can I take to make these changes?
* What problems or barriers do I anticipate and what can I do to reduce or eliminate them?
* What is one thing I did today to reach my major goals?  What was the result? What is one thing I can do tomorrow that will help me move closer to my goals? 
* How did I do as person today?  Would I be proud of my behavior?  How can I work on myself to become better?

Reflection is a tool that can be used to help grow and improve as a leader.  While I have taken steps to implement reflection as a regular practice, I still have much room for improvement.

Resources

Costa, A. L. & Kallick, B. (2000).  Getting into the Habit of Reflection. Educational Leadership, April 2000, vol. 57(7), 60-62.

Martin, G.E., Wright, W.F., Danzig, A.B., Flanary, R. A., & Brown, F. (2005).  School Leader Internship: Developing, Momitoring, and Evaluating Your Leadership Experience 2nd edition. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.