The Final Step: Reflection and Personal Philosophy
Wow, we are finally at the end of our mentoring blog. I hope that we all were able to learn from one another. This week we will be talking about Reflection. Do we understand what reflection is? Let’s all begin by stating what reflection means to us.
Reflection means so much to me as a student who begin the college journey back in 1992 and after trials and tribulations, I have finally reached my goal of a Bachelor degree and moving on towards my Master degree. As I reflect back to those days, I am to use those reflections to understand who I am and what my future holds.
I found this link to a fun a quiz which will give a psychological reflection of life. I hope you all have fun taking this quiz. Tell us what you have learned from this quiz.
We use reflection while developing e-Portfolio. Reflective writing can very hard for many students. Reflective writing offers way more room for personal insight and freedom of expression than the typical descriptive format we are all used to. Reflective tone allows writers to express themselves, the situation, their surroundings, or all of the above from a personal standpoint.
Here is a great short video with some pointers on reflective writing you can check out if you’re still not one hundred percent comfortable with the reflective writing style.
Share your understanding of reflection.
Tell us what you have learned from the quiz above.
Share how you're planning to use reflection in developing your e-Portfolio content pages.
Share some obstacles students may have when writing reflectively.
MAKE SURE TO RESPOND TO 3 OTHER POSTS!!!
An obstacle a student might face writing reflectively is making connections between what they are learning and their own life. Reflection forces you to think outside of the box. So many students are used to being handed an assignment, and doing exactly what it says. To think for themselves, and expand their thought process is something they unfortunately don't get a lot of practice at. I like what the video about suggested about giving the student guided questions. This will help them get on the right track, and get there minds thinking differently.
ReplyDelete~Ashley Monk
Ashley,
DeleteI enjoyed reading your post. You made some great points. I liked how you mentioned that reflection does make students think outside the box. It is very hard to do especially when every plan is made for us. We are guided all along college. So when we have to reflect on something, we are like sheep without a pastor. Its like we need to be told what to write. So reflection helps us remember what we know and share it with others.
-Rafaelina A. Mercado
Ashley,
DeleteI agree with your post and the guided questions suggestion. Sometimes, guided questions give a little bit of a boost and make it easier to get your point across.
-Jodi
Ashley,
DeleteI liked what you said about making connections being an obstacle. As individuals we can be challenged to think outside the box and beyond the spectrum of our mind and understanding.
Great post,
Francine Bacchus
I did not like the quiz. I didn't really understand what it was they were asking for. After reading the answers I became even more confused. I don't see how the answers relate to the psychology. I think the story line should have been set up better. Also I think it would have been more beneficial to have multiple choice answers, this would help guide the reader, and get more precise results.
ReplyDelete~Ashley Monk
Ashley,
DeleteI agree with you, I was very confused with the quiz overall because I believe the situation changed the circumstances. There are other quizzes online that ask more relevant questions. To me this was like one of those facebook quizzes that tells you what creature you are most like, who your next love will be, etc.
Stephanie Krall
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThe quiz was a fun way to just reflect how your answer may or may not reflect on your personality. I found it to be interesting and thought it would be fun for you all to see if they can generalize our personalities from the vague questions.
Tamaria Tate
Ashley, do not think too much into the quiz! It was just a fun exercise to see if your answers match up to your personality type. Obviously it is not an exact science, but it is a different way of getting an outsiders opinion on your behavior. I hope the video/questions we asked were more targeted towards what you want to learn this week. :)
ReplyDeleteReflection to me means looking back on your any past moment be it action, decision, etc., and determining what your strengths and weaknesses were. Reflections to me can be used for improvement and to realize what the areas a person can improve on. I do not feel that I learned much from the quiz, except that I take things literally. I also do not feel that it related very well between how I actually am and the results that I was given. I am planning to use reflection in developing my e-Portfolio content pages to bring out my personality and to show how I have grown as a person. Reflections allow your opinions and views to be showcased and I will use this throughout my content pages to shine a spotlight on my unique positions. Some obstacles students may have when writing reflectively are really becoming personal with the writing and conveying what their message is. Personally when I am asked to write a reflective piece I know that it takes me a while to figure out what to write because I am not used to having this type of writing.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Krall
Stephanie,
DeleteThat was an amazing post. You did a great job in describing what reflection is. I liked the quiz even though some interpretations didn't make sense. You are correct in identifing some obstacles students go through when they have to reflect. I know I have trouble doing so. Like you, it takes me while to figure out what to write.
-Rafaelina A. Mercado
Reflecting back on good and bad moments can only help us in the long run. We need to learn from past mistakes ans repeat the positive moments in our lives. Weeding out the difference in the two is certainly a reflective and useful tool.
DeleteEmily Pate
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI think you summed up reflection very well. It is looking back on past moments. I believe this is also where interdisciplinarity can be applied. These different moments were in different situations, at different times, and about different things. We take a little bit of each of those, and I believe that is what makes us who we are today, and how we think. Writing reflectively is very healthy for anyone, and I think everyone should do it more often. :)
~Ashley Monk
The quiz, I felt, was a bit ridiculous. For example, if I light 20 candles, this is a selfish act more than a generous one. Candles melt and disappear which means I will have wasted the candles.
ReplyDeleteReflection is filled with evaluation, remembrance and supposition of an event, accomplishment, or moment in time. It truly allows sharing of who or what has brought you to a place or condition - how we develop over time.
Using reflection to develop an e-portfolio will help me fine-tune my future and how I share who I am for potential employers. It will offer insight into the path I've taken and where I'm headed as an individual and employee. It is a valuable tool when planning next steps in life, whether personal, family or occupational.
Daphne Keys
Daphne,
DeleteI thought the same thing when I read the answer about the candles. The more you light, the more you waste. If anything, the less candles lighted, the more eco-friendly we are.
You make a great point that the reflection will help develop the e-portfolio. The reflection makes you aware of the information that you know and it organizes for you. Great Points!
-Rafaelina A. Mercado
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI hadn't thought of it that way, but yes, lighting ALL twenty candles is quite wasteful! And inconsiderate, since they're in this mysterious hut and must belong to someone else. I assumed that I was not generous, according to the quiz, since I probably would have lit just two candles in order to produce light.
DeleteAnd yes, reflection truly shows how we learn and develop over time, especially if we continue to keep a blog or diary of some sort.
Jana Read
Daphne,
DeleteThat is exactly what I thought of about the candles! To me lighting all the candles at once meant that I would be out of candles in no time and stranded in the dark! This is why I came to the conclusion that I took the quiz a bit too literally, especially when it came to the table and I figured square because that was an easier table to make in the jungle than a circle lol. I even took the question about the material that the pitcher was made out of a bit too literally. I think the overall situation of being stranded in the jungle through the whole thing off.
Stephanie Krall
I think it's an interesting notion on how you'll use it as a tool as to what to share with your employers. It's such a difficult task to let propective employers know who you truly are with out divulging too much. This is useful in clearing up those boundaries.
Deleteemily pate
Ashley...
ReplyDeleteI agree about the quiz. It isn't a true measure of anything really and is only a "fun" game. I've participated in Meyers-Briggs, Strength-Finders,DISC, and other true measurements of personality and giftings. This quiz is just a game. Professional measuring tools are much more advanced, offer valuable input and help to build a person in the strengths they exhibit.
Daphne Keys
I have also done the DISC personality assessment. I highly recommend it to eveyone. It is the most accurate test I've seen. If you respond truthfully, I think you will find out a lot of insight into yourself and others, then you can truly reflect!!
DeleteEmily Pate
Stephanie...
ReplyDeleteNicely written. I admire your viewpoint and confidence about sharing opinions. I find it difficult at times to truly voice my opinion in the professional realm.
It is important to be true to your opinions and beliefs when seeking partners or career paths because they are hiring you, personality and all.
Nicely said.
Daphne Keys
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote clearly about the struggle students might experience in reflection. I find it easy for some topics and difficult for others.
Daphne Keys
Reflection to me is a way to evaluate what we know and what we don't know. If we are able to talk about it, then we know the information. Reflection also means being able to use that information in our lives. It may be difficult to reflect at times because we may be unsure what to write or may not know the information we have to reflect on. So it is important to know how to reflect so we can evalute ourselves. I don't think reflection should be guided because then it wouldn't be natural. It would just be an answer to a prompt.
ReplyDelete-Rafaelina A. Mercado
Your response reminds me of the first week of class when we had to write about learning, and how do we know whether or not we've truly learned something. A lot of people said that when we are able to teach it to someone else, we know we've truly learned the information (or concept or skill, etc). But the nice thing about reflection is that we can also mention those things we don't understand or what we'd like to learn more about and why. On the other hand, we can reflect on what we enjoyed about certain learning experiences and those things that captured our interest.
DeleteJana Read
This is a very good summary of the reflection. Reflections are difficult because we must realize what worked and what did not. The fact that reflections are unguided adds to their use. It forces a person to think back on their own and come up with their own ideas. If reflections are guided they become like a multiple choice question, instead of a free response.
DeleteStephanie Krall
Interesting quiz I must say. It seems more like an assignment for art class than a personality quiz. The answers don't make much sense.
ReplyDeleteReflection means asking questions, forming opinions, posing ideas, sorting out your thoughts. There are no right or wrong answers because our questions and ideas and thoughts cannot be proven right or wrong. This is the approach I've taken in the past when reflecting on certain volunteer programs or keeping a journal while traveling. Sensory details are nice too, for example when reflecting on a hot windy day at the beach, or critiquing a new menu item at your favorite restaurant. Not to confuse reflecting with critiquing...
In my e-portfolio pages I will use reflection to discuss my formal and informal education, what I learned from each, and how it has made me the person I am today. Strengths and weaknesses in past situations will be mentioned, as well as personal development as a result of these experiences.
Jana Read
Hello Jana!
DeleteI support your statement that there are no right or wrong answers with a reflection. It is not even an opinionated body of work but ones personal understanding and how they were affected. Personal development are the most important objective in it.
Francine Bacchus
The quiz certainly was unique! I’m glad it was just for fun and not a true reflection of myself. I think my answers were based on way too many Little House on the Prairie episodes as a child. The cabin I concocted in my head was just like Laura Ingles!
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I do appreciate the need and though process behind reflective writing. For me, it’s much easier to just sit down and write. To think about writing “reflectively” poses a whole new set of issues. Reflective writing, for me, is based in the thought process of evaluation. While evaluation of others is not problematic, evaluation of self and personal ideals is a whole different problem. To evaluate why and what I write is not always easy. Sometimes there isn’t much thought and the idea translates well. Other times, there is so much effort and fore thought put into it, it comes out all wrong!
I think that’s a key problem many people face when writing reflectively. They tend to overthink the issue. Often times, if you just began to type, your head and fingers will do the work for you and there is no “thinking” needed!
Emily Pate
A reflection has given me to opportunity to summarize my experience without stating my personal opinions but instead of how it had either changed or affected me. The quiz gave me a great marker of my growth and the knowledge I have acquired. My reflection will be used to strengthen my understanding of myself academically and professionally. The biggest obstacle may to write objectively.
ReplyDeleteFrancine Bacchus