reflection on my learning journey

Learning Through Reflection: 20+ Questions to Inspire Others

It seems that our reflective ability to think about our thinking , known as metacognition, can provide a boost in all sorts of situations, especially when acquiring knowledge and skills (Fleming, 2021a).

While there was a time when we believed that rote learning , memorizing information based on repetition, was the path to good education, it now appears insufficient for our rapidly changing world, where we constantly need to get to grips with new ideas (Fleming, 2021b).

In this article, we explore the potential of reflection to help us understand how to think and learn and some activities that can help.

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This Article Contains:

The role of reflection in learning, fostering reflection: 4 skills for teachers, 11 best questions for kids and students, 4 fun ways to cultivate reflection, questions to ask older students, positivepsychology.com’s reflection resources, a take-home message.

Humans are very good at explaining what they do and why. Self-awareness is, after all, one of our defining features. The capacity to do so relies on our ability to reflect on ourselves, such as how we think, feel, perceive, and decide things in our lives (Fleming, 2021b).

Reflection and introspection in learning are crucial, and the more accurate, the better. Both under- and overconfidence in our knowledge and abilities can lead us to fail to perform at our best.

For example, thinking we know something well when we don’t can leave us unprepared and oblivious that we can’t answer the question or perform the task. Conversely, never feeling we know enough may stop us from engaging in an activity or interacting with a group (Fleming 2021b).

Why is metacognition important?

Perhaps surprisingly, it is only in recent years that metacognition has been considered a valid and valuable subject for research (Fleming, 2021a). After all, doesn’t it seem impossible that the brain can peer in on itself? Isn’t this a prerequisite for self-reflection?

In fact, the brain can and does.

Findings from neuroscience and cognitive science research prove that the brain is not a single, indivisible organ. The brain is a collection of networks and has the capacity to think about its own thinking (Fleming 2021a).

In an ever-changing world where people live longer, change jobs more frequently, and need new skills almost daily, learning is indeed lifelong. Being fixed in what we know and not recognizing where we have scope to develop is unhelpful and even harmful.

Understanding metacognition and using our reflection skills can help us in education and enhance our ability to acquire the skills we need throughout life. Crucially, it improves “the way we make decisions about how, what, and when to study,” says Stephen Fleming (2021b, p. 116), a leading expert in neuroscience.

So how can reflection help us learn?

As it relates to learning, metacognition begins with us forming beliefs about how best to learn and where we should focus our attention (Fleming, 2021b). After all, it’s no good reading about the history of ancient Greece if the exam is on the Industrial Revolution.

Once we have learned what is needed, we can begin to understand how we should use or apply that knowledge. It could be an exam, a presentation at work, or a conversation with someone.

Fleming (2021b) lays out several important points to note when we look at learning from a metacognitive perspective:

• A considerable amount of research suggests that a preferred learning style (visual, written, auditory, etc.) may be a myth. Studies of learners who believed they had a pictorial learning style versus those with a verbal preference found their confidence was usually misplaced.
• It is crucial that we become aware of what we don’t know. Such reflective insight is helpful because it directs our focus where it is most needed. Sadly, we tend to choose what is more straightforward over the material or approach that will give us the most significant gains.
• Our overall confidence in how we perform is closely linked to our metacognitive bias. What this means is that even an unrealistic boost in our self-efficacy can lead to better performance.

Research has shown that metacognition, such as reflecting on what we do (and do not) know, what we need to learn, and the most appropriate learning approach, reduces anxiety and stress levels while boosting our results (Fleming, 2021b).

In the following sections, we look at how reflection can help teachers share knowledge and how students can utilize methods and questions to elevate their learning.

They studied teachers nominated by colleagues, professors, and educators as being “very adept at getting their students to think” (Ritchhart & Church, 2020, p. xvii).

What they found was simplified down to a three-word mantra for both teaching and learning:

Making thinking visible is vital.

Using a set of thinking routines, it is possible to “create classrooms where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted as part of the day-to-day experience of all members” (Ritchhart & Church, 2020, p. xv).

Teachers who encourage students to reflect on the process of learning and thinking create environments that (Ritchhart & Church, 2020):

• Cultivate deeper learning
• Foster engaged and motivated students
• Transform the typically fixed roles of teachers and students
• Improve the outcome of learning
• Change people’s thinking dispositions

And this deeper learning occurs at the point where the following three vital concepts meet (Ritchhart & Church, 2020):

• Mastery – the opportunity to develop an understanding
• Identity – the opportunity to connect with what was being studied and develop as a learner
• Creativity – the opportunity to produce something personally meaningful.

It is perhaps no surprise that this links closely to Ryan and Deci’s (2017) notion of intrinsic motivation being greatest when people are most engaged and feeling competent, related, and autonomous.

So how do we cultivate engaged students?

While thinking is typically an internal, seemingly inexplicable, process, it can be made visible through a set of reflective practices (Ritchhart & Church, 2020).

• Questioning : Great questions drive and make visible learning and thinking. Facilitative questions such as “ What makes you say that? ” are sometimes described as magic questions . They encourage the student to reflect, reveal, and engage with their deeper thinking to clarify their ideas. Similarly, “ Tell me why ” and “ What’s your reason for that? ” push for further explanation.

Crucially, the creative use of questioning by teachers switches the paradigm. Rather than attempting to transmit what is in their heads to their students, the goal becomes to understand the student’s thinking .

Such questions are not like the typical review questions used in a traditional class that simply require a recall verbatim of what the teacher said. They can be followed up with questions like “ Can you say more about that? ” and “ I’m not sure I follow. Can you say what you were thinking in a different way? ”

• Listening : It must be clear to students that teachers are truly interested in their thinking and what they are sharing. It gives the student a reason to impart their deeper thinking and present their theories.

The goal and skill of the teacher is to encourage deeper reflection by the student, drawing out their perspectives, feelings, and understandings regarding a situation or an idea.

Hearing the challenges, understandings, and even struggles within the student’s thinking, the teacher can find opportunities to explore and explain in greater detail without the student becoming overwhelmed or shutting down.

• Documentation : Thinking can seem like a messy process. However, even in the early stages of understanding and learning, documenting (e.g., observing, recording, interpreting, and sharing) can support the student’s reflective skills and the teacher’s growth.

Documentation is not merely what is captured, but also the act of reflecting on thinking and learning. Perhaps most importantly, when a teacher records the student’s ideas, it shows they have worth and value for future discovery.

Once visible, the students can reflect on their learning and make it a subject of discussion. A great question to set the scene is: “ What do I want to capture so that we as a class can return to it later for more careful examination and analysis? ” (Ritchhart & Church, 2020, p. 28).

• Thinking routines : Thinking routines can be shared with students and used as a structure to aid thinking, ultimately becoming a pattern of behavior.

Ritchhart and Church (2020) list eight thinking moves that are valuable for building understanding:

• Observing closely and describing what is there
• Building explanations and interpretations
• Reasoning with evidence
• Making connections
• Considering different viewpoints and perspectives
• Capturing the heart and forming conclusions
• Wondering and asking questions
• Uncovering complexity and going below the surface of things

The teacher’s skill is in recognizing the type of thinking that will help the student engage with particular content.

The aim then is to avoid the following three teaching mistakes (Ritchhart & Church, 2020):

• Focusing on correctness rather than thinking
• Seeing the task as work rather than a chance to explore
• Weak content that doesn’t provide an opportunity for thinking

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“Productive inquiry depends on good questions” (Ritchhart & Church, 2020, p. 98).

Many approaches can stimulate reflection within learners, and often they begin with students asking themselves about their understanding.

The following approaches can be helpful (Ritchhart & Church, 2020).

Main–side–hidden

A valuable approach for examining a document, article, story, or video is to reflect on its content and identify and explain the following:

• What is the main (or central) story being told?
• What are the side stories? There could be other issues or interesting events engaging the side characters.
• What is the hidden story? Perhaps there is a narrative happening beneath the surface.

This exercise is a practical way to engage more deeply with the story and can be completed in a group environment or as a piece of homework.

Beauty and truth

When a story has been read or listened to, the student can gain further insights by reflecting upon the events and points covered, especially when the subject is complex.

Ask the following questions:

• Where can the beauty within the story be found? What is appealing or beautiful?
• Where can the truth be found in the story? What are the realities of the situation?
• How might beauty reveal the truth? How and where does beauty bring something to light?
• How might beauty conceal the truth? Where does beauty obscure truth?

Remember, reflection is not about right and wrong answers, but rather the exploration of ideas and thinking.

Often in lectures, students spend the entire time writing furiously without the capacity to think about what is being presented or engage with the material.

Instead, consider the following questions in advance of the lecture or presentation. Reflect on them during the knowledge sharing and answer each one as fully as possible.

• What was the most important point?
• What did you find most challenging, inspiring, difficult to understand?
• What question would you most like to discuss?
• What is something you found interesting?

Try out some of the following fun activities to cultivate reflection (Ritchhart & Church, 2020; Peters, 2018):

1. Start a hobby

Learning can occur in many forms and situations. Starting a new pastime such as playing tennis, learning to paint, riding a horse, or listening to new types of music can provide a fun opportunity to reflect on what and how you are thinking and learning.

2. Look after a pet

Taking care of your own or someone else’s pet requires learning about the animal’s needs and how to meet them. Think of the different ways you have learned about the animal, such as talking to the owner, reading a book, or watching a program on TV. What do you know, and what do you not yet understand? How could you find out more information?

3. Three things

Learning new things can be fearsome. You may worry that you can’t do something even before you try. Make a list of three things you would say to a friend who was feeling that way. Reflect on how these points apply to you and what you could do to help yourself.

4. Practice reflection in groups

Reflection is a skill, and like any other, it can be learned. Watch a short comedy movie or cartoon – the sillier the better. Give each person a pad of sticky notes and as fast as possible, write down any thoughts, questions, and feelings about what you have watched.

Stick each note on a wall or board and find as many ways as possible to group them.

Metacognition and reflection, in particular, are incredibly important to the act of learning (Fleming, 2021b).

The following 10 questions can be used with adolescents or adult learners after reading, learning, or listening to a topic or story to stimulate learning (modified from Ritchhart & Church, 2020):

• What do you think the author or speaker meant by… ?
• Can you think of another example of… ?
• What is the author/speaker assuming when they say… ?
• What are the evidence and reasons behind… ?
• Can you think of an alternative point of view on… ?
• What is the effect likely to be of (doing/thinking)… ?
• What’s the takeaway lesson?
• What core idea is the author/speaker expressing?
• How could things be different if … happened?
• What are the strengths and the weaknesses of… ?

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Looking for more tools to help encourage reflection amongst your clients? Check out some of the following resources throughout our blog.

• WDEP Questions worksheet This worksheet presents a list of questions about what a person wants and actions to pursue it, helping clients arrive at a plan for what to do next.
• Things I Love This exercise invites a group of participants to share and discuss the things they love, encouraging self-reflection while nurturing group cohesiveness.
• Self-Esteem Journal For Adults This worksheet presents a series of journaling prompts that inspire reflection on one’s best attributes and positive aspects of life.
• 87 Self-Reflection Questions for Introspection [+Exercises] For even more questions to encourage a greater depth of introspection, check out our dedicated article featuring 87 self-reflection questions.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

Metacognition is thinking about our thinking ; reflection, in particular, is crucial to successful lifelong learning. Most importantly, it helps us recognize what we know and what we don’t and guides us toward the right things to learn next (Fleming, 2021b).

Not only that, reflecting on what we believe others know versus what we think they should know provides essential feedback for the gaps in our own learning.

Understanding and reflecting facilitate teaching and learning and can create self-aware students and, indeed, teachers (Fleming, 2021b).

Questioning ourselves and others, listening well, and capturing thinking are the constituents of reflection and can be practiced. Ultimately, as we become better at recognizing our learning processes, we become more adept at acquiring new skills and knowledge and ready ourselves for lifelong engagement in education and self-development.

Try out some of the techniques, questions, and exercises on yourself or those you are educating, and observe the benefits of a more reflective, self-aware mindset on your ability to share and embed new concepts and approaches.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• Fleming, S. (2021a, May 5). How to boost your self-awareness and make better decisions. New Scientist. Retrieved May 17, 2021, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033332-300-how-to-boost-your-self-awareness-and-make-better-decisions/
• Fleming, S. M. (2021b). Know thyself: The science of self-awareness . Basic Books.
• Peters, S. (2018). My hidden chimp: Helping children to understand and manage their emotions, thinking and behaviour with ten helpful habits . Studio Press.
• Ritchhart, R., & Church, M. (2020). The power of making thinking visible: Practices to engage and empower all learners . Jossey-Bass.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness . Guilford Press.

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5 Activities That Promote Reflection in the Classroom

The metacognitive work of reflecting on learning boosts engagement and encourages the development of critical thinking skills.

Reflection is a powerful tool for enhancing learning and knowledge acquisition and is essential for teachers and students. When students engage in reflective thinking, they are better able to analyze and evaluate their experiences, which enables them to extract meaning and actively process what they have learned and to make sense of it. By taking the time to engage in the metacognitive practice of thinking and reflecting on learning, students can make more meaningful connections and gain a deeper understanding of the material, leading to greater long-term retention and application of knowledge.

Reflection also helps students develop metacognitive and social and emotional skills, such as self-awareness and self-regulation, by identifying areas for improvement and setting new goals. These are all important skills for lifelong learning.

5 Learning Activities that Can Foster reflection

To promote reflection, there are many options available that provide students with choices in how to share what they have learned and to engage in reflective practice. 

1. Blogging. For students who enjoy writing or jotting down ideas, blogging or journaling can be a great choice. Whether students contribute to a class blog or share it only with their teacher, it enables students to practice their writing skills, reflect on their learning, and potentially receive feedback from their peers. The blog can be on a topic related to their coursework, such as a book review, a reflection on a field trip, or a summary of a research project and what they learned and how the experience was for them.

WeVideo is a neat way for students to compile a series of video reflections and have an artifact of their learning to look back on throughout the year. It also promotes student choice and building digital skills with its editing tools and features. Students can even collaborate with classmates as they reflect. 

2. Digital storytelling. Digital storytelling is a popular and engaging option for students who are looking to showcase their knowledge through multimedia. With digital storytelling, students are empowered with choices in how to create a visual representation of their learning in a fun, engaging, and meaningful way. Depending on the tool used, students can include images, video, and audio to share thoughts and reflections of learning. 

StoryJumper is a digital storytelling platform that promotes student choice and voice in learning. Students can choose different background scenes, characters, and props and record audio for their books. Books can easily be shared with a QR code. 

3. Making mind maps. Creating graphic organizers or mind maps can be another way to boost visualization of learning and for students to present their thought processes, ideas, and connections between different concepts they have learned. Mind maps can promote critical thinking and creativity skills, as well as helping students evaluate how well they understand complex topics and develop a deeper understanding of the material.

Ideamapper is a tool that can be used by students and teachers for creating a mind map. There are many templates available to start with that make it easy to process learning, creating visualizations that help students reflect on concepts learned and make connections, leading to better content retention. 

4. Podcasting. For students who prefer speaking rather than writing to communicate their thoughts and ideas, podcasts are a great option. I started my own podcast as a way to reflect on my teaching practices and also to share what I was learning and how it impacted my classroom. By creating a podcast, students can explore their communication skills, delve deeper into a topic, and have a thoughtful discussion with classmates or simply a conversation with themselves that they can listen to and process for further reflection.

Students can create an episode to talk about a current event or a specific area of study, or to self-assess their learning experiences. Students can provide their unique perspective and insights on a topic while refining their speaking and communication skills. They will articulate their ideas more clearly, structure their thoughts, and engage in conversation, all of which also benefit their SEL skills.

Soundtrap for Education offers students and teachers many resources for getting started with podcasting in the classroom. Soundtrap also has lesson plans on a variety of topics and content areas for educators to explore and start podcasting with students right away.

5. Building digital portfolios. Digital portfolios are a great way to have students track their progress. Through a portfolio, they can build a narrative of their work and have a space to reflect on their progress and set goals.

Spaces EDU is a digital portfolio platform that helps teachers gain a deeper understanding of students’ interests, needs, and learning styles. Students can track their growth over time, identifying strengths and areas where they can set new goals. This information is critical in supporting reflective practice, allowing teachers to adjust their teaching strategies to better serve each student’s unique needs. 

Wakelet offers many possibilities for classroom use. Students can have their own Wakelet to add artifacts of work and create a digital portfolio, as well as record Flip videos to reflect on their learning. Flip has been a very beneficial tool in my classroom for several years. Whether students record videos to share their ideas or respond to prompts, it offers many choices that provide authentic and engaging learning and reflection opportunities for students. 

Benefits of reflection

Reflection promotes self-awareness and self-improvement and helps students identify strengths and weaknesses, set goals, and develop strategies to improve their learning outcomes. We want students to take ownership of their learning and become more active and engaged learners.

Reflective practices also enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills. When we engage in the metacognitive process of thinking about thinking, we develop greater awareness of our learning experiences. Students will develop a habit of self-reflection that will enable them to better adapt to new challenges, learn from experiences, and continue to grow and develop as they prepare for the future.

Overall Reflection on Learning Journey Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Educating young children is a very responsible task. During centuries, philosophers, teachers, and other scientists suggested many teaching techniques and theories that were aimed at improving the process of teaching, learning, and assessment. Indeed, modern education is based on several major principles that presuppose encouraging communication between adults and children, encourage learning activities, promote self-belief, and respect for other people. These principles were described and interpreted in various books, articles, etc. In this essay, I am going to highlight some key things, such as theories, principles, and approaches that re-shape or change the way I think about teaching, learning, and assessment.

I have never considered teaching as something easy, however, it is much “deeper” activity that, according to Eggen and Kauchak (2010) can be described with such adjectives as “demanding”, “challenging”, and “rewarding”. Being a teacher is not a profession, but a lifestyle. What was new for me is that a teacher should also be a psychologist. It is the main characteristic of his/her professionalism. As Eggen and Kauchak (2001) mention in their book, a commitment to learning, the ability to make decisions, reflective practices are the foundations of a professional teacher. Consequently, the knowledge of the material is not the only “knowledge” the teacher should possess. One should study educational psychology to develop a professional knowledge base that helps make decisions to maximize students’ learning. (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010).

What is also important for a teacher is no understand that the world and society develops, the students are not the same there were years ago, thus, a teacher is supposed to use innovative teaching methods that increase students’ alertness and motivation, as well as improve teacher’s professional development. One such method employs the use of the Internet and various digital technologies: “Internet navigation can use the technology to access professional development opportunities.” (Pandey and Bhargava, 2003) This promoted professional development and makes students more interested in learning, thus, it improves their performance. I have also realized that it is extremely important for teachers to understand individual student’s learning capabilities and psychological characteristics of every individual, as well as the whole group to be able to control their behavior. One should be aware of the ethics of the group membership and the commitment to the attitudes, values, and behavior of that group (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). I also understood that there are many forms of disciplining young children, the most important for a teacher is to realize that these forms should be suitable in one time and place (Porter, 2002).

Two methods re-shaped my view on teaching: constructive and instructive teaching methods. The constructivist theory acknowledges that every learner needs to create an individual understanding of a concept through first-hand experience or reflection (student-based). This is an effective method since the students can visualize and easily understand the taught concepts. This is the opposite of the instructive teaching method where we are supposed to hammers information through explicit teaching, there is a strict sequence of skill presentation, and this method has its shortfalls since weak students might not be able to keep up with the pace. (Zevenbergen, 1995). One thing that we must all observe is professionalism and positive attitudes since they are keys to successful teaching. I appreciate the need to increase the students’ skills in education and life, and to achieve this we should empower students so that they can identify problems and solve them, still it brings them to issues related to real-life matters, and how to go about them. Thus, a teacher should promote student’s personal, social, and moral development in real-life situations.

According to Eggen and Kauchak (2010), age-related changes in personality, ability to interact, and pro-social characteristics should be taken into consideration when educating children. My vision of the educational process was also very changed by the theories of Piaget and Vigotsky. I considered that it is the teacher’s responsibility to present the knowledge, however, according to Piaget, learning is an active process and learners construct their knowledge (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Thus, the teacher is only the helper who directs and gives advice. Such a theory of active learning influenced greatly modern education and improved it. Vigotsky is another great pedagogue that changed my vision of the teaching process. His sociocultural theory of development emphasized the role of language in the child’s development, he promoted a great role of culture and social interaction (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Thus, I support the idea that people, as social beings should interact with other people and share their culture during socio-based activities.

Another important issue is the way of assessing students. We do this in various ways; one can take the formative approach which tests continuity, while there is the other method we use is the formative one which assesses the students at the end of their program. The formative approach is an effective method of testing day to day progress and it is effective since we can make rectifications instantly to avert the accumulation of learning problems. We are supposed to assess students in line with the set curriculum and objectives. This will take different forms but the primary objective is to use findings to improve our teaching and the student’s learning. (Bhagiar, 2007).

Throughout my learning, I discovered several important things that can promote the enhancement of teachers’ professional development and productivity. These issues have changed my attitude to teaching learning and assessment. What I understood is that teachers should prepare students to real life, promote their social, individual and moral development. By employing teaching tactics that use real life is, sues, teachers should let students explore the better world, come up with new ideas as well as help them solve real life problems. I appreciated what (Eggen & Kauchak 2010) said about real-life teaching whereby we use teaching aids which boosts the students’ ability to understand reality.

Bhagiar, M. (2006).Classroom Assessment Cycle within the Alternate Assessment Paradigm. Journal of Maltese Education research . Web.

Eggen, P & Kauchak, D. (2004) Education psychology Windows on classrooms. Web.

Pandey, V. C. & Bhargava, G. (2003). Digital Technologies and Teaching Strategies. Gyan Books.

Porter, L. (2002). Educating Young Children with Special Needs. SAGE.

Zevenbergen, R. (1995). Constructivist approaches in mathematics education. Web.

• Formative Assessment: Gauging the Outcome of Educational Activities
• Education Plan: Formative Assessment
• Keeping Learning on Track: Formative Assessment and the Regulation of Learning
• Action Research and Educational Program Evaluation
• Teacher Development and School Responsibilities
• Educator's Principles in Foreign Language Teaching
• Montessori Teacher's Certification Experiences
• Founding Teacher's Experience in Montessori School
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, February 26). Overall Reflection on Learning Journey. https://ivypanda.com/essays/overall-reflection-on-learning-journey/

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Effectiviology

Reflective Learning: Thinking About the Way You Learn

• Reflective learning involves actively monitoring and assessing your knowledge, abilities, and performance during the learning process, in order to improve the process and its associated outcomes.
• For example, if you’re studying for a test, you can engage in reflective learning by asking yourself how well you understand each of the topics that you’re studying, and based on this figure out which topics you need to spend more time on.

Reflective learning can be beneficial in various ways and in various contexts, so it’s often worthwhile to engage in it. As such, in the following article you will learn more about reflective learning, and see how you can engage in it yourself, as well as how you can encourage others to engage in it.

Examples of reflective learning

An example of reflective learning is a person who starts a new hobby, and asks themself how well they’re learning the new information that comes with the hobby, whether there are any gaps in their knowledge, and which learning strategies they enjoy using the most.

Other examples of reflective learning appear in various domains, both in academia and outside of it. For instance:

• A student taking a difficult course can ask themself which parts of the material they struggle with and why, in order to figure out what they should be focusing on, and how they can modify their learning to make it more effective.
• An intern learning to perform various tasks at their new workplace can assess their ability to perform those tasks, so they can know which tasks they need to ask for help with.
• An athlete who’s preparing for a competition can think about which learning strategies aren’t working well for them and why, and then either improve the way they use those strategies, or replacing those strategies with better ones.

The benefits of reflective learning

There are many potential benefits to reflective learning:

• It can help you assess your situation , for example by prompting you to identify gaps in your knowledge and areas where you need to improve.
• It can help you figure out how to improve your learning process , for example by prompting you to figure out which learning techniques work well for you and which ones don’t.
• It can help you understand yourself better , for example by prompting you to consider what kind of assignments or information you struggle with the most.
• It can help you develop your general metacognitive skills , by training you to think critically about how you learn.
• It can increase your feelings of autonomy and control, by making you feel that you’re actively in charge of your learning process.
• It can increase your motivation to learn, by making you feel more in control of the learning process, and by making that process more deliberate and effective.
• It can improve your learning outcomes , both directly, by helping you modify the learning process, as well as indirectly, through the other benefits that it offers, such as increased motivation.

Accordingly, many studies have shown that reflective learning can lead to personal growth and improved learning. For example, one study found that encouraging students to reflect on what they’re learning and how they learn had a positive impact on their learning outcomes, and had additional benefits when it came to their critical thinking skills and their ability to organize their thoughts. Similarly, another study found that reflective learning helped students process the learning material and link it to material that they’ve encountered previously.

Furthermore, in addition to students, instructors can also benefit from the reflective learning that their students engage in. For example, reflective learning can prompt students to generate helpful feedback that instructors can then use to improve their teaching, for instance by identifying areas where students require more thorough explanations, or by identifying teaching methods that need to be modified.

Overall, reflective learning has various potential benefits, including helping learners assess their situation and improve their learning process, helping learners understand themselves and develop their metacognitive skills, and increasing learners’ feelings of autonomy and control, as well as their motivation. Accordingly, the importance of reflective learning is widely recognized in various fields , and it’s an important part of many education, training, and work programs.

How to be reflective in your learning

Being reflective in your learning means thinking about what you’re learning and how you’re learning it, in a way that helps you understand yourself and your learning better. There are several things that you can reflect on:

• Your understanding of the material. For example, how well you understand certain concepts.
• Your understanding of how to implement what you’ve learned. For example, when and how you can use a certain formula.
• Your learning process. For example, how well certain learning strategies work for you.
• Your abilities, preferences, and thoughts. For example, how difficult or enjoyable you find a certain topic.
• Your goals. For example, where and when you plan to implement something that you’ve learned, and what you hope to achieve by doing so.

You can reflect on these things in various ways and to different degrees.

For example, in some cases, you might engage in quick and shallow reflection while you’re studying, by asking yourself “do I really understand this material?”. Alternatively, in other cases, you might want to engage in slower and deeper reflection, by writing down all the key topics that you’ve learned about, and going over this list to identify areas that you don’t understand well.

Similarly, in some cases, you might want to quickly ask yourself “is this learning technique working well for me?”. Alternatively, in other cases, you might decide to write down a list of all the learning techniques that you’re using, and then rank them based on how effective they are for you. Furthermore, if you do this, you can also ask yourself what all the techniques that work well for you have in common.

When doing all this, you can use various questions to guide your reflection, as shown in the examples above, and the following are some specific questions that you might benefit from using:

• Which parts of the material do I understand well? How do I know that I understand this material well?
• Which parts of the material do I struggle with? What specifically am I struggling with, and why?
• Which learning techniques do I feel are helpful? Why do I feel that they are helpful?
• Which learning techniques do I feel are unhelpful? Why do I feel that they are unhelpful?
• Are there any changes that I can make to my learning process to make it better for me?
• Should I ask someone else for help, either with my reflection or with my learning? If so, then what should I ask about, and who is a good person to ask this?

Keep in mind that it’s often more difficult to engage in reflective learning than it is to simply move forward without reflection, especially in the short term. Accordingly, people often avoid reflection, particularly when they’re under time pressure. However, in the long term, reflective learning can be better, both when it comes directly to your learning outcomes, as well as when it comes to related benefits, such as your general ability to learn and your motivation to do so.

Overall, you can reflect on various aspects of your learning, including your understanding of the material, your understanding of how to implement what you’ve learned, your learning process, and your abilities, preferences, thoughts, and goals. You can encourage and guide reflective learning by asking relevant questions, such as “which parts of the material do I struggle with?”, “which learning techniques work well for me?”, and “is there anything I can do to make my learning process more effective?”.

Note : when engaging in reflective learning, you can also benefit from focusing on knowledge-building , an approach to learning and teaching that involves relatively deep engagement with the study material.

Reflective learning as a shared activity

Reflective learning can be something that you do by yourself or together with others. When done as a shared activity, reflective learning can take many forms. For example, it can involve a group of students openly discussing what challenges they faced while studying for a test, or a one-on-one meeting between a student and a tutor, where the tutor asks the student guiding questions about the student’s learning process.

There are advantages and disadvantages to individual reflection and shared reflection, as well as to the various forms of shared reflection. For example, while shared reflection as part of a group exposes people to more perspectives, which can help them identify more issues with their learning than they would be able to identify in a pair or by themselves, this approach can also make the reflection process much more stressful for people who are shy and struggle to work in groups.

Accordingly, when deciding whether and how to make reflective learning a shared activity, it’s important to consider the situation, and take any potential advantages and disadvantages into account.

Note : when it comes to shared reflective learning, an important concept to be aware of is the protégé effect , which is a psychological phenomenon where teaching, pretending to teach, or preparing to teach information to others helps a person learn that information. This is because the protégé effect means that shared reflective learning can help not only the person who is reflecting, but also those who help them do it.

How to encourage reflective learning in others

To encourage reflective learning in others, you can:

• Explain what reflective learning is.
• Explain why reflective learning can be beneficial.
• Explain how people can generally engage in reflective learning, potentially using relevant examples.
• Explain how they specifically can engage in reflective learning, potentially using relevant examples.
• Create an environment that is conducive to reflective learning, for example by giving people enough time to engage in reflection.
• Guide people’s reflection directly, for example by asking them questions that prompt them to think about their learning.

There are many ways in which you can do this. For example, you can give students a worksheet a day after an important exam, which has questions that guide them through the reflective-learning process. Similarly, you can dedicate 10 minutes at the end of class to having discussions in pairs, where students are encouraged to help each other reflect on their studies.

When encouraging reflective learning in others, you should remember that the end goal is to help them develop their skills and improve their learning outcomes. As such, you want to avoid the potential pitfalls of promoting reflective learning in an inappropriate manner. This can happen, for example, if you make the reflection feel like a pointless exercise, if you push learners to share information that they don’t feel comfortable giving, or if you force learners to use reflection techniques that don’t work well for them.

For example, this means that if you generally use reflective writing as a technique for promoting reflection, but someone feels much more comfortable engaging in reflection through sketching and drawing, then you should consider letting them do so, as long as it’s appropriate given the circumstances.

Reflective learning and reflective practice

Reflective practice involves actively analyzing your experiences and actions, in order to help yourself improve and develop.

The terms reflective learning and reflective practice  refer to similar concepts, and because their definitions vary and even overlap in some cases , they are sometimes used interchangeably.

Nevertheless, one possible way to differentiate between them is to say that people engage in reflective learning with regard to events where learning is the main goal, and in reflective practice with regard to events where learning is not the main goal. For example, a nursing student might engage in reflective learning when learning how to perform a certain procedure, whereas an experienced nurse might engage in reflective practice while performing the same procedure as part of their everyday routine.

Alternatively, it’s possible to view reflective learning as a notable type of reflective practice, which revolves around improving one’s learning in particular.

Overall, there is no clear distinction between reflective practice and reflective learning, and these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, potential distinctions between these terms are generally not important from a practical perspective, since they are unlikely to influence how the underlying concepts are implemented in practice.

Summary and conclusions

• Reflective learning has various potential benefits, including helping learners assess their situation and improve their learning process, helping learners understand themselves and develop their metacognitive skills, and increasing learners’ feelings of autonomy and control, as well as their motivation.
• You can reflect on various aspects of your learning, including your understanding of the material, your understanding of how to implement what you’ve learned, your learning process, and your abilities, preferences, thoughts, and goals.
• You can encourage and guide reflective learning by asking relevant questions, such as “which parts of the material do I struggle with?”, “which learning techniques work well for me?”, and “is there anything I can do to make my learning process more effective?”.

Other articles you may find interesting:

• Knowledge-Telling and Knowledge-Building in Learning and Teaching
• Reflective Practice: Thinking About the Way You Do Things
• The Factors that Determine Success at Learning

Students as reflective practitioners: a personal development journey

Professional development is often taken for granted and seldom well embedded into university curricula. Alexandra Mihai looks at how intentional learning design can help make it an integral part of students’ learning experience

Alexandra Mihai

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We want our students to have a rich and multifaceted learning experience. This means we need to reassess our focus on knowledge and ask ourselves “What do our students need to succeed in the ‘real world’?”

The challenge

Professional skills development and personal growth are very important, but they are often taken for granted. They tend to be an afterthought and remain on the sidelines of educational programmes. A key challenge is that skills development is often not (well) embedded in the overall curriculum. This results in a fragmented approach, rather than a coherent and meaningful skills trajectory. Moreover, we often forget to communicate clearly and explicitly to students that working on certain skills and competencies is an integral part of their learning experience. This results in low levels of engagement, depriving students of a valuable opportunity to work coherently on boosting employability skills so that they are well equipped for their professional life after graduation.

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What can we do?

One way to engage students in working on their professional competencies is by encouraging them to take ownership of their learning and create their own personal development story, linking the puzzle pieces they get from various learning experiences. At Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics, we do this through competence-based coaching that is run in parallel with other courses that make up our master’s programme.

Students choose four competency areas they want to work on as a focus, as well as specific skills within those competencies. They set their own goals and document their progress in a format of their choice. Some go for a written account of their journey, while others prefer a multimedia approach, using blogs, ePortfolios or podcasts. Throughout the process they work with one academic and one professional coach, who guide and support them in their respective areas of expertise. While being a genuine personal development journey, this course offers students a chance to become familiar with the labour market and its demands and take an important step towards becoming reflective practitioners.

Learning design ideas

Linking professional skills development to learning design is very important. By leaving it vague and implicit, our students miss out on opportunities. Here are ideas on how to approach competency and skills development in a holistic manner in educational programmes:

• Talk about it . By making it explicit at the design stage and communicating it clearly to students, professional skills development becomes part of the core curriculum and is also perceived as an integral part of the learning experience.
• Design it into the curriculum. You can design skills-specific learning objectives and create activities to train these skills. For instance, if teamwork or presentation skills are an integral part of your course, students can get targeted coaching along the way as well as feedback from the teacher and peers not only on the content but also on how they worked together or communicated their message. You can link skills development with active learning. In the case of project-based learning, for example, the focus could be on project management skills as well as on the actual output of the project. Skills are best trained alongside content knowledge and not in a vacuum, through one-off workshops. When students work on their skills in a specific context they get the chance to better understand their relevance in the real world. Moreover, giving students control over the competencies they want to develop can also keep them intrinsically motivated. You can do this by asking them to set their own goals and build a personal development plan, integrating both curricular and extracurricular experiences.
• Build a coherent framework . Intentional learning design comes into play here. To be effective, all these efforts (see points above and below) need to be anchored in an overarching story. This can be a planned course, a coherent series of sessions throughout the programme, a progressive set of online challenges, and more. Just use your imagination! And don’t forget to communicate this framework and its progression clearly to students.
• Support and scaffold through coaching. Teachers take up a new role, as coaches, facilitating students’ personal journeys. This is not a role that comes naturally, so we may need to hone our coaching skills too. Involving professionals from relevant fields in this process, as mentors, coaches or project partners, brings real added value to the students’ experience and complements the academic perspective. Don’t forget about alumni; they are a valuable resource. Technology can facilitate this process by creating bridges between academia and the labour market. Students can virtually experience a specific work environment, train their skills using virtual reality and connect in real time with experts in their field regardless of distance.
• Engage students in reflective practice . Encourage student reflection throughout all the different courses and on their overall learning experience. Guide and support reflection in various formats: learning journals, podcasts, vodcasts, portfolios, etc. This is how students learn to tell their own stories, which can prove very useful for the transition to the labour market.
• Keep pace with an ever-changing environment . As new competencies take centre-stage in the labour market at an accelerating pace, it’s important to adapt our approach regularly to keep pace with employer demands and make sure our efforts serve students well in their transition into the future workplace.  

This approach does require a high level of coordination at programme and course level, but it is worth the effort as it enables us to intentionally prepare our students for the challenges ahead. And ultimately this should be the goal of our work as educators.

Alexandra Mihai is an assistant professor of innovation in higher education at Maastricht University .

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You are here, 50 years of the ou: reflections on my own learning journey - dr zoe lawson, mba.

As 2019 draws to a close, so too does the 50th anniversary year of The Open University.

Since its inception back in 1969, the OU’s raison d’être has been to make education available to all. And what a huge success it has made of this, educating students across 157 countries and becoming the largest academic institution in the UK.

As I reflect upon my own OU experience, I’m proud to say that I have been, and continue to be a part of this inclusive and life-changing institution.

An opportunity

Like many British people who grew up in the 1980s and 90s, I can recall occasionally glimpsing some of The Open University’s educational material broadcast on the BBC late at night. This was my first taste of the OU, and I have to say, my initial impressions were somewhat sketchy! It all seemed so very academic and esoteric, to my teenaged self at least. But little did I know that, fast forward another 15 or so years and I’d be enrolled on the OU’s distance learning MBA course. 

My experience of further education up until this point had been pretty traditional; I completed my A-Levels, went to a bricks and mortar university and obtained a Bachelor’s degree. I then went on to do a PhD at another bricks and mortar university. Being so familiar with the standard system of higher education in the UK, why then did I consider the OU’s alternative model, when looking at embarking on further study? The answer is multi-faceted; 

• Firstly, I was employed full-time and unable to take a year off to study on a standard, full-time MBA course. The OU’s MBA is part-time and modular, meaning it could be slotted-in around my regular life commitments.
• Secondly, I didn’t have the tens of thousands of pounds/dollars/euros in spare cash required to cover the fees. Now, the OU’s course certainly isn’t free of charge, but it is priced very competitively and most importantly, it allows payment by module instead of needing to cough up the best part of 20 grand on the first day – a massive help.
• Thirdly, I was considering a job move overseas and I didn’t want to start something I’d be unable to finish. Since the OU has a worldwide presence and learner support across many countries, it seemed possible for me to port my studies to my new home, should the opportunity arise (which it did; I moved to Switzerland in 2012 to work for CERN). 

I also felt that, in this specialised domain of distance-learning higher education, other institutions didn’t have a patch on the OU’s wealth of experience.

The OU is of course, not the only provider of distance-learning postgraduate qualifications, but it was the first one that sprang to my mind, when I remembered (with some fondness!) the TV programmes of my adolescence. I also felt that, in this specialised domain of distance-learning higher education, other institutions didn’t have a patch on the OU’s wealth of experience. After much comparison and deliberation, I finally signed myself up and started in the autumn of 2011. What an experience it was set to be!

A Journey of Growth

I started the OU MBA with a fair amount of higher education experience under my belt. Unlike some of my fellow students, I was relatively unfazed by research, assessments and exams (which the OU’s learning services provides excellent support for, as it happens). That said, I felt that my OU journey took me to new places and stretched learning muscles that I didn’t know I had. That’s not to say that the course was terribly academically difficult – no, however it required me to significantly develop my repertoire of skills and capabilities.

I’m a scientist by training. My undergraduate degree is in biological science and my PhD in biological chemistry. Science and the ways of studying it, researching it and writing about it were all I really knew. How to structure a discursive essay, for example, was a distant memory from English classes at school. Likewise, qualitative research – I knew what it was but didn’t have any experience of it.

As it turns out, I’d have plenty of opportunity to develop both of these skills throughout my studies. I can clearly remember receiving the results of my very first TMA (the OU’s modular system of assessment). Being somewhat of an academic geek, I’ve generally always done well in assessments. Not this one. I think I got a little over 50%. It was a pass, but I was crestfallen. I immediately started to doubt myself – I thought I knew what I was doing when it came to study, but apparently not this time. And so began my learning journey. It was a sobering start, but I was determined to do well. After all, it was costing me enough time and money each month (I was unable to apply this same logic to my gym subscription though!)

I decided that instead of snoozing or scrolling through social media on my commute, I’d read my textbooks. It’s surprising how much you can get done, even standing up on a busy train.

Aside from the academic skills I gained, there are many other capabilities that my OU experience developed. Not least, my organisational skills. This sounds pretty vague, so let me explain. To study for a Master’s degree part-time, whilst working full-time and maintaining all other areas of your life in a reasonable semblance of order, takes some organising. I didn’t appreciate how much, until I started and realised that unless I did some serious forward planning, I wouldn’t get it all done. Likewise, creative problem-solving skills. How was I going to tackle all of the reading required? I decided that instead of snoozing or scrolling through social media on my commute, I’d read my textbooks. It’s surprising how much you can get done, even standing up on a busy train.

And I must mention cultural communication skills. Again, I thought I was pretty experienced in this area, having lived and worked in the Philippines, Malaysia, France and now Switzerland. But I built upon this experience hugely as part of my OU MBA journey. Not only did an (elective) module cover the subject of intercultural management explicitly, but the diversity of students I studied alongside was huge. I met a Russian army doctor turned entrepreneur, the ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, a UN peacekeeper from Bosnia and a German CEO of a multi-national company (amongst many others).

The opportunity to learn from people with approaches shaped by different cultural experiences was invaluable. You see new ways of doing things and break away from your (often subconscious) constrained ways of thinking.

The opportunity to learn from people with approaches shaped by different cultural experiences was invaluable. You see new ways of doing things and break away from your (often subconscious) constrained ways of thinking. This isn’t unique to the OU experience – most MBA courses are international – but I think it’s important to highlight that this aspect isn’t missing from the OU’s distance learning approach. On the contrary, it’s perhaps enhanced due to the flexible approach which appeals to people everywhere.

A Lasting Legacy

As one of the hoi polloi, without the cushion of a wealthy family or an old school tie network, my OU experience has given me the practical skills - but more importantly - the courage and confidence to pursue the things that really matter to me in life. It’s been a priceless gift. And this is the heart of the OU experience; it is education for all of us, regardless of our start in life, our sex, our race, our nationality, our age or our social class.

Our societies are better for everyone if we all have the opportunity to access education. Whether you’re a mum of three in Doncaster or young man in Delhi, we all deserve the chance to follow our dreams. This is the OU. This is the future of learning.

Dr Zoe Lawson is a member of the OUBS Alumni Council.

You can find out more about Zoe and meet the other Council members here .

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1. How to reflect on learning

Posted March 27, 2016 by Iwona Gniadek

We’ve asked you to reflect on what you learned at the end of each unit in this course. Let’s dig deeper into the process of reflecting now.

What does ‘to reflect’ mean? Some of you will know right away; some won’t.

If you know, skip to Next Step.

If you don’t know , well, it’s a good moment to confirm or find out, but we won’t tell you. We’d like you to use a dictionary to verify the meaning of the verb ‘to reflect’. Why are we asking you to do it instead of telling you? Because, no pain means no gain. If you don’t do the mental work to figure out a word, it may not stay long in your memory. Period :)

• google ‘to reflect’ and select one of the suggested dictionaries, or
• go to this dictionary  directly

Remember, you’re looking for the meaning of the verb ‘to reflect’ in the context of learning, thinking…Share your definition on the forum below.

Study the questions below. These are guiding questions which may help with your reflection process. Think about the questions for a moment? What are they asking you to do?

Think about a goal you set for yourself at the beginning of the course. Have you already achieved the goal? Are you still ‘walking the learning path’ towards your goal? Reflect on your learning using the guiding questions above. Start drafting your reflection and share it on the forum below. We said ‘drafting’ because it doesn’t have to be perfect; we’re more interested in your thoughts, rather than grammar, spelling, etc.

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Reflection is the most important part of the learning process

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A Reflection on My Junior Year Learning Journey

Learner voices   11 august 2016 by anya smith-roman, what started as just a fun challenge—to create a blog and post for 100 days in a row—has now become an integral part of my life., anya smith-roman.

Blogging may not be for everyone, but, for me, it has helped to clarify some of my own observations and thoughts on different parts of my daily life . And, the best part is that it allows me to track and record my reflections, insights, and key learning moments throughout each year.

Now that summer is here, it’s a great time to zoom out and reflect upon those key learnings I gained about myself, utilizing the design process, and the future of education. Below are a few of those reflections—as well as links to the blog posts they originated from.

The Need for Flexible Schedules

“Sometimes it feels like we’re just constantly waiting for Thursdays.” I’ve written this a few times this past year “because [Thursdays] are the days we always leave feeling like we actually were really productive and successful in making progress towards a bigger goal in our journey .” This is due to the lack of flexibility in our school schedule. In the “real world,” people do not work on a bell schedule that has obscure periods of time—like 10:15-11:05—and this past year, as I have started to do even more “real world” work, I’ve found myself struggling to find times to meet with people due to my odd school schedule. On Thursdays though, we have the first half of the day to dive deeper into work. It is our project-based learning time. During this time, I’m able to go off campus, interview people, work on prototypes with tools, etc.

Now, imagine—with the amount of work that can happen during half of a day—what we could do if we had a whole week. Students and teachers alike could travel around the world exploring ancient Rome; meeting with young entrepreneurs in San Francisco ; conversing with citizens of Peru’s mountains; and tackling real world challenges, like finding clean water to drink. When students have time, there are myriad possibilities that can be explored, and they don’t even have to happen that far away from school. Just as easily as you could have time to travel the world, you could also have time to meet with people in your own community—a school’s backyard—having conversations to learn more about the community you live in.

Schools talk about wanting students to be good problem solvers; the first step in problem solving is problem finding, and the best way to problem find is to get out of your classroom chair and observe, interact, and make connections to things happening in the world. If we hope for students to be doing real world work and problem solving, then we need to support this type of work by having school schedules that are more flexible to allow for meetings, off-campus work, and time to really get into a flow of working.

The Role of Teachers

The biggest adventure of this year for me was running the first ever, student-designed AP Course , which allowed me to take ownership of my learning in a way never before experienced. A partner and I created this course because we wanted to challenge the education status quo, have the opportunity to test project ideas we’ve had over the years, and have the freedom to take control of our learning as we explore our interests through the lens of language.

For this to work, we had to be the student, teacher, facilitator, coach, mentor…everything all in one, and, with this newfound ownership of our learning, I developed a better understanding for how I envision a 21st- century teacher. “I can teach, mentor, coach, and facilitate. But, when I’m in a class, I want a teacher who can bring their past experience and constantly change between all 4 of those roles and more when needed.

I want a guide in the classroom. Someone to teach me skills, mentor me through stress, coach me to be confident, and facilitate me and my peers around common challenges. Most importantly, though, a guide occasionally lets their followers explore the woods and decide what path to turn down. A guide  helps students along the path they choose and points out the important landmarks along the way.”

Schools talk about wanting students to be good problem solvers; the first step in problem solving is problem finding, and the best way to problem find is to get out of your classroom chair and observe, interact, and make connections to things happening in the world.

Between the research I’ve done and the conversations I’ve had with educators around the world, I’m convinced that the role of teachers will change as education continues to transform. My experience creating and leading this course, among others, has taught me that teachers and students make a great team when working together, and I hope the future of education sees more guides in the “classroom” (or whatever you might call them). The words we use are less important than the action steps we take; whether it be a teacher, mentor, coach, facilitator, guide, etc. I envision a future where age is not the sole determiner of who is leading and owning learning journeys. But, instead, we are all working together to enhance the future and learning along the way.

Prototyping and Launching

Another huge project for me this past year was my work with the ReSpIn Organization I co-created . ReSpIn strives to Re duce waste, Sp ark conversations, and In spire change around 21st century sustainability. The first product to come from the ReSpIn team was the RISE Sustainability System—a learning tool for teachers and students to use in order to help facilitate conversations and activities around sustainability. For this project, we created dozens of prototypes and had many moments where we struggled with taking the RISE bin to the next level.

This struggle though, is truly what happens in the “real world” with product designs. Projects take time and lots of prototypes and feedback. The most inspiring piece of feedback that we were given was from a little 5th grade girl who told me, “This is the best design challenge we’ve done because we never get to see a project like this get this far.” My work with the ReSpIn team isn’t complete yet. But, after this year, I’ve learned the true value of prototyping early and getting feedback from a myriad of people in order to push ideas forward. No one will ever have a job in which they are working entirely alone 100% of the time or get everything 100% right on the first try (despite the mindset students are expected to have when taking a quiz or test). Due to this, it is immensely important that students begin to learn how to prototype to their best ability then work with others to gain feedback on how to make their work better.

Sense of Self

Amongst the things that I’ve learned about school and design thinking, I’ve also learned a lot about myself over this past year. I’ve always been a person with countless interests, passions, and after-school activities that have consumed my “free time.” I’ve often thought of this as a problem because I can’t make up my mind on how to spend my time. I just get too interested in everything simply because I’m curious and love learning. Then I watched the TED Talk, “Why some of us don’t have one true calling,” and it was possibly the most moving TED Talk I’ve watched yet . Emilie Wapnick introduced me to a world of people just like me and talked about the positive side to being what she calls a “multipotentialite.” According to Wapnick, a “multipotentialite” is good at:

• Idea Synthesis: bringing together seemingly different concepts to find the intersections where great ideas come from.

• Rapid Learning: getting deeply curious about one thing and learning a ton about it before moving on to the next thing.

• Adaptability: being able to put on different hats in different situations where different roles are necessary.

With this new concept, I’ve been discovering a deeper sense of self, which is an essential part of learning. I’m a person with many different interests, but I can also find the connections between these diverse topics easily. This helps me to build project teams and find the relationships between things like gymnastics and education transformation .

If we aren’t using student voice in the process of reimagining education, then we will never reach our greatest potential.

Finding and watching this TED Talk was such an important moment for me because I believe that knowing myself is the first step to being able to better understand the world. Truthfully, I believe that K-12 education does not focus enough on students learning about and discovering their sense of self. My sense of self has developed immensely due to blogging because sometimes when I write and then read over my writing, I’m able to discern trends and tendencies about how I act and respond to situations better than I can otherwise. I can then hypothesize about my future self in situations based on these observations. I’m still discovering more about myself everyday, and it makes me excited—I wish more students got the chance to experience this. As I move forward in life, I hope to learn more about ways to help other kids learn more about themselves because it’s an important part of growing up.

The Role of Student Voice in Education Transformation

Learning more about myself has also helped me learn more about ways that I can contribute to the movement to transform education. This year I served as an MVIFI (Mount Vernon Institute For Innovation) Fellow, which opened up a number of opportunities for me to lead all kinds of educators in conversations and challenges. In design thinking, we highly value and work with our users. The main users of schools are the students. So, it only makes sense that for us to re-design schools, we need to value and work with students. Not only is it helpful for students to provide feedback and be involved with ideating on projects, but it is also a huge confidence builder as a student to be talking with external mentors about “real world” issues, such as education transformation .

In the business world, a good trade is only made when there is “mutual value”—when both parties gain something from the transaction. In my opinion, adding student voice to education conversations is a mutually beneficial transaction at its finest. Students gain confidence and practice in real-world skills like communication and problem solving, while the adults gain fresh manpower, as well as new ideas and insights from people in the generation they are designing for.

And, thinking like a kid often makes the world seem more magical and full of possibilities. When I imagine the future of education, I see a wondrous realm of malleable potential. That’s the vision I hope everyone can learn to see. If we aren’t using student voice in the process of reimagining education, then we will never reach our greatest potential.

All of these key learning moments from this past year have been made even greater in my mind because I was able to reflect upon them on my blog. Blogging has given me a place to share my story in a way that allows me to easily look back and find trends and connections between my observations. And, on top of everything, I’m constantly expanding my network and getting new opportunities. I know I’m not the best writer in the world, and I know it’s the area that I could most improve on. But, since I’ve been blogging, I’ve developed a new confidence and joy in my writing. Writing helps us think, reflecting helps us grow, and sharing helps make the world a better place—blogging is all three in one!

• Mount Vernon Presbyterian School Profile

Student, Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School

Anya Smith-Roman has a unique story that is rich with leadership, innovation, and pioneering. She loves to explore, tinker, craft, design, reflect, share, wander, and wonder. For the past few years, Anya’s primary driving question has been, “How might we make student voice the forefront of education redesign?” This question has lead her on an invigorating investigation in how to blur the lines between school and the real world. Anya dreams of a future where “school” consists of students working side by side with business leaders in order to design for pressing issues around the world.

Read More From Learners

Post    july 21, 2016, the last generation: integrating technology in education, post    august 25, 2016, a grand opportunity for learner voices to be heard.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Self Reflection — Self Reflection Essay: My Journey Of Self-Development

Self Reflection Essay: My Journey of Self-development

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As my journey begins: A reflection on my experience as an MSc Psychological Studies student

• University Home
• The School of Psychology

by Anupriya Vyas

After working in the creative industry for almost 14 years, my passion and enthusiasm to study Psychology grew rapidly after my brother was diagnosed with acute depression and schizophrenia. My quest to learn as much as possible about these conditions to help my brother led to my deep commitment to pursue a career in clinical psychology. My first step was to develop my psychological knowledge and obtain GBC membership for further clinical training through a conversion course in Psychology as a steppingstone towards a clinical psychology doctorate.

I was lucky to get a place in the BPS accredited MSc Psychological Studies at the University of Aberdeen which provides an exciting and vibrating research led learning environment in psychology. This course covered the topics and issues at the very core of psychology like Psychological Assessment, Biology Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Social Psychology which I found very fascinating and engaging. Each module presented the opportunity to investigate the topic in a great depth through a variety of projects and discussions. Despite my initial worry about the statistical aspects of the degree, to my surprise, I really enjoyed the Research Methods module and discovered my love for statistics and getting to analyse lots of data using a system called SPSS which is used by professional academics for research. This module provides an opportunity to carry out some research and analyse the data, and then write up your own report. The thesis module in the last semester was an encouraging opportunity to take ownership of my own research with just the right amount of support and direction. The assessments were varied (essays, exams and research projects) and were  relevant to the employability skills associated with psychological research and practice.

Although the course was challenging, I enjoyed all aspects of the course and develop a deeper understanding of psychological theory. All this would not have been possible without the excellent quality of teaching by the lecturers and overall support by the course team. I specifically found the tutorial sessions with my personal tutor especially useful as it provided ample opportunities to get one-to-one guidance and feedback which really helped me to develop my critical and creative thinking.

Honestly, studying MSc Psychological Studies at the University of Aberdeen has been an intellectually stimulating experience because I did not expect to learn as much as I have done in the last 12 months and to develop as quickly over as short period. I feel much more confident in my direction in the psychology field and well equipped with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to enter into a new career. I could have not predicted the opportunities available to me with the experience and knowledge I have gained through this course. So as I begin my journey to achieve my dreams all I can say is thank you “The University of Aberdeen”.

Anupriya Vyas was an MSc Psychological Studies student during the 2019/20 academic year

It is a challenging to change the course of study in a nlentitely new field after study and work in a different disciplines. It is a sheer will & determination that led you to get distinction in MSc Phycology.

Simply Amazing .. sheer determination and will to complete studies with accolades. That too with family duties of mum and wifey.. so proud of you

Well done! Would be great to chat with you. I am also at the point of a career change due to the need to support mental health challenges in my country and it would be interesting to know how you are chattering the next steps to to gain more knowledge post achieving the MSC.

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An open mind

A learning journey.

Oct 21, 2009

Miles Berry

A personal reflection on my ‘learning journey’, written as an exercise for Roehampton’s PG Certificate in Learning and Teaching in HE.

Education is something I care passionately about.  I love to learn new things, I love to share the things I learn with others; I feel fortunate to follow a career which allows me to do something I love doing for my job!

A number of themes emerge from the way points I’ve selected from my personal learning journey – autonomy and independent learning, participation in a community of practice and a willingness to pursue excellence. These are factors which fit well with IT as my subject domain; computers and the net are great tools to facilitate independent, autonomous learning, the web has made it much easier to participate in distributed communities, both formal and informal, and the interactive, provisional nature of computer based work facilitates an iterative process of development. These shouldn’t detract from the idea that learning is fun. Right from early years up, discovering new things about ourselves and our world is, I’m sure, an intrinsically exciting, fulfilling thing. Enjoyment features highly too in my experience of technology, and my aspirations for IT education.

So, to begin at the beginning. My earliest memories are of a contented, loving, although far from lavish home life, of my father working long hours and falling asleep in the evenings, of my mother’s unselfish care for my sister and I as we grew up, of the conversations, books, walks, museum trips, recorded music and, I’ll admit, TV that filled home life.

Learning beyond the school curriculum became increasingly important to me as I moved up through primary and secondary school, not always to good effect. I suffered somewhat from a butterfly approach, becoming almost obsessively fascinated about with one area or another for a while before moving on to another. Some of these, like programming and ‘recreational’ mathematics, I would subsequently return to, others like poker and Dungeons and Dragons (!) were, in retrospect, not a particularly productive way to spend my time. I fear I lacked the self-discipline to pursue a single area with the focus necessary to develop expertise beyond competence. Radio 4 also figured highly throughout my secondary school years, and indeed beyond, appealing greatly to my butterfly approach to learning.

Completing my MBA and moving to headship was, I think, something of an anticlimax for me, and whilst I kept up, and indeed increased, my involvement in the education and technology communities, fitting this in with the ‘day job’ was a challenge. I became increasingly aware that it was my participation in these communities beyond my school that I relished, and that allowed me to make a more significant contribution than through headship.

This brings me, at last, to Roehampton, to teacher training and to academic life. I’m excited about the opportunities to share my insights and experiences of ICT education with the next generation of teachers, by the opportunities to get back to academic research, hopefully not too far removed from the cutting edge, and for more time to engage with these wider debates around education.

Humanities Teaching Academy

Capturing and reflecting on individual learning journeys through a photographic competition.

Our motivation and focus for the activity was aimed at enhancing the taught postgraduate student experience in higher education. For many of the students who attend the Developing Academic Competence module, the limited 12-month timeframe of study and intense scholarship can present complex and unpredictable experiences as they learn to adapt to a new learning environment with higher academic expectations.

Our aim for organising a Student Experience event was to encourage students to reflect on key issues around the whole postgraduate student cycle – ‘My MA Learning Journey’ and focus this reflection to explore such issues as academic and social transition management, academic and social adaptation, academic and social development, success, mental and physical wellbeing.

To enhance the overall student experience, we have created an annual photography event as a way that all students, across the various MA courses in the Manchester Institute of Education (MIE) could share their experiences by participating in a fun, extra curricular activity.

This involved three main areas of activity related to: Reflection, Creativity, Communication. Students are asked to reflect on their learning journey by choosing a photo that represents one aspect of that journey and write a short description that explains how the photo represents their learning journey. This year, due to Covid restrictions, we needed to find a way to host the event online.

After exploring various possibilities, we decided on Padlet as the platform for several reasons:

• It is relatively easy to set up and share with students via a link
• Students are very familiar with Padlet as we have been using it in sessions throughout the year
• Padlet allows people to vote on their favourite photos
• It allows people to share ideas in a visual and written way
• It allows many people to contribute at the same time

We also decided that this year, students could submit up to three photos. The event was publicised to students via the DAC Blackboard site, through DAC sessions and in the Research Methods course that all students take. Prizes were offered for the photos and reflections with the most votes in the form of University Gift Shop vouchers. The rationale behind this was that students needed to be able to claim their prize wherever they are in the world and the University Gift Shop offers worldwide shipping.

Click to view the Spark Page used to inform students about the event:

How did we know that the idea was effective/successful?

A broad range of entries to the event: There were 46 entries in total from a diverse cohort of MIE Master’s which consisted of a photograph and a short reflection of their learning journey here at UoM.

Students’ reactions to the event: There was a lot of interest in the competition; we had 3007 votes from students learning from the event. It is reasonable to expect sustainable effects closely linked to the concept of learning from experience – increased self-awareness, critical thinking skills, and active engagement in learning processes. The combined medium of visual-textual reflection demonstrates students’ ability to re-frame their insights into their learning experience and affirm it through the use of photos and words.

Students’ emerging multimodal communicative competence: The event confirms the basic premise of multimodal learning principle – students learn more from a presentation of image and text than from text alone (Mayer, 2002).

Furthermore, the event presented a unique opportunity for students, the majority of whom are English as second language speakers, to develop competence in interpreting and constructing appropriate meanings about their learning experience through an event that exposes them to a combination of visual and textual communicative modes.

Screenshot of the Padlet Board

• Both photos and descriptions highlighted what studying a MA online this year has meant for students and the many different learning journeys they have been on.
• It has given us, as tutors, greater insight into students’ worlds beyond the Zoom screen.
• We anticipate that we will continue to run this online in future years complemented by a face-to-face launch event and/or a final award ceremony.

Clarify and explicitly describe terms of participation. If leveraging educational technology, such as a real-time collaborative web platform like Padlet, for a photo contest, consider carefully the inclusion criteria for engagement Develop a clear strategy for picking the winner(s).

In addition to allowing voters to choose a winner (useful for short-listing), an external panel of judges can be a smart strategy for selecting final competition winners from the short-list. A photo contest can generate an enormous amount of entries. So consider costing for a broader range or tiers of prizes if applying for funding.

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School: Environment, Education and Development & the Manchester Institute of Education

Discipline: Teaching & Learning

Academics: Loretta Anthony-Okeke, Heather Cockayne, Susan Dawson and Zhuo Min Huang

Course: EDUC67890 Developing Academic Competence

Cohort Size: 470

Themes: Student support, learning socially, enhancing learning with technology

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Reflecting on My Origami Journey

As I reach the conclusion of my origami learning project, I am filled with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude for the experiences and skills I gained throughout this journey. Over the past weeks, I’ve explored various resources and techniques, each contributing uniquely to my growth as an origami enthusiast. This final post serves as a reflection on my learning experience and the insights gained along the way.

Initial Exploration:

I began my journey with a curiosity sparked by a desire to learn a new skill that could enrich both my personal life and future career as an educator. Starting from basic folds and simple projects, I gradually built my confidence and technique, laying a solid foundation for more intricate designs.

Resources Explored:

Throughout the project, I utilized a diverse range of resources to expand my origami knowledge:

• Blog Posts :  These posts provided step-by-step tutorials accompanied by images, helping me understand and practice the basic folds. Following written instructions and photos was a great way to start my journey.
• YouTube Tutorials : These provided dynamic visual demonstrations and auditory instructions, making complex folds more accessible. From animals to geometric shapes, each tutorial offered a new challenge and learning opportunity.
• TikTok Tutorials: Short and engaging, TikTok tutorials provided quick insights and tips on folding techniques, challenging me to adapt to a fast-paced learning environment.
• Origami Fold & Learn App : Despite the initial hurdle of cost, this app offered structured learning modules and interactive features that enhanced my technical skills and understanding of origami principles.
• Pinterest Inspiration : The visual nature of Pinterest inspired creativity and exploration. I discovered a multitude of designs, from traditional models to innovative variations, which broadened my understanding of origami’s artistic possibilities.

Challenges and Growth:

Alongside the joys of discovery, I faced challenges that tested my patience and perseverance:

• Precision and Detail: Achieving precise folds, especially in complex designs, required meticulous attention to detail and multiple attempts to master.
• Navigating Resources: Each platform brought its own set of challenges, from verifying tutorial accuracy on Pinterest to adapting quickly to video tutorials on YouTube and TikTok.

Personal Development:

This journey went beyond mastering folds; it fostered my own personal growth in various dimensions:

• Creativity: Exploring diverse designs sparked creativity and innovation, encouraging me to experiment with my own variations and interpretations.
• Persistence: Overcoming challenges taught me the value of persistence and dedication in skill development, qualities that will serve me well in future endeavours.
• Community Engagement: Engaging with online communities on different platforms provided a supportive environment for sharing progress, receiving feedback, and connecting with fellow enthusiasts.

Learning origami has been a transformative experience, blending artistry with technical skill. It has taught me invaluable lessons about discipline, creativity, and the joy of continuous learning. As I look back on my journey, I am grateful for the opportunities to explore and grow through this ancient art form.

Week 1 Update

Week 2 Progress Update

Week 3 Progress Update

Week 4 Progress Update

Week 5 Progress Update

Week 6 Progress Update

In the Future:

While this learning project concludes here, my journey with origami continues. I plan to integrate this newfound skill into my educational practices, using it as a tool for creativity and engagement in the classroom. Additionally, I look forward to further refining my techniques and exploring more complex designs in my personal origami practice.

Thank you for joining me on this enriching journey through the world of origami. I hope my experiences have inspired you to embark on your own creative pursuits and embrace the joy of lifelong learning. Stay tuned for future adventures and explorations!

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