Getting Ready for a Reflective Process
pondering~ evolving ~ self-cultivation ~ authenticity ~ punk rock
Why Reflect?
A process of self-reflection is a central intention of this project. In order to shift towards becoming
more proficient at leading through generative listening, we need to be critically aware of our thoughts
and behaviour that occur while we plan and while we are leading
Scharmer, 2011
From the Delphic Oracle of ancient Greece to Kierkegaard in the 1800s to Brené Brown today, reflecting on our experiences has been clearly identified as paramount to personal growth and transformation. We look back on our thoughts, feelings, and actions to interpret them and, in doing so, learn from them (Dewey, 1933). With an open will (Scharmer & Kaufer, 2013) and openness to vulnerability (Brown, 2018), we can:
-
develop a consciousness of our own thoughts, feelings, and actions
-
recognize our own patterns, biases, and habits
-
be conscious and critically aware of the present to allow for
-
responsive teaching
-
the emergence of curricula and innovation
-
-
build a plan for action
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Kierkegaard, 1843
We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflection on experience. Reliving of an experience leads to making connections between information and feelings produced by the experience”
- Dewey, 1933
It is through taking the time for mindful reflection of an experience that we notice, connect, and learn. X
A note for the "journalling resistant" participants:
Dr. Otto Scharmer, Ph.D. Economics & Senior Lecturer for MIT, employs journalling as a key practice in coaching leaders to transform their approach. He teaches generative listening and consciousness in practice to world leaders, CEOs, large and small organizations, and teachers across the globe. The power of self-reflection is well documented, but there can be resistance due to the emotional nature of the activity. Pop culture, stereotypes the practice as being attributed to teen girls and Victorian ladies.
Interestingly, when looking into journalling for a professional transformation, the leaders in the practice come from the fields of business, technology and innovation, athletics, and leadership in all forms. When researching practices for a professional transformation, the research points at journalling because of its personal nature and because it will tap into emotional responses. Getting up close and personal is the only method that does and has ever shifted thinking (and, in turn, shifted practice).
- no petticoats were documented.
Ways to Reflect
Different ways to pick your own brain and/or to organize the pickings
The most common "way" to physically reflect is by journalling (Gage, 2002). Some prefer paper journalling, there are apps, and Dr. Dougie Houser wrote on his computer. One could dictate voice files, but revisiting those would be cumbersome. The advantage of using an electronic method is the ability to add "tags" to a document, so the user may later look up identified themes. For the fans of paper, this can be accomplished through indexing (see Bullet Journal below). Draw, scribble, use colours... use whatever method fits. Personally, I use a lined, paper journal, number the pages, and create an index of topics as I create them (that way, I can find topics for later reference or add to them).
The intellectual "way" is to think through writing. So, don't plan or outline, just write. Unscripted, honest, personal. Unless engaging in a collaborative journalling process (see Diffractive Journalling below), this is a private artifact. No need for editing or fixing. If you're going back on a topic because you've changed your thinking (that's so exciting!) then own it. Own the change and add on. You never know; you might change your thinking again.
Below, find:
-
a selection of types of journals
-
writing topics
-
helpful resources
-
footnotes with thoughts, citation, and reviews of the related literature
Journaling means that you think through the writing not to think and reflect, and then write up the reflection. With the instruction emphasize that participants should just start writing and see what emerges
Presencing Institute, 2020
U-Journal Resource PDF
Otto Scharmer & Presencing Institute
Designed to support the U-Think U model to understand his concept of "presencing", an extension of generative listening. The resource can be used without a working knowledge of the U. From the document:
USES & OUTCOMES
• Access deeper levels of self-reflection & knowledge
• Learn how to use Journalling as a reflective tool
• Connect self-reflection to concrete action steps
• Use with…Awareness or embodiment practices
Types of Journals
Deconstructive Journalling
Robin Sharma https://www.robinsharma.com/mastery-sessions/the-journaling-deconstruction
From Sharma's podcast & video:
Journal to break down your best moments and worst, to gain "clarity" of what made it so.
7 reasons for journalling as a life habit:
1) Organizes your thinking "clarity leads to mastery "& "vague thinking leads to vague production
2) fosters hope
3) allows you to repeat and relive your best experiences
4) Imprints "deliberate gratitude" & avoids "hedonic adaptation" (or, taking things for granted)
5) "Process through and release low-energy emotions"
6) "Exponential learning sustainability" (deepen/lock in ideas to integrate the value)
7) It allows you to record your remarkable life
Warning!
A warning
from the research.
Its has been extensively documented that the hurdle in transforming practice lies in a lack of the work of critical, authentic self-reflection.
All are welcome to use this resource in their own way; however, if one chooses to not reflect on one's thoughts & practice, results will likely be minimal.
Diffractive Journal
shared, electronic
Taken from the fields. of physics, diffraction "is to break apart in different directions" (Rosser, 1995). Karen Murris uses diffraction as a metaphor for a collaborative process of reflection where (2016) team members record their observations electronically then follow how waves of observation diffract and where they connect with other individual's diffractions.
Bullet Journal
Brilliant way of keeping track of notes into topics with an index.
For some people, these can be quite involved and a meaningful practice in mindfulness and personal development. X
Among other features, the bullet journal offers the brilliant organizational tool of an emergent index/table of contents at the beginning of the book. If you randomly write things down and don't have a system for finding notes months later, try this in any notebook:
- leave the first 4 pages blank
-number all subsequent pages
-in those first 4 pages, jot down entries as they occur and the page number (non-sequential numbers might happen if you add to a topic months later).
For self-reflection, the index could be general topics or specific questions that you might want to revisit over time. That would be excellent for some of the "Participation" offerings in the menu above.
Know Thyself
-The Oracle of Delphi
"[The oracle] may have meant this: Don't just settle for telling your story, connecting your identity to the here and now. to yourself and others, to then and there. Become aware of it. Get to know the story, so you can both defend it and reflect upon it, be able to justify - or refute - it."
Uriel Abulof, 2017
Electronic Journal
You could use Word or any wordprocessor.
The REFLECTION.APP by Holstee came recommended; I have never used it myself.
https://www.reflection.app/
Oracle of Delphi in Cartwright & Cartwright 2020
Writing Prompts for Getting Started.
1. Meta Moments: On many of the pages on this website, there are blue "Meta Moments" boxes with different
types of reflection questions to choose from.
2. Try some of the Presencing Institute's questions (below) as a starting point
3. If working through feeling "stuck" with a concept or situation, try one of the Unstuck activities below
4. Play with the Resources section below
5. During the generative listening workshops, book clubs, and mentorship series (see Invitations for Learning),
there will be prompts and opportunities for reflection.
6. Anything on that you already want to bring attention and awareness to
5 Questions from the Presencing Institute
This is a slightly adapted selection of some of their 17 questions from their Guided Journaling resource. https://www.presencing.org/resource/tools
Uses & Outcome:
-
Access deeper levels of self-reflection & knowledge.
-
Learn how to use Journalling as a reflective tool.
-
Connect self-reflection to concrete action steps
Guided Journalling Questions:
-
Challenges: Look at yourself from outside as if you were another person: What are the 3 or 4 most important challenges or tasks that your life (work and non-work) currently presents?
-
Self: Write down 3 or 4 important facts about yourself. What are the important accomplishments you have achieved or competencies you have developed in your life (examples: raising children; finishing your education; being a good listener)?
-
Emerging Self: What 3 or 4 important aspirations, areas of interest, or undeveloped talents would you like to place more focus on in your future journey (examples: writing a novel or poems; starting a social movement; taking your current work to a new level)?
-
Frustration: What about your current work and/or personal life frustrates you the most?
-
Energy: What are your most vital sources of energy? What do you love?
Unstuck Activities
Activity: Double Trouble: Working through Polarity
Goal:
-
get unstuck in polar situations, with a person or an idea
-
gain empathy & new understanding
-
shift from place of judgement to place of objectivity to enable problem-solving
Like a double-entry journal, split a page into two halves. Each side represents the two ideas that are at odds with each other. On each side, thoughtfully white the perspectives, motives, evidence, and the emotions (important to connect these) of each side. Shared ideas can be written on the middle line.
Go over each side and add the "why" of each item.
Did anything new emerge?
Circle back to the original situation. State a clear goal and intention of this situation.
How does each side connect to that goal and intention?
What is the bottom line for each side? What's an essential element for their satisfaction, the thing they need in order to compromise?
Activity: Conversation with the Situation (a term from Schon, not with his intended use)
This can be done orally.
Goal:
-
get unstuck when grappling with a situation or idea (not human, unless your own habit/reaction/emotion)
-
shift from place of judgement to place of objectivity to enable acceptance and/or problem-solving
Literally talk to the situation. Whether it's an object or systemic struggle, speak to it. Have your opinion stated clearly. Tell that event, furniture, emotion computer program...
-
specifically how it is affecting you
-
what you want from it
-
tell it how you will help it and where your boundary is
Ask yourself:
With its current limitations, is there anything it can do for you
If it can't offer a solution, do you accept it as it is, or problem-solve?
Did anything new emerge? What and why?
Did your emotional response to the 'situation' change? If so, reflect on that moment. What shifted?
Resources for Dabbling with Reflection
Cult of Pedagogy
General Reflections
Brené Brown
"Daring Classrooms" Teacher resource
While it's recommended to go through her plan in order, the Learning Lab videos present excellent questions for reflection
Presencing Institute founded by
Dr Otto Scharmer (MIT & a leader in generative listening)
These are EXCELLENT, meaty questions for self-reflection.
From n-gen business training website:
https://www.ngenperformance.com/blog/leadership-2/the-value-of-self-reflection
A more in-depth self-reflective practice can happen if you commit to following these 7 steps:
-
Pick a subject to reflect on – career, personal life, finances, health.
-
Carve out time when you can be alone, quiet and not interrupted.
-
List out all the questions you would like to explore.
-
Jot down your answers to each question.
-
Be honest – this is for your own growth and does not need to be shared with anyone.
-
Identify action steps you will take to start, stop or continue doing something. These can include how to be more grateful, more open, more supportive, more collaborative etc. or they can be very tactical things like sending fewer emails and having more one-on-one conversations.
-
Celebrate your successes – congratulate yourself on all the great things you accomplished this year and what you are most proud of.
Why Reflect? (an extension of the introduction above)
From Kierkegaard (1846) in the 1800s to our contemporary Brené Brown (2018), reflecting on our experiences has been clearly identified as paramount to personal growth and transformation (Freire, 1933; Travers, Morisano & Locke, 2015). We look back on our thoughts, feelings, and actions to interpret them and, in doing so, learn (Dewey, 1933). With an open will (Scharmar, 2013), and openness to vulnerability (Brown 2013), we can hopefully even develop the presence of mind to be aware of our thoughts, feelings, and actions in the present (Scharmer, 2013): to generatively listen to ourselves in order to hold space for the best possible outcome of that moment. Kierkegaard would agree: he wasn't satisfied with looking back to go forward and wrote of the poet's ability to exist within the present and "advance by marching on the spot" (Kierkegaard, 1835). On the spot, in the moment, is the presence of mind that we can achieve by daring to embrace the strength of our vulnerability (Brown, 2018). Vulnerability is the essential ingredient to opening ourselves to reflecting on our thoughts, beliefs and behaviours (2018). Vulnerability is at the root of self-acceptance, change, and being able to live authentically (2018).
Punks Keeping it Real
This is in an invitation to engage in Bildung, the German tradition of self-cultivation, (Siljander, Kivelä, Sutinen, & Ebrary, 2013) continual growth, and expansion (Gadamer, 2004). It's the "autonomy to carve out your own path in life" (Anderson, 2020) in uniquely personal ways. It is self-knowledge, and perhaps, a punk-rock style self-check on one's authenticity: am I punk or am I a poseur?
A key philosophical tie to Bildung is existentialism, which calls on us to be aware of our freedom to forge our own paths (Abulof, 2017). With that awareness, we can understand that authenticity is key in creating who we are; we must "Know thyself" deeply to assume the full potential of our agency (2017). Authenticity is the extent that an individual's actions are reflective of their wants and beliefs; through our actions and behaviours, it is "becoming what one is" (Kierkegaard, 1846). This is a tenant of existentialism. Uriel Abdulof describes authenticity as a "move from esteem, the the highest level of Maslow's needs, to self-actualization" (2017). It is by knowing who you are and feeling good about that, that allows you to live authentically: "Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are" (Brown, 2010, p.50). When generative listening, we are more deeply connected to who we really are; we engage authentically, with our beliefs and actions aligned; and we manifest our best possible future (Scharmer 2013; 2014).
Notes on Invitation & Transformation
Recursive reflections on the praxis of leading colleagues towards a praxis of generative listening through generative listening.
It is with great intention and respect
that the professional development opportunities
and challenges of this project are presented as an invitation.
The underlying purpose of this project is to connect the learner-centred, and learning-empowering goals of the BC Curriculum and the Cowichan School District's Strategic Plan with teaching practices. When looking at the wholistic and personal nature of the goals, it seems logical that a wholistic and personal nature will be instrumental in transforming professional practice - it's how we best learn and transform (Gunnlaugson, 2007; Kasl & Yorks, 2020). A shift in practice is a personal shift. In sharing the goal of creating a praxis of generative listening with colleagues, I heard almost polar responses of excitement (Sign me up!) and terror (Don't ever bring this up again!). Listening brought the following considerations to my consciousness:
-
The whole concept of the interconnectedness of ideas, disciplines, and worldviews and leading by holding space can be quite confrontational for some individuals.
-
Listening generatively requires the teacher to be open to the unknown and to ideas that may differ from their own.
-
Personal reflection to build consciousness is also a personal endeavour.
-
The cacophony of professional and personal information at this time of COVID-19 heightens the polar reaction.
Author, lecturer, and educator Parker Palmer explores professional growth through "inner and outer" landscapes of who we are as teachers (Palmer, 2007, p 3). He criticizes bureaucratic transformative initiatives that are not teacher- or human-centred for their lack of success and asks, "How can the teacher's selfhood become the legitimate topic in education and in our dialogues in educational reform?" (2007, pp. 3-4). He points out that in conversations of educational reform, the questions asked are too superficial to effect change; it is by diving it to the nature of people and their interconnectedness that we can engage emotion, shift thinking, then change practice (2007; Palmer, n.d; Palmer & Scribner, 2017).
It was also made clear that the invitation must be explicit. The non-judgemental intention must be clear to open connections. The values of the endeavour must be made transparent to create professional safe spaces (Brown, 2018; Palmer & Scribner, 2017).
The teaching community is not one person; this project is offered as an open invitation to those colleagues who are interested.
"Poseur" was the word in punk pop culture for people who were not authentic to punk values
Intention: Authenticity
Don't be a pedagogical poseur.
"To understand recursion,
you must first
understand recursion"
Hunter, 2011
References
Abulof, U. (2017). Be yourself! How am I not myself? (symposium: Revisiting Maslow: Human needs in the 21st century). Society. 54(6), 530. http://doi:10.1007/s12115-017-0183-0
Andersen, L.R. (2020). Bildung: Keep growing. Scandanavian Book.
Ayobi, A., Sonne, T., Marshall, P., & Cox, A. (2018). Flexible and mindful self-tracking: Design implications from paper bullet
journals. Paper presented at the 1-14. doi:10.1145/3173574.3173602
British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2020). The Educated citizen. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/overview
Brown, B. (2010). The gifts of imperfection: Let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are.
Minnesota: Hazelden.
Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts. Random House Publishing Group.
Cartwright, M., & Cartwright, M. (2020). Delphi. https://www.ancient.eu/delphi/
Center for Courage and Renewal. (2020) The circle of trust approach. http://www.couragerenewal.org/approach/
Cowichan Valley School District. (2020) Beyond Education. https://sd79.bc.ca/wp-
content/uploads/FINAL-5-x-7-Cowichan-Valley-School-District-Strat-Plan-2020-241-1.pdf.
Cox, A.J., Bird, J., & Fleck, R. (2013). Digital Epiphanies: How self-knowledge can change habits and our attitudes towards them. In
presented at: The 27th International British Computer Society Human-Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of things, Brunel
University.
Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Heath.
Freire, P. (1970), Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Bloomsbury Academy.
Gadamer, H. G. (2004). Truth and method (3rd ed.). Continuum.
Glaze, J. (2002). Ph.D. study and the use of a reflective diary: a dialogue with self. Reflective Practice, 2(2): pp. 153–166
Gunnlaugson, O. (2007). Shedding light on the underlying forms of transformative learning theory: Introducing three distinct
categories of consciousness. Journal of Transformative Education, 5(2), 134-151. http://doi:10.1177/1541344607303526
Hunter, David (2011). Essentials of discrete mathematics. Jones and Bartlett Learning. p. 494.
Kasl, E. , & Yorks, L. (2002). An extended epistemology for transformative learning theory and its application through collaborative
inquiry. TC Record Online. http://www.tcrecord.org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/Content.asp?ContentID=10878
Kierkegaard, S., Cappelørn, N. J., Hannay, A., Kangas, D., Kirmmse, B. H., Pattison, G., . . . Söderquist, K. B.
(1846/2011). Kierkegaard's journals and notebooks: Volume 4: Journals NB-NB5. Princeton University
Press.
Murris, K. (2016). The posthuman child: Educational transformation through philosophy with picturebooks. Routledge,
Taylor & Francis Group.
Ostorga, A. N. (2006). Developing teachers who are reflective practitioners: A complex process. Issues in Teacher Education,
15(2), 5–10.
Palmer, P. J. (2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life (10 ed.). Jossey-Bass Inc.
Palmer, P. J., & Scribner, M. (2017). The courage to teach a guide for reflection and renewal. Jossey-Bass Inc.
Presencing Institute. (2020). Presencing Institute. https://www.presencing.org/
Rosser, S. V. (1995). Teaching the majority: breaking the gender barrier in science, mathematics, and engineering. Teacher’s
College Press.
Scharmer, C.O. & Kaufer, K. (2013). Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies. Berrett-Koehler
Publishers.
Scharmer, C.O. [Unlisted]. (2014, July 22). u.lab 1x: Levels of listening (part 1) [Video]. YouTube.
Schon, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. Jossey- Bass Inc.
Siljander, P., Kivelä, A., Sutinen, A., & Ebrary, I. (2013). Theories of Bildung and growth: Connections and controversies between
continental educational thinking and American pragmatism. ense Publishers.
Travers, Morisano & Locke. (2015) Self-reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: a qualitative study. Wiley Online
Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjep.12059
van Manen, M. (1991). Reflectivity and the pedagogical moment: The normativity of pedagogical thinking and acting. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 23(6), 507–536.