Reflective Journal
Reflective journaling is a critical component to the reflection and learning that happens throughout your Field Period. Without taking time to record your observations in a reflective journal, you will miss or forget the rich and crucial aspects of your experience. Reflective journaling records the data on which you will make your self-discoveries. Reflective journaling answers the “What Happened?” and “So What?” (what is the significance?) questions of the Experiential Learning Cycle. Without reflective journaling, it is like doing an experiment without recording data, writing a paper without rough drafts, or sitting in a class without taking notes. Good reflective journaling also records the feelings about the data, the discoveries or ah-ha moments, and the affirmations or rejections of previous knowledge and beliefs. Of course, the end product, the learning, will only be as good as the data that goes into the journal.
In recording your observations do not worry about writing for others. This is writing for yourself, to help you record and understand your personal experience. It does not have to be chronological. In fact, encouraging a non-chronological journal can help escape the “log” mentality (in which a writer just records the minutia of time unfolding). Consider breaking your journal into categories. For example, you could have a section for the "What Happened" stage of the Experiential Learning Cycle and another for the "So What?” part of your reflections. (The "Now What?" stage will be incorporated heavily into your critical reflection/summary paper.) You are welcome and encouraged to have a section that is private, just for your own use, which is not reviewed by the evaluator. Or perhaps you are investigating one theoretical question and a separate section is reserved for observations and reflections on it. Below are a number of questions that you can pull from to help guide your reflections.
Frontloading Through Reflective Journaling
Reflective journaling is often thought of a synonymous with reflection. However, reflective journaling is also an ideal place to “perfect” or frontload. In this sense the journal can be used to think about upcoming assignments, critical issues, future plans, etc. that will be experienced in the coming hours or days. What are your hypotheses or guesses as to what will occur? What theories or principles will be tested? What kind of experimentation is being considered? The preflection can be a separate section or it can simply be part of the chronological reflective journaling. In this sense reflective journaling can, and even should, begin even before you get on site. If you learn to frontload by preflection will learn more during their experience as well as afterwards.
Reflective Journaling and the Experiential Learning Cycle
A reflective journal should be much more than a simple “log” or “just the facts.” It is not difficult to address the "What Happened" stage in the Experiential Learning Cycle, as these are the facts about what was accomplished and/or observed. Where students tend to have problems is with the latter two parts of the cycle: abstract conceptualization and generalization (“So What?”) and experimentation (“What Now?”). “What Happened?” is necessary, but not sufficient.
A reflective journal should also show how the experience fits with your previous experiences, academic work and accumulated knowledge as the “So What?” question is answered. This aspect of the reflective journal should demonstrate an integration of the current experience into your now new understanding. What is the significance of this experience? Why does it matter? Does the experience challenge your previous beliefs, values, experiences? Hegel may have stated that “Any experience that does not violate expectation is not worthy of the name experience,” but experiences can also reaffirm previous understandings. What theories are validated or rejected? What principles are exposed? Hopefully, the experiences are reinforcing what you are learning in classes and providing concrete examples of the theoretical!
Questions to Help Guide Your Reflections
What kind of business or service is the organization in? What is its purpose?
Who are the clients or customers?
What is the official mission or goals of the organization? Do you think it fits?
How does your unit (if working in a large organization) relate to the mission?
Who is the organization’s competition?
How big is the organization (number of employees, number of customer or clients served, gross sales or budget, physical layout, etc.)? How does it compare to the “competition?”
Do employees work as teams or individually?
Does everyone pitch in and make the copies, coffee, or are roles clearly defined? Is there a clear “pecking order?” Who is on top? On bottom? Do you see any patterns?
How is information communicated? Assemblies? Small group or one-on-one meetings? E-mail?
What kind of rule book is used to guide day-to-day operations? Detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs)? General guidelines? Basic principles? Employee handbook? Informal understandings? Job descriptions?
How are decisions made? From the top? By groups? By individuals? Quickly or slowly?
How are problems solved? Informally? Formally? In back rooms/behind closed doors? By the “book?” With all parties involved?
Where is the power in the organization? The president, CEO, or superintendent? The division manager, principal, or director? The board of directors, trustees, or other elected oversight committee? The secretaries, janitors, or administrative assistants? The doctors, teachers, professors, consultants, or computer gurus? The stockholders, citizens, students, or residents? Others?
What kind of power do they wield? Reward or resource allocation? Punishment? Expert? Authority (title or legal power)? Referent (the individual has power because s/he is well liked or respected)?
Attach an organizational chart. Where do you fit in? Discuss how the chart represents power, communication, and responsibility. Is it an accurate rendition of the organization?
Environment & Culture Reflection
How is the office or environment physically arranged? What are the benefits/challenges?
How uniform are work areas? Is there uniformity or do you see creativity? Does the furniture or amount of space, windows, views, etc. vary by hierarchy, by seniority, or by other pattern?
Are individual “personas” evident from work areas? Is art a part of the workplace? Is it placed by the organization or by individuals? Is the art part of marketing or is it there more for aesthetics?
How do people dress? Casually or informally? Does dress differ by level of authority or power? Is there an official dress code? Why do you think there is/isn’t one?
Who makes up the work force? Is the workforce diverse or homogeneous? Are there patterns to the various roles (for instance, are women predominantly in lower level jobs or are most computer/technical roles filled by younger staff)?
What do the hours or shifts look like? Do people work long hours or leave all together?
What is the mood of the workplace? Somber? Lighthearted? Busy? Frantic? Professional? Friendly? Stern? Other? Does it vary by department or area?
How would you describe the culture of the organization?
What is the history of the organization and how does it impact the kind of place it is today? Is the history or traditions celebrated? Ignored? Hidden? Why do you think it is that way?
If you were to start a business or organization, in a similar field, what one or two things would you do to develop a different culture or environment?
Diversity Reflection
Describe the players in this experience or setting in terms of diversity (i.e. ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical and mental disabilities, socio-economic background, and class).
Is this mix of people what you are used to? How is it different? How does this make you feel?
Is there any pattern to the individual’s level or role in the organization or experience based on their background or characteristics?
Is there a pattern to how people socialize based on backgrounds/characteristics?
What helps to unify people and/or break down barriers in this organization?
Is diversity an explicit topic of conversation in this organization? Why or why not?
Does this organization (if an experience, choose and organization which is sponsoring the event) have an official diversity statement? If so, get a copy and staple it to your answer sheet. Why do you think this organization does or does not have a diversity statement?
In regards to diversity, how does this experience relate to previous experiences?
How have your classed helped you understand this situation?
How have your understandings or feelings about diversity changed (or been confirmed)?
What might you do differently in the future based on this experience?
What recommendations would you make to enhance the diversity and/or unity of this experience?
Informational Interview
How did you get started in this field? Why did you choose it?
What does a typical day consist of?
How does your particular job or situation differ from others in the profession/field?
What do you find most satisfying? What is most frustrating?
What is the biggest challenge?
How stable is the job market in your profession/field?
What changes do you see coming for this profession?
What do you do for professional development? How important is it?
What advice do you have for me (course work, college experiences, work/internship experiences, organizations to join, books or journals to read, people to talk to)?
Risk Reflection
Describe the environment and specific situation. Why was this a risky situation?
How did it make you feel?
Have you been in this or similar risk situations before? What happened?
Have you previously heard about or observed this kind of similar risk situations?
What kind of verbal or other support did you receive or feel?
So what? What did you learn? How do you synthesize the learning with your previous knowledge? How did this reinforce or change existing beliefs, values, habits, etc.?
What next? How are you a different person because of this event? What will you do differently the next time you are in a similar situation?
How can you use the learning from this experience in class, your career, or other aspects of your life?
Was the risk-caused arousal a positive or negative impact on your learning/performance?
Other risk based or other comments?
Leadership Reflection
Who are the leaders? Do they have formal or informal authority?
Who is leading without authority? How are they doing so? Why?
Describe the kind of influence or power the leaders have at the organization.
Is the result of the influence/power commitment, compliance, or resistance? Why
What kind of leadership style is being used? On what do you base this description?
Why do you think that/those style(s) is/are being used?
Is the leadership style appropriate to the situation? What might be more appropriate?
Is the leadership style appropriate to the followers? Why are they followers and not leaders?
Is the leadership working? Why or why not? How do you define “working?”
Of which famous leader(s) does/do the leader(s) remind you?
What have you learned about leadership from this experience which will change your leadership style?
Ethical Dilemma Reflection
Define the problem in one or two sentences. How confident are you of the accuracy of your definition?
What kind of situation is this: an ethical dilemma, a technical problem, an interpersonal issue, a philosophical difference, some other kind of problem, or a combination of these? Why?
What are the “gray” aspects of this problem? What more would you like to know?
Do you have a personal stake in the outcome of this problem or issue and how does that impact your definition of the issue and recommend solution?
Who are the other players, what are their roles and their relative power related to the issue and how would they define the problem?
What is your intention in suggesting this resolution?
What could be the negative impact(s) of your resolution?
Could you discuss the issue with the affected parties? Why or why not? Are there others whose counsel might shed some light on the dilemma?
Can past course work help you with this dilemma?
How have past experiences helped you understand this dilemma?
Based on this experience, how would you approach such an issue in the future?