Critical Reflection

Artifact 2: Critical Reflection

  With a process such as critically reflecting, I have to look deeply inwards to think about myself and my surroundings in many layers. When going through this process, I often think about those moments in life that lead to where I am now, and how I show up in this world is based off of my experiences and relationships with those around me. Out of all of the learning goals within this dossier, I believe that the process of critically reflecting is one of the most important. Personally, to think and to critically reflect has truly strengthened who I am as a person, and who I am in the field of education.

         For this artifact to demonstrate critical reflection, I have chosen an autoethnography. This autoethnography was meant for me think critically about how I think about myself, and how I have gotten to be a master’s student. It has made me think critically about my family, my beliefs, and how everything in my life has come together to make me the person I am today. With many of these experiences, they have truly shaped who I want to be in the field of education. Throughout different milestones and choices, I have made, it directly impacts how I view the world today, and how I will continue to view this world after my master’s program is complete.

         For the learning goal of critical reflection, there are three main components that are implemented within the artifact. Below are the three components, along with a description of how they are being shown.

Engage in critical reflection about ways that personal identity, history, culture, beliefs, ideology, experiences, and/or politics relate to educational practices.

         A massive turning point in my life that I talked about within this autoethnography was my bullying that I had experienced, and how I never wanted a student to feel unsupported and/or hurt within a classroom I was in. I fell victim to a teacher not caring for their students, and it made me realize at a very young age that there was a system that I deeply wanted to change. Even at the age of eight, I was critically reflecting on my own experiences and how I wanted those experiences to shape my future.

Reflect critically about ways that personal identity is influenced by socio-cultural, political, historical, and personal factors.

         Another turning point in my life is when I went from the field of medicine to the field of education. From a person who is surrounded by nurses in their family, I go in-depth about my process through going through nursing classes, then realizing that I wasn’t truly happy, and found happiness in education. Education is a part of my identity, but it isn’t just that, it is also what got me to choosing education. My family is a huge part of my life, and by them being nurses, I had to reflect critically at that time in my life to figure out what I truly wanted.

Utilize critical reflection as part of “praxis”- the unity of reflection and practice- as an ongoing process for educational, social, community, and/or personal improvement.

         The biggest part of praxis in my life is talked about within this artifact when I talk about when I was doing my student teaching in the 2021-2022 school year. As I was seeing the true ableism come through within the elementary school I was at, it made me truly critically reflect in the moment of what I want to do, and how I could advocate for students who don’t have the resources necessary to succeed. Although that was during the 2021-2022 school year, I am continuously reflecting critically through educational practices, that overall improve who I am personally.

Overall, this autoethnography is an artifact to show the various critical reflections I have done, to get to where my life is now. Critical reflection is a process, and there will be many times where I will still be reflecting as a way of improving.