About this Workshop
Our asynchronous workshops are intentionally designed to offer opportunities for engagement and interaction, which is why we don’t simply post the recording of the live sessions. We want you to take time to pause, engage in activities, review what your peers have said on topics, and come away with meaningful outcomes. You can read more about the iterative development of our asynchronous workshop format in Communication Design Quarterly.
To engage in this workshop, simply go through the activities for each heading on the page. You may want to follow along in the linked slides. If you are completing this workshop as one of your COLA requirements, you will also need to record your activities as you go in this Qualtrics form.
Workshop Outline
This workshop was originally developed by Scott Schopieray and modified by Caitlin Kirby. This workshop has three phases:
- Understanding reflective practice: reflective models and frameworks
- Engaging in reflective practice: modalities
- Implementing reflective practice: putting it all together
The learning objectives for this workshop are:
- Identify at least 2 essential components of a reflective practice
- Think through practices of reflection with the prompted activities
- Prepare to adopt, or further develop, a reflective practice
Part 1: Understanding Reflective Practice
Watch: Video One
Respond: Breakout Conversation One
Go to the Qualtrics form to answer the following questions. Spend 4-7 minutes considering your responses.
- What are ways that you already practice reflection in your personal or professional life?
- What kinds of insights happen when you engage in reflection?
- Describe your reflective habits, such as: the tools you use, spaces you occupy, time of day, people you reflect with, etc.
Watch: Video Two
Respond: Which Reflection Model?
Return to your Qualtrics form to answer: Which reflection model feels most useful in thinking about your teaching practices? Why?
Watch: Video Three
Respond: Breakout Conversation 2
Return to your Qualtrics form to answer the following questions. We recommend spending 4-7 minutes thinking through these responses.
- List out where you collect things that are useful to your teaching or professional practice. Try to think of as many digital/physical locations as possible.
- How often do you revisit those collections? Influential pieces from those collections?
- How often would be ideal to revisit those collections?
- How might you better organize your collections?
Part 2: Engaging in Reflective Practice
Watch: Video Four
Respond: Engaging in Reflective Practice
Spin the wheel to get assigned a reflection modality as described in Video 4.
Spend 10 minutes reflecting in that modality on the following questions:
- Why is teaching important for you?
- What parts of teaching do you feel you are good at?
- What’s an idea you have for teaching that you want to develop further?
Report out on your 10-minute reflection in your Qualtrics form.
Part 3: Implementing Your Reflective Practice
Watch: Video Five
Respond: What’s your Plan?
Spend about five minutes planning out your reflective practice for the summer, or the next few months.
Put a recurring reflective session (10-30 minutes) on your calendar for the summer.
For the first session, write out your:
- Topic(s)
- Modality and tools you’ll use
- Location
- Model of reflection you will follow
- Resources you want to integrate or curate (readings, a podcast, an art piece?)
You might find it useful to sign up for Breana Bayraktar’s Summer 2025 Series on Crafting a Critically Reflective Practice. Subscribing to the blog is free, and you will get weekly prompts guiding you through reflection on your teaching practice.
Submit a few details about your reflection plan to the Qualtrics form. That’s the last step!
Remember, changing and developing habits is hard, especially for practices like reflection that offer fewer extrinsic rewards. Your reflective practice is also highly personal, and what works for you may shift over time.
Evaluate: How was the workshop?
Please let us know your thoughts in this brief survey.