Post-session reflection (Guidance to Educators)
Channel: Dr Simon Paul Atkinson - sijen
Date: 2022-04-27

Guidance to Educators: Post-session reflection
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Transcript:

Welcome all. Please feel free to share this with colleagues. If you think they'll find it of interest. 

Let's talk today about how you handle a session that doesn't go so well. Any problems that crop up can be quite demoralizing. Sometimes you walk out of a session thinking either I dropped the ball or the students didn't respond. Something just didn't work in any given session. 

Now not every session is going to go well. It could be something you have failed to plan for, it may be that you misjudged the receptivity of the students. It may be that they just were very resistant to what it was you're asking them to engage with in the session and how you manage that system dynamic is obviously very problematic.

So after any session, educators really need to sit back and reflect if it, even if it just takes a few minutes, even if they're just doing it in their heads, they need to be thinking about what went well, what didn't go so well. If it doesn't go well, there's a particular problem in any given session, it's a really good idea to journal it, write something down, even just a few notes on the back of your notes are fine, but to write something down as soon as possible after the session. To discuss it with colleagues, just to literally go back to the, whatever the virtual coffee room is, or the staff room and talk to your colleagues about why something didn't go well and be open about that. You won't be judged for it if you're honest about it. 

And thirdly, to reflect, and how deeply you reflect will depend a little bit on whether it was a serious issue or, or relatively minor issue. You maybe want to think about, from a positive perspective what you would do differently if you had it again.

And if you were faced with those similar circumstances in the future, how you might plan to do it differently. So it's really important that you do reflect at some level, either using notes, conversation or indeed just thinking about it. I always try and make some notes after a session, particularly if it hasn't gone well, but even if it's gone well, I might want to make a note as to why I think it might've gone well.

I think it's really important, and I would encourage you to do that. So do try something like that, try something similar. 

Let me know how it goes. Be well.

Consultancy for International Higher Education from Simon Paul Atkinson