Three Ways to Incorporate Reflection into Your Training
"I don't like dance."
As a former dancer myself, these words stung when my oldest child voiced them out loud.
I paused.
I knew I had an opportunity in this moment.
I could react the way I wanted to react, brushing the statement off and continuing to push dance.
Or I could dig deeper to understand what was going on.
In this moment, I chose the latter.
"What don't you like about it?" I mustered up the courage to ask.
The conversation that stemmed from that question was a much stronger and much more impactful conversation than if I had responded in a way that did not prompt her to reflect.
Reflection is a Skill
Reflection is an important skill in so many areas of our lives.
It can help us make better decisions.
It can help us connect with people in an authentic way.
It can help us identify our thoughts and feelings about situations.
And from a staff development perspective, reflection can seal in the learning.
I asked my friend and colleague Kay Meredith to share her thoughts about reflection with us. Kay is a seasoned learning and development leader currently leading an instructional design team at a national nonprofit. Kay offers:
Reflection is an important part of learning. Learners need to process and contextualize what's being shared and reflection can provide the time and space for that. Reflection can also help learners think critically about how to apply what's being shared. Learning without reflection is like eating food without chewing, seeing, smelling, touching, or tasting the food. It's not fun, nor satisfying.
Kay went on to explain how she has used reflection in training to prompt participants to think about their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
Reflection in a Virtual Setting
Reflection is an integral component of learning, but prompting reflection in a virtual classroom can feel daunting.
Awkward silence, anyone?
So I put together this quick video with three different ways you can encourage reflection in the virtual classroom.
Key Takeaways
Reflection is an important part of the learning process.
Reflection can be done virtually if we get creative about how we prompt participants to reflect.