Reflective Writing for MSW
Students
A workshop for Social Work students
Power Point presentation developed by
Dr. Deena Mandell
Faculty of Social Work
Wilfrid Laurier University
Please cite the source if using any part of this presentation.
Personal Reflection in
Academic Writing
• First person
• Subjective “voice”
• Subjective stance gives permission to
include personal responses, ideas,
questions, uncertainty, conflicts, struggles
Examples of personal and critical reflection
in social work writing
• Response to written material
• Experience of a relationship, event or process
• Locating oneself as researcher
• Countertransference reactions to/
feelings about clients, supervisor, group, etc.
• Critical reflection on practice
• Processing of an idea, struggle, or question
• Social identity/location, values, beliefs
Elements to Consider
• Be mindful of purpose/ focus
• Be mindful of boundaries
• Relate reflection to context of
course/assignment
• Critical reflection leads one forward by
opening up possibilities, uncovering that
which was previously unrecognized
Purpose or Focus
• Why am I doing this?
• What am I supposed to learn from this
process?
• What am I trying to figure out?
Boundaries
• Do I trust my reader?
• How much do I need to “spill” in order to
achieve the designated purpose of this
reflection?
• Do I need to do some preliminary or “raw”
reflection and then summarize or analyze
that for the assignment to be submitted?
Context
• How are my personal/critical reflections linked to
larger questions?
– Do the readings/lectures/discussions of this or
another course help me to focus or process this
reflection?
– Do they help me understand or conceptualize any
issues raised by these reflections?
– Do they help me with ideas about where to go from
here in order to address issues or concerns,
challenges?
– In the given context, do they make my values,
interests and biases transparent?
Sample Reflections
ASSIGNMENT A
Summarize and analyze the log of
personal reflections you have
been keeping in response to
course material.
Response #1 to Assignment A
I have been making entries in my log since the first day of
class. I wrote two things at the time: I thought the course was too
“touchy-feely” and would turn out to be a waste of time, and I also
wrote that I was afraid I would be forced to reveal myself publicly
in ways that I normally avoid. What I wrote on that first day was:
“We are expected to think a lot about our mistakes and difficulties
but I don’t really see the value in talking about them openly in
class. This seems like a waste of time. I’m more interested in
learning about how to get it right than in dwelling on what went
wrong.” Most of my entries throughout the term have been along
these lines. As a former Psychology student with an A standing, I
wanted to spend more time on theory and less on personal
feelings.
On a couple of occasions, I observed that I both envied
and resented those students who seemed comfortable
talking openly about their doubts and moments of selfrecognition, especially when they were upset about what
came out. For example, when one of my classmates
ended up in tears after a presentation on her work with a
client who made her wonder whether she ought to be in
social work at all, I wrote: “I fail to see the purpose in
asking someone to humiliate themselves in front of their
peers. It seems to me her confidence has been
undermined and it’s not at all clear what benefit there
might have been in her experience around this.”
I became more fearful rather than less, because I don’t
want to be as exposed as some people have been,
especially when they get a negative reaction from the
teacher or other students. I have felt very sorry for
people in that position, though I haven’t seen it happen
very often. I’m not sure why I’m so afraid, but it doesn’t
feel “safe” to do what we are being encouraged to do. Part
of me would like to be less afraid so I could feel like I’m
learning, as some students do, but I’m not sure what to do
about it. This is just my personality, I think. I’m a very
private person. Surely there is room for private people in
social work!
Comments
• Reflection is not of a critical nature, i.e. does not question or seek to
understand that which is not already obvious.
• Student has not “stepped back” to look at patterns or identify themes.
• Student does not seem to notice contradictions, thus missing
important cues for critical reflection.
• Student tends to shut down the reflection process rather than “push” it
towards greater understanding. Questions – whether implicit or
explicit -- are dead-ended rather than explored.
• There is no attempt to put reflections in the context of the course or to
connect them with concepts encountered in the course or the
program.
•Personal reflection is not linked to professional role.
Reflection done this way is an unproductive exercise.
Response #2 to Assignment A
My first entry was a reaction to the focus and requirements of this course. My
thoughts at the time were divided between a contemptuous attitude towards what
I felt would be a “touchy-feely” course and fear that I would be forced to reveal
myself publicly. As the term progressed, I found my log entries remained split
along these lines. As a former Psychology student with an A standing, I wanted
more intellectual rigour and less soul-searching, less discussion of feelings and
debates about personal values. On a couple of occasions, I observed that I both
envied and resented those students who seemed comfortable talking openly
about their doubts and moments of self-recognition, especially when they found
parts of themselves they didn’t like. Gradually, my comments focused more on my
fear and less on my disdain.
I have looked carefully at these fearful entries in an effort
to understand the nature of my reaction. It has been
difficult for me to grasp what is behind this fear, since I
usually experienced the instructor and the other students
as careful and supportive in responding to people’s
revelations. I think it has something to do with being
outside of my areas of strength (intellectual pursuits),
and in a zone where something could happen that would
make me feel bad about myself. I have noticed that on
the few occasions where I felt another student was
challenged or silenced in some way by a teacher or
classmate, I have felt very sorry for that person.
• We have talked and read a lot in a couple of courses
about the concept of “resistance” and I wonder if that is
what I’m experiencing. Several articles and professors
have talked about conceptualizing resistance as acting
(appropriately) to protect oneself from a perceived
threat. This has got me thinking about whether I might
be doing that and if so, what is the nature of the threat
I might be protecting myself from? The other
questions I ask myself are: Am I wise to be protecting
myself, or am I afraid of something that is important for
me to be open to? Why do some students not seem to
feel self-protective and is that a good thing or a bad
thing?
As I write this, I see another pattern: ambivalence. My
feelings and understanding have been divided in one
way or another all along. I am ambivalent about opening
up around certain ideas and ways of revealing myself, so
I am protecting myself from exposure and personal
challenge. I protected myself at the beginning by being
contemptuous of the course, and now I am doing it by
holding back. I wonder if my feeling sorry for those
students I think of as injured is an example of
“identification” that we have learned about. On the other
hand, perhaps I am very sensitive to how people use
their power over each other. This has been a theme in
most of my courses and is something we’re expected to
become attuned to.
What does it mean for my practice as a social
worker if I have these fears and protective
mechanisms? Why is identification problematic?
Is it different from empathy in some way I don’t
understand? I need to continue to monitor my
own responses and go back to the readings on
resistance and identification to see how my
responses might affect my practice or my
engagement in supervision. These are the
areas that seem to be the primary focus in our
use of self discussions in class.
• I also want to figure out whether there is anything about
the way the instructor and the students handle this whole
issue of critical self-reflection that might be legitimately
bothering me. Maybe I am responding to something that
it’s reasonable to want to protect myself and others from.
Maybe I can find something in one of our course readers
on how to make this kind of determination. It might also
be helpful to take the risk of talking about this with
students I respect who seem to be more comfortable in
this class than I am. I suppose that by writing about it
here, I have already begun to “discuss” it with my
instructor and with myself.
Comments
• Student moves back and forth between specifics and
themes, making connections.
• Gaps and contradictions are noticed and questioned,
used to identify learning opportunities.
• Concepts and course material are drawn upon in
exploring questions.
• Personal reflection is linked to professional functioning
and intellectual understanding
• Student is willing to stay in the uncomfortable “don’t know”
zone rather than foreclose the pursuit of difficult
questions and paradoxes.