86 - Using Video and other 'Social Media Style' formats in lieu of weekly journal reflections in a 12 week Fellowship Program for young adults

Abstract Information: Journaling has been around since the beginning of recorded history. Over time, this reflective practice has long been used to help consolidate and deepen learning in students, particularly in the field of education. Where reflective practice is embedded in environmental education programs, it can be an effective tool, promoting personal growth of the teaching profession in a field where engaging constituents can be tricky. However, there are also barriers to engaging in reflective practice. A main barrier often cited is making the time to incorporate reflection. When compounded with lack of experience in engaging in reflective practice, it can be ignored entirely. The Alliance for Watershed Education has embedded reflective practice into its fellowship program with a two-fold intention. First, to promote reflective practice and second, as an opportunity to collect process data about the larger program. Over time, the program used multiple methods to try and improve reflection rates with some success, however, weekly participation rates suggest that the process is still less than desirable for some fellowship participants. One methodology employed to encourage and enhance the reflective process will incorporate the option to use of social media to make reflection more appealing and become a more planful event in lieu of responding to a weekly reflection prompt. Other efforts have included additional prompts from supervisors and the program manager to complete these activities when they are past due, with limited success. It is hypothesized that this change will provide a less restrictive, more creative outlet for reflection, while still ensuring the opportunity. This study is an exploratory research project on how changing the reflection methodology impacts the quantity of reflections; the timeliness of reflections, the qualitative information gained from reflection as compared to utilizing essay prompts and, most importantly, the overall reflective experience. The larger research question is to what extent does the use of social media as a method of reflective practice impact the fellow who is engaging in professional learning? Data will be presented to elucidate the findings.

Relevance Statement: This study examines the extent to which reflective practice can be modified by incorporating the use of social medial to appeal to more creative and natural impulses that individuals participating in a fellowship program for environmental education may possess. Reflective practice requires some measure of discipline and skill, and while many educators embrace this form a pedagogy, some struggle with beginning to engage in the process (Bolton, 2010). In her paper, 'Reflecting on Reflective Practice' Finlay raised concerns about the lack of agreement on what constitutes reflective practice and the extent to which some models may be unethical due to the potential to cause psychological distress, while still acknowledging that reflective practice can be a positive tool for learning and developing professional practice (Finlay, 2008). The change in methodology described in the study is intended in part to reduce any potential psychological dissonance associated with reflective practice (evidenced by the need to repeatedly prompt participants to complete this weekly task) by making it more broadly appealing to different types of communication and expression. A 2021 study completed by Auxier & Anderson found that 65-70% of people under 30 use various social media platforms, specifically Instagram and Snapchat (Pew Research Center, 2021) compared to less than half of adults over 30. There is growing research to support use of social media as a reflective tool in other types of learning environments and how such reflections impact subsequent performance (Mouiddin, Shahid & Shuaib, 2015; Perry et. al, 2015). Hole describes ways that digital reflection can also be viewed by the practioner as a way to save time (2015). REFERENCES Bolton, G. (2010). In Reflective Practice Writing and Professional Development. (3rd ed., pp. 1-24). Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on 'Reflective practice.' Practiced-based Professional Learning Paper 52, The Open University. Hole, A. (2015). Reflective practice goes digital. Univerity of Sussex Educational Enhancement. https://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/tel/2015/09/01/reflective-practice-goes-digital/ Mohiuddin Z, Shahid H, Shuaib W. (2015). Social Media Impact: Utility of Reflective Approach in the Practice of Surgery. Indian J Surg. 2015 Dec;77(Suppl 3):893-8. doi: 10.1007/s12262-014-1056-z. Epub 2014 Apr 27. PMID: 27011477; PMCID: PMC4775557. Perry, L. Stoner, L, Schleser, M. Stoner, K. Wadsworth, D, Page, R. & Tarrant, M. (2015) Digital media as a reflective tool: creating appropriate spaces for students to become introspective, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 45:2, 323-330, DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2014.993237 Pew Research Center. (April 2021) Social Media Use in 2021.