Using Reflective Writing Practices to Articulate Student Learning in Counselor Education

ABSTRACT

One of our goals as counselor educators is to develop students who are reflective learners to then become reflective practitioners. Many of our accreditation standards and program mission statements discuss reflective practice, but very few teaching activities on developing reflective practices are included in counseling literature. How do we train students to become reflective practitioners? This article presents a creative teaching practice that counselor educators can apply to coursework. The author discusses the use of reflective writing practices to help students expand their learning, find meaning in their learning experiences, and articulate learning outcomes tied to course objectives and program standards. The article includes the description of one particular model, the DEAL Model for Critical Reflection, and a process of how to apply the model in counselor education. In addition, an explanation of learning categories and examples of associated question prompts are included.

KEYWORDS:

• Creativity
• counselor education
• writing
• teaching
• reflective practice

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jolie Ziomek-Daigle

Jolie Ziomek-Daigle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.