The Practice
The practice involves embedding reflective practice into the ‘Resilience Communicator’ unit, one of seven units in the MSc Science Communication for a Better Planet programme at the School of Biological Sciences. This unit was newly introduced in the 2023/24 academic year, with an initial cohort of 17 students. The unit was developed to complement the outward-facing focus of other units in the programme by providing an inward-facing component. This approach encourages students to evaluate and reflect on their personal strengths and weaknesses, with the ultimate aim of building inner resilience.
Rationale for Development
The “Resilience Communicator” unit was designed in response to the increasing need for science communicators to convey complex environmental issues to the public while maintaining their well-being in the face of challenging and often emotionally taxing subjects such as climate change and biodiversity loss. To aid with this, the unit focuses on reflective practice, particularly reflective writing, as a key strategy in building resilience.
To scaffold this reflective journey for our students, we implemented the following:
Reflective Writing Workshops
Two workshops were conducted in the early stages of the unit. The first workshop focused on the pedagogy of reflection, emphasising its importance in professional, academic, and personal contexts, and its connection to resilience. The second workshop delved into reflective writing practices, introducing students to various reflective models, such as ‘What? So What? Now What?’ (Borton 1970; Driscoll 1994) and Gibb’s Reflective Cycle (Gibb’s1988). These workshops were crucial in providing students with the necessary tools for meaningful reflection.
Formative and Summative Reflective Assessments
The reflective practice was embedded in both formative and summative assessments. In the formative assessment, students were tasked with writing a reflective piece based on their experiences during a retreat. They were required to choose and justify a reflective model and structure their reflection around specific prompts related to their emotional responses, metaphor creation, eco-anxiety or eco-grief, and resilience strategies.
The summative assessment involved a group project where students produced an art-science showcase to guide an audience from eco-anxiety to eco-hope. Alongside this, students wrote a reflective piece using Gibb’s Reflective Cycle, focusing on teamwork, changes in thoughts and beliefs, audience feedback, and resilience tools and strategies.
Marking Criteria
Marking criteria were developed to ensure consistency and depth when assessing reflective pieces. The criteria evaluated the depth of reflection on emotions and skills, insights into personal and professional practice, the clarity and organisation of writing, and the inclusion of required reflective components.
The Impact
Impact on Students
The reflective pieces produced by students demonstrated significant personal development, emotional growth, and an increased sense of hope and determination to effect change. The students’ reflections reveal a deep engagement with the unit’s content, highlighting how the practice of reflection has transformed their approach to resilience and self-awareness.
Here are some key quotes from student reflections that illustrate the impact:
The reflective pieces of the students highlighted strong messages of hope, determination for change, personal development and growth because of the unit. Below are some quotes from the student’s reflections.
“It stopped me from doing my usual act of turning away from an overwhelming problem and forced me to address my feelings.”
“Being asked to embrace and love what I viewed as the more negative attributes in my life was a defining part of the activity and a pivotal moment in the retreat. Previously I felt an inner conflict with these attributes however, I learned that I can be at peace with myself despite these.”
“Though initially skeptical as to how this communication style may impact my inner resilience, I transitioned from maladaptive emotions such as denial to a more adaptive response of hope and optimism”
“this challenge has just reaffirmed the way that I think about and cope with grief in the context of climate change. I hope that as people around the world experience the decline that is happening to the natural world, they can use their grief for the better.”
“this situation taught me that not only am I much stronger than I thought, but that I must give space to my emotions rather than push them down. Also, by sharing your vulnerabilities with others, you may unexpectedly connect to people about a shared experience, allowing them space to communicate their emotions also.”
Impact on Staff
From the staff perspective, the introduction of reflective practice within the “Resilience Communicator” unit has been both empowering and affirming. Observing the depth and sincerity of students’ reflections has been a rewarding experience, making the assessment process particularly fulfilling. The engagement with students on such a personal level has fostered a unique micro-culture within the unit—one characterised by mutual support, openness, and a strong sense of community between students and staff.
Initially, we were apprehensive about the inclusion of personal and emotional components in the unit, which felt like a risk. However, the positive outcomes of the first iteration of this unit have batted away these concerns. The success of the reflective practice has bolstered our confidence in its use as a pedagogical tool, demonstrating that such an approach can significantly empower students both academically and personally.
Next Steps
We will be doing our second iteration of the unit in the 24/25 academic year, and we hope to have another successful run. Now that we’ve gone through the process once, we have a better idea of what to expect, with more examples of good practice to show our students.
In the coming years, we hope to use this unit as an example to encourage more reflective practice throughout the School of Biological Sciences.
References
Borton. T. (1970). Reach Touch and Teach: Student Concerns and Process Education. McGraw-Hill, New York
Driscoll J. (1994). Reflective practice for practise. Senior Nurse, 13, 47 –50
Gibbs G (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford.
Contact
Unit leads:
- Emily Bell: emily.bell@bristol.ac.uk
- David Lawson: david.lawson@bristol.ac.uk
- Programme Lead: Steve Simpson: s.simpson@bristol.ac.uk
- Deputy Programme Lead: Andy Wakefield Andy.Wakefield@bristol.ac.uk
