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Reflective Journaling: A Theoretical Model
and Digital Prototype for Developing Resilience
and Creativity
Ana Rivera
1(&)
, Alwin de Rooij
2
, and Sara Jones
1
1
City, University of London, London EC1Y 8TZ, UK
ana.rivera@cass.city.ac.uk, s.v.jones@city.ac.uk
2
Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands
alwinderooij@tilburguniversity.edu
Abstract. Reflection is commonly discussed as a tool for personal and pro-
fessional development that is becoming increasingly important in today’s global
and digital world. In this paper, we propose a model that suggests ways in which
reflection, in the form of Reflective Journaling, can support the development of
creativity and resilience, which are needed to enable individuals to function
effectively in a fast-changing environment. In addition, the model proposes
ways in which external support and progress monitoring can be used in con-
junction with skills in adaptive resilience and structured creativity, to support the
maintenance of reflective journaling as a habit, in the longer term, thus creating
virtuous cycles of skills and behaviours that can reinforce each other. Based on
our model, and additional user research, we describe the design of a first digital
prototype that aims to support the use of Reflective Journaling and to develop
creativity and resilience through suggested mechanisms. Initial evaluations of
our prototype are positive. It has been well-received by early test users, and has
the potential to address all the connections defined. We therefore suggest that the
theoretical model can be used to develop digital tools, such as the one included,
to help those who wish to develop the habit of reflective journaling, and through
that a range of other skills associated with resilience and creative thinking. We
see this as a starting point for investigating this potential in more depth.
Keywords: Reflective Journaling Learning Digital prototype Creativity
Resilience Emerging technologies
1 Introduction
We are increasingly finding ourselves overwhelmed and under-equipped to deal with
global and digital disruption, where data travels fast, in bulk, and in every direction
[30]. An important component of the lifelong learning that may help us to manage this
situation, by learning how to adapt to each new circumstance in which we find our-
selves, is reflection, or reflective practice.
Reflective practice is a crucial activity for learning from experience, and adapting to
new circumstances [2]. Its most popular form is Reflective Journaling, which we define
as a structured writing process with the purposes of acquiring a set of abilities and
©Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. Zaphiris and A. Ioannou (Eds.): HCII 2020, LNCS 12205, pp. 144–158, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50513-4_11
skills; thinking in a critical inquisitive way; and solving problems within a professional
context. Reflective practice through journaling, also known as Reflective Journaling,
allows us to externalize important thoughts and feelings in academic, personal, and
professional contexts [21,33]. Unfortunately, while the benefits of journaling are
noteworthy, O’Connell and Dyment [32] remind us that striking issues and challenges
remain, not least in understanding how best to employ Reflective Journaling to support
learning in a range of different contexts.
In this paper, we first present the results of a literature review that illustrate the links
between Reflective Journaling, creativity and resilience, to better understand each of
the concepts, and what may be needed to build strong habits, and monitor ongoing
progress in each area. The links are shown in a model, as a series of virtuous cycles, in
which Reflective Journaling supports the development of creativity and resilience, and
vice-versa. This is important, since both creative thinking i.e. the development of
original and effective solutions, and resilience, i.e. the ability to recover quickly from
encountered difficulties are also key to helping us overcome new challenges and think
of new ways forward in today’s uncertain and ever-changing circumstances [24,37].
Based on our model, and some additional user research, we then describe the design
of a first digital prototype to help reflective practitioners develop their creativity,
resilience and reflective journaling habits through mechanisms suggested by our model.
This prototype is digital to exploit the advantages of e-learning in enhancing self-
monitoring skills and supplying online support. Initial evaluations of our prototype are
positive, and we end with some discussion and suggestions for further work.
2 Theoretical Model
Reflection as a learning method was first introduced with Gregory Bateson’s levels of
learning in 1972 [35]. However, better known is the concept of single and double loop
learning by Argyris and Schön from 1978, which achieved great relevance in organ-
isational learning and evolved into Schön’sreflection in and on-action model [31].
Reflection is a common approach to engaging in structured, self-directed learning
and integrates theory with real world practice, due to the ease with which it can be
implemented, the potential depth of feedback it provides, and the variety of structures
that can be used to support it [31,36,38]. Reflection in the context of practice,
reflective practice, originated in the professions of nursing, but has broadened across
many industries over the years [10]. There is little consensus on a definition for
reflective practice. Moon [31] listed some of them, which define reflection as a: set of
abilities and skills [6], critical thinking process [36,38], state of mind [8,35], problem
solving process [7,16,25], intuition and cognition trait [26], behaviour pattern [41],
practice within professional context [22], or a maturation process [15].
Reflective practice can be exercised in an infinite number of ways as long as
individuals can learn from their personal experiences and theory [4]. However, the
most popular form is journaling, which allows to display thoughts and feelings of the
academic and professional pursuits [21,27]. For the purpose of this paper, reflective
practice through journaling, or Reflective Journaling, is defined as a combination of the
Reflective Journaling 145
above: a structured writing process to acquire a set of abilities, skills, and wisdom;
think in a critical inquisitive way; and solve problems within a professional context.
Below we introduce each component of our model of Reflective Journaling based
on this definition.
2.1 Reflective Journaling and Adaptive Resilience
An appropriate level of self-doubt allows individuals to acquire a stronger mindset –to
be more resilient –while simultaneously becoming more flexible and sensitive –or
more adaptable. De Haan [9] refers to this process as becoming both thicker and thinner
skinned, or having both backbone and heart. To face adversity, practitioners must
develop their resilience, and to retain a beginner’s openness, they must develop their
flexibility [6]. So far, little research has focused on resilience in the workplace: in other
areas of study, sleep, exercise, and diet have been identified as health factors that help
build resilience [24]. In the same way, Reflective Journaling can be seen as a healthy
habit, that can contribute to acquiring resilience.
On the other hand, too little self-criticism can hinder our learning abilities by
mistakenly focusing on the external environment instead of ourselves [2]. Freire [12]
defines this negative perception of commitment to critical reflection as the “banking
model”of education. Individuals need to constantly work on their weaknesses by
staying open to feedback, however uncomfortable it may be, and Reflective Journaling
can provide a mechanism for doing this [11].
Skinner [39] pioneered one of the first models to understand patterns of behaviour
and broke the process into three steps: antecedent, behaviour, and consequence. Many
models of reflection are based on this structure and aim to help individuals focus on
their own actions and behaviours, instead of external factors, by reframing attitudes to
re-evaluate events. In this context, Reflective Journaling can help to build an open
attitude to understand and evaluate how behaviours shape triggers into outcomes.
In summary, an appropriate level of self-doubt, developed through Reflective
Journaling, allows individuals to acquire a stronger mindset –to be more resilient –
while simultaneously becoming more sensitive and flexible –or more adaptable
(Fig. 1).
Reflective Practice
through Journaling
Adaptive
Resilience
Adaptability
Resilience
Fig. 1. Reflective Journaling, Resilience and Adaptability
146 A. Rivera et al.
2.2 Reflective Journaling and Structured Creativity
To achieve optimal learning for long periods, reflective practitioners must be organised,
and to maintain interest and motivation, they must apply variation to their practice [28].
Multiple studies demonstrate the obvious lifestyle improvements of implementing
orderly activities and behaviours, such as self-control or positive discipline [3]. In a
similar way, there are many ways in which a process of reflection can be structured: for
example, there are many levels of reflection that can be engaged in, from basic
observation, to integrating theory with practice, to connecting experiences [23]. Many
authors have observed that the majority of reflective practitioners mainly describe
events without reflecting on them [32]. However, Reflective Journaling can be used to
develop critical, reasoned and rational thinking [30,38], thereby enhancing structured
thought processes that help improve our healthy behaviours.
Additionally, Reflective Journaling provides a space to promote creativity and
provides individuals with the opportunity for self-expression [17,18], and the variety
of forms in which reflection can be practiced allows individuals to express themselves
in their own way [32].
Thus, an appropriate level of structured thinking, developed through Reflective
Journaling, allows individuals to acquire an organised mindset –to be more structured -
while simultaneously becoming more self-expressive –or more creative (Fig. 2).
2.3 Reflective Journaling and External Support
Integrating Reflective Practice in a routine requires an important behaviour change in
the sense that reflective practitioners must learn to maintain their practice over time
[32]. Reflective practitioners should be aware that relapses, or periods when little
reflection is undertaken, are unavoidable, and should therefore, prepare themselves
with appropriate tools, or support, to bounce back into practice [19].
This support can take several forms, such as training or financial incentives [32]. It
may also take the form of emotional support from a social network of the kind that is
known to contribute to an individual’s personal resilience, if, for example, an indi-
vidual is willing to share entries in their reflective journal with others.
Reflective Practice
through Journaling
Structured
Creativity
Structure
Creativity
Fig. 2. Reflective Journaling, Structure and Creativity
Reflective Journaling 147
Reflective Journaling is a very personal activity and many authors have raised
issues in regard to sharing reflective journal entries with others, considering ethics and
psychological safety and the effects on the quality of the reflection [14]. If reflection is
to be shared, the risks it involves must be addressed: accepting feedback from others
and giving deep reflections.
There is still much to be learnt about how best to use external support as part of a
reflective journaling process, but certainly a combination of adaptive resilience and
external support can be helpful in generating momentum in the reflective journaling
process (Fig. 3).
2.4 Reflective Journaling and Progress Monitoring
As mentioned above, a certain level of originality and novelty is necessary to maintain
motivation in learning [28]. Therefore, practitioners should use diverse structured
approaches to Reflective Practice, such as remix exercises [28], creativity triggers [1],
serious play [40], or Socratic questioning [13].
Additionally, Edmondson and Saxber [11] state that students should think about
learning and development as an investment, asking questions and setting frequent
follow-ups and key performance indicators to monitor progress. Measuring progress is
key in certain activities, such as sports performance [19], and we argue that the same
may well be true for Reflective Journaling.
Thus, a combination of structured creativity and progress monitoring can support
the practice of Reflective Journaling in the long-term (Fig. 4).
Bringing together all of the above, the developed theoretical model (Fig. 5) shows
the virtuous cycles, through which Reflective Journaling supports the development of
creativity and resilience, and vice-versa.
Reflective Practice
through Journaling
External
Support
Adaptive
Resilience
Fig. 3. Adaptive Resilience and External Support facilitate Reflective Journaling
Reflective Practice
through Journaling
Progress
Monitoring
Structured
Creativity
Fig. 4. Structured Creativity and Progress Monitoring enhance Reflective Journaling
148 A. Rivera et al.
This model can serve as a basis for developing applications that use emerging
technologies with the aim of supporting lifelong learning through Reflective Journal-
ing, as described in the following section.
3 Digital Prototype
To provide some insight into the utility of our model, a digital prototype was designed,
developed, and evaluated. Inspired by applications used for habit building in other
areas, such as exercise or meditation, and by other attempts to use mobile technologies
to support reflective learning in the workplace [34], we first assumed that our prototype
should include features corresponding to each of the concepts in the model of reflective
practice discussed above, as shown in Fig. 6.
Features proposed on this basis included support for adaptive resilience through
plan setting (2), support for creative structure through reflection models (3ab), provi-
sion of external support through a social club (4), and progress monitoring through
statistics and insights (5).
Reflective Practice
through Journaling
External
Support
Adaptive
Resilience
Adaptability
Resilience
Progress
Monitoring
Structured
Creativity
Structure
Creativity
Fig. 5. Theoretical model of Reflective Practice through Journaling
Reflective Practice
through Journaling
External
Support
Adaptive
Resilience
Adaptability
Resilience
Progress
Monitoring
Structured
Creativity
Structure
Creativity
142 5 3ab
Fig. 6. Links between the Theoretical model of Reflective Practice through Journaling and the
Five Main Screens on the Prototype
Reflective Journaling 149
The prototype was further designed by following a human-centred design approach,
as characterised by Maguire [29]. This approach involves 4 main stages: understanding
and specifying the context of use, specifying the user requirements, producing design
solutions and evaluating designs against requirements. The previous section has
sketched out the context in which a digital tool for reflection would be used. In this
section, we describe work done to identify user requirements for such a tool, and then
design and evaluate a first prototype.
3.1 User Requirements
To better understand user requirements for a digital reflection tool that could support
the various elements of our model, we began by surveying thirty-eight participants to
analyse their journaling preferences and strategies. Participants included master’s
students with previous professional experience, researchers, and professors (Males =
17, Females = 20, Prefer not say = 1, Majority aged 26–35, Participant ages ranging
from 26–35 to 46–55).
The survey was broadcasted through social media, shared with researchers through
email, and included in email newsletters, such as the one circulated by the Boosting
Resilience project [5]. All participants signed consent forms before completing the
survey. The survey included four screening questions to ensure the participants were fit
for the study as current reflective practitioners.
The survey was used to understand current reflective practitioner’s preferences
including: journaling frequency (daily, almost daily, weekly, almost weekly, monthly,
almost monthly, or barely), seniority (a few months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, or more
than 5 years), writing prompts or guided questions (Structured Creativity), and shared
reflections with trustees or community of friends (External Support). The responses
were analysed using statistical analyses, extracts of which are shown below.
From the pool of thirty-eight respondents to the survey, seven participants
(Males = 4, Females = 3, Majority aged 26–35, Participant ages ranging from 26–35
to Over 66) that practiced Reflective Journaling and showed some level of dissatis-
faction with at least one aspect of their practice were selected to understand their
preferences in more depth using semi-structured interviews to allow unrestricted
responses within the required questions.
Interview participants included four beginners and three senior practitioners. The
choice of beginners for the interviews was motivated by our interest in observing a
habit less built, while the choice of senior practitioners was motivated by our interest in
the use of writing prompts and writing structure variation.
Three participants were interviewed in-person and four via Skype. All participants
signed consent forms and agreed to being recorded. In-person interviews were voice
recorded with the smartphone Record application and video interviews, performed
through Skype or Google Hangouts, were screen recorded using QuickTime Player.
150 A. Rivera et al.
The interviews had five main sections and lasted about 30 min: thoughts on key aspects
to practice reflective journaling, preferred format and style, use of progress evaluations
in their practice, and preference in using prompted questions or reflective models to
journal.
Interviews were used to further understand the more personal elements of the
model, which would have been difficult to explore through questions in the survey: the
use of plans in reflection for self-evaluation, Adaptive Resilience, (for example, by
asking “Is there anything you currently do to keep track of your personal evolution in
reflective journaling? How is this working for you?”) and use of goal setting and
personal evolution, Progress Monitoring, (for example, by asking “It is my under-
standing that you have not used pre-filled journals before, why is this?”). The responses
were transcribed and analysed with a thematic analysis.
The findings are examined below.
Adaptive Resilience. Regarding the development of a healthy reflective journaling
habit to support resilience, all interviewees agreed that making time to journal and
having a journaling routine is key. Participant 1 (P1) stated: “I struggle to keep it going
on a regular basis”. The minimum viable product, required by all, is the ability to set
journaling reminders and record activities to develop a journaling habit.
Participants also had different views on goal setting. P2 stated: “I’ve grown up in a
world of SMART goal setting in business and while this applies to my career, I am not
interested in applying it to journaling”, while P6 showed high interest in applying goals
and development planning to their practice, saying: “I personally love personal
development apps of any kind”. Given the variety of preferences among the partici-
pants, setting of reminders and goals was optional in our prototype.
Structured Creativity. Regarding structured creativity, 58% of survey respondents.
said that they already used prompts to structure their journaling. Favourite prompts
were questions, quotes and pictures, with the most common sources of prompts being
cited as a participant’s own notes, online searches and books. 42% of the participants
had never used prompts to journal.
Of these, the most common reasons for lack of prompt usage were lack of interest
(44%) or lack of awareness (37%) (Fig. 7). Additionally, some interviewees had said
they found the use of prompts restrictive, P3 stated: “I would find a pre-formatted
journal restrictive but I’m sure other people would like that extra layer”.
In our prototype, we therefore offered practitioners the opportunity to search for
prompts of different forms (visual, audio or video), but did not mandate their use.
External Support. The survey suggested that although most people (74%) had
attended a workshop or programme on reflective learning, not so many (58%) had
received feedback on shared reflections, and 21% of respondents had not shared their
reflections at all. Those who did share reflections, would share them with a friend, a
partner or spouse, a colleague or a teacher/mentor (Fig. 8).
Participants had very different perspectives on their journaling preferences regarding
a potential community with which to share reflections. P5, for example, was nervous of
sharing their reflections, saying: “when I journal, with real unfiltered comments that
could be not politically correct and maybe very exposed”;InP6’s view, however:
Reflective Journaling 151
“Reflective responses as feedback would make a lot more sense because it’s actually
engaging rather than simply saying your point of view is awesome or maybe not that
good”.
In our prototype, we therefore implemented use of an optional closed community,
for people who wanted to share and receive feedback on their reflections, which
enabled practitioners to share or not share any individual reflection.
Progress Monitoring. While the literature suggests that monitoring of progress is
important to maintain practice over time, none of the interviewed reflective practi-
tioners actually applied any sort of progress monitoring or showed interest when
44%
37%
19%
Why don't you use promtps to
journal?
16 responses
I am not interested
I am not aware of the concept
I do not like them 2
6
7
9
10
14
15
19
Coloured pages
Drawings
Journal project
Music
Challenge
Pictures
Quotes
Questions
Which of the below prompts have you
used before? Please check all that apply
22 responses
Fig. 7. Survey responses regarding Structured Creativity
60%
10%
3%
7%
17%
3%
How frequently do you share
your reflections?
29 responses
Randomly Hardly ever
Quarterly Monthly
Weekly Daily 6
1
3
4
4
10
10
13
15
Other
Executive
Mentee
Parent
Sister/ Brother
Colleague
Mentor
Partner/ Spouse
Friend
Who do you share your reflections with?
Please check all that apply
29 responses
Fig. 8. Survey responses regarding External Support
152 A. Rivera et al.
proposed, suggesting that users may be wary of this. It was therefore decided that the
this should only be implemented in the prototype as a background feature that par-
ticipants could access if they wished to.
3.2 Prototype Design and Evaluation
Based on the above, an initial prototype was designed to serve as a mock-up to discuss
the proposed system with users. The prototype was developed with Indigo Studio [20],
a wireframe service that supports interaction design prototyping.
A controlled evaluation was carried out, working closely with two participants (P1
and P6) from the initial user research interviews to evaluate how successful they were
in using the system (Male = 1, Female = 1, Ages 26–35). Participants were chosen by
their availability to test the prototype in an in-person study.
The Indigo platform offered a usability test feature that worked perfectly for the
evaluation purpose. However, any modifications to the prototype would not be updated
live on the usability test and, therefore, this feature was discarded. However, its design
inspired the structure for feedback collection and the tasks were introduced by the
researcher manually, using the Wizard of Oz protocol [29]. This allowed think-aloud
interaction with the prototype to be observed and to guide participants through
emerging interactions. The test included a structured set of activities with each of the
prototype´s main features, allowing consistent forms of data generation and researcher-
participant interactions.
The tasks performed by the two users included: 1) upload a reflection piece, 2)
check a reflective response from a friend, 3) upload a reflective response to a friend, 4)
review activity progress and recommendations, and 5) create a journaling plan with a
set of preferences.
The variables tested were: efficiency, measured as the time it took to complete each
task; effectiveness, measured as the number of participants who completed the task
successfully, struggled with certain steps, or got lost in the task; and satisfaction,
assessed based on the feedback compiled through the think-aloud protocol [51] and
post-experience interviews on the user’s favourite features to evaluate their satisfaction.
Each research-participant session lasted approximately 10 min in total, after which, a
post-study open discussion was carried out. This unstructured talk allowed the users to
express their overall experience and provide us with critical feedback on our design and
further design opportunities.
From these insights, a set of changes were prioritized and applied onto a second,
and third version of the prototype. The final version of the prototype had five sections
(Fig. 7) that linked to each of the components of the theoretical model (Fig. 9, Fig. 10):
1. Journal (Main screen): allowed practitioners to record activities, log reflections, and
reply to others’reflections.
2. My Plan (Adaptive Resilience): allowed users to set journaling goals and create
journaling plans based on a series of preferences, including their main goal,
experience, level of instruction, and activity preference.
3. Activities (Structured Creativity): practitioners were able to search reflection
models, articles and prompts by a series of filters, including goals (creativity,
Reflective Journaling 153
resilience, learning), prompts (visual, audio, video), and themes (work, life, travel).
Additionally, users were able to filter with what level of detail they wished to
receive the exercises: from very detailed to barely.
4. Club (External Support): practitioners were able to add community, read others’
reflective pages and notes, and share their own journals and reflective responses.
5. Stats (Progress Monitoring): allowed users to view their journaling stats and
insights using a series of simple charts and graphs.
1 2 3a
3b 4 5
Fig. 9. Five Main Screens in Prototype of a digital tool to support Reflective Practice through
Journaling.
154 A. Rivera et al.
With the final prototype version, additional interviews were carried out to set future
expectations and design recommendations. Two coaches (Male = 1, Female = 1, Ages
Over 66) were identified from the initial survey pool and recruited to gather feedback
on the prototype and identify design improvements. Both participants signed consent
forms and agreed to be recorded. The first participant was interviewed via phone and
recorded through the laptop using Quick Time Player voice recording, the second was
interviewed via Skype and was recorded using Quick Time Player screen recording.
Similar to the user research interviews, the conversations were recorded and transcribed
for thematic analysis.
These coaches were interviewed with a semi-structured approach for 20 min each,
similarly to the previous interviews. Interviews had three sections: first, about their
experience of using digital tools, helping students build Reflective Practice, the com-
bination of digital and physical platforms, and the relationship between reflection,
creativity and resilience. Second, their thoughts on the application of prompts, prefilled
journals, and evolution tracking in Reflective Practice. Finally, their view on the
developed solution and proposed features, gathering feedback for changes to be applied
if it were to be used within teaching programmes, either within the prototype, as a
follow-up tool, or both.
4 Discussion
4.1 Summary and Integration with Previous Work
In this paper we have summarised a new theoretical model that characterizes important
relationships between Reflective Practice through Journaling and the development of
adaptive resilience and structured creativity. This has been done with the aim of pro-
viding a theoretical basis for future design research on how emerging technologies can
Adaptability Structure
Reflective Practice
through Journaling
External
Support
Adaptive
Resilience
Resilience
Progress
Monitoring
Structured
Creativity
Creativity
142 5 3ab
Fig. 10. Five Main Screens in Prototype within the Theoretical model of Reflective Practice
through Journaling
Reflective Journaling 155
benefit lifelong learning and enable us to respond adaptively and creatively to ongoing
volatility and uncertainty in our environment. Additionally, we have introduced a
prototype digital tool to support this process, designed on the basis of our model and
subsequent user research to serve as a starting point for future design research.
The surveys and interviews carried out as part of our user research confirmed the
current flaws in Reflective Journaling: practitioners have trouble maintaining the
practice for long periods of time, do not usually engage in deep levels of reflection,
have a great aversion towards sharing their reflections, and do not plan, and much less
monitor, their reflections.
The developed model and prototype aim to address these issues: the prototype
provides reflective practitioners with models and structures that should help them
engage in deeper and higher quality reflections, with a variety of sharing options
regarding people, time, and format; with a plan generator to create goals and
achievements; and with automated report analyses to monitor progress (Fig. 10).
4.2 Limitations of the Current Work
The data gathered is not sufficient to prove that a Reflective Journaling digital tool can
help develop resilience and creativity. Efforts made to gather a more diverse sample of
participants for this study met with limited success. Most of the participants belonged
to the researchers’network and therefore had a similar educational background.
The survey results show an indicative perspective of 38 reflective practitioners. For
the results of our research to be more accurate, more participants’perspectives would
be needed to understand the apparently emerging trends better. However, although the
results of our research are not sufficient for statistical purposes, they do offer a good
basis for initial system development. Our prototype incorporated all identified user
requirements and the final product was well-received, suggesting high desirability.
Based on inputs from users who evaluated our prototype, some later stage changes
were noted, to perhaps be included in future versions of our prototype:
•Support the digital tool with a physical notebook with prompts, following P8’s
comment that: “Everybody does reflection both digital and analogue”;
•Integrate computer learning and tracking to scan journal entries for progress
monitoring, following P8’s observation that: “The two main options are creating
content digitally or create your content on paper. So, you scan it or photograph it
and upload it”;
•Sync with other apps, such as Facebook or Meetup, for community simplification,
following P8’s statement that: “the history of sharing platforms is that there will be
popular platforms at any one point in time, but people always use a diversity of
platforms”.
4.3 Future Work
In more general terms, the “soft”skills that were the focus of this study were creativity
and resilience. Further research could further explore the links between reflective
journaling and each of these concepts, as well as considering links with other
156 A. Rivera et al.
characteristics and skills required to thrive in the workplace, such as empathy or
collaboration [18]. Regarding resilience, research could examine the effects of different
levels of reflection, on resilience and professional development. Additionally, it could
explore the diverse points of view on sharing reflections and receiving feedback.
Considering what is shared with others and what is received in exchange will
provide insights to improve depth of reflection. Regarding creativity, research could
analyse the unpopularity of prompts in Reflective Practice. It is crucial to understand if
resistance originates in a specific prompt range or format, or if there is a natural
resistance to using structure in Reflective Journaling. This could be carried out by
examining the effects of different levels of structured reflection, from free writing to
reflective models, on creativity and professional development.
Acknowledgements. We acknowledge reviewers for their valuable feedback that greatly
improved the quality of this paper. Second, we thank all participants who shared their time and
thoughts. Finally, we thank Eric McNulty and Clive Holtham, who offered great help and insight.
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