Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle Questions

Step 1: Description: What happened last week in Writ 2? What activities did we do? (link
to any applicable assignments or documents you created).
Note: Use CANVAS overviews each week to help you describe what happened in class.
● Simply describe what happened.
● Don’t draw any conclusions.
● All you’re trying to do is set the scene and prove some context.

Step 2: Feelings
● Describe the feelings you felt.
● Don’t evaluate those feelings; simply state what they were.

Step 3: Evaluation
● Evaluate the experience.
● Determine what went well and what didn’t go so well.

Step 4: Analysis (Our course readings might give you language to understand what was
going on. You can draw on, reference, and link to readings and materials from other courses
you are taking / have taken or research you are doing or have done). Here you might connect
to and explore previous experiences you’ve had.
● What do you think might have helped / hindered the situation?
● Explore options. Including what academic models or tools might have helped you.

Step 5: Conclusion
● What’s the significance of what happened?
● What will you do differently next time?

Week 1 Reflection:

Last week we worked on how to use ChatGPT I learned about the expectations in the class,

dispositions in the class and how mindfulness can help us. During the class we had a discussion

on what the expectations we thought would be correct to have regarding how we use laptops. We

also learned a little bit about using ChatGPT to help us break down the ladder of abstraction. I

would say that the mindfulness activity was very helpful as well as fun since it was a new

approach to how I can reflect on what I am looking at. In class we chose a painting and then did

a mindfulness activity which involved stepping outside to think about the picture instead of just
sitting down and writing about it. I would say that at first I felt a little weird about using

ChatGPT in class since I had never used it before. I did think however that it was helpful in

terms of simplifying some things that I did not understand. As for my reaction on reading the

“Dispositions Towards Learning” I was very intrigued by the reading since it made me think

more about the things that I was doing daily and how they might affect how much effort I am

putting towards others. Overall, I would say that the activity of reading the dispositions was very

beneficial in terms that I was able to learn a lot about things that I haven’t thought about before. I

was very new to the experience of using ChatGPT since before my teachers in high school would

look down upon using it for school purposes however, I think now I think that it can be a great

resource in terms of explaining some things I might not fully understand. Previously, I have also

done mindfulness activities in high school however, it was more of breathing techniques that

would help with de-stressing. I would say that the mindfulness activity that we did in class was a

new approach. However, I think I will try to focus more on being more in the moment since I did

feel that my mind started to wander around at times.

Week 2 Reflection:

Last week we worked on freewriting and also a group project. During the project we had to write

about the learning dispositions and relate them to what we wrote for the freewriting prompt.

During the freewriting assignment I felt that I was not too sure on what to write at first however,

toward the end of the week I think I started to get the hang of the assignment. I felt a little

nervous when I was doing the group project since I had to work with those around me. I also felt

nervous when we had to do the Padlet and also stumped. I didn’t know what to write about

myself but eventually I was able to write a small bio about myself. I would say that the
experience of working with those around me was good since I got to share ideas and when I was

working together with others I got a better understanding of the dispositions. The reading of the

learning dispositions was very interesting to me since I had not really thought about many of the

dispositions mentioned. I think now I have a better understanding that when I value something

more it will help me to be more successful. When I now do things I will try to think more about

what I am doing. I would say that the free writing assignments went well since I am learning to

write more without the worry of overthinking everything. The learning dispositions which we

had learned about in class was something that was new to me. Before, in other classes that I have

had I had never really thought about any of the dispositions that we had read about in class which

really was a wide opening experience since I started to think back around and how what I am

doing and have done before has related to the learning dispositions. I would also say that the

freewriting assignment was familiar to me. However, I am starting to feel more comfortable

writing without editing too much of what I am writing at the moment since before I would erase

a lot while I would write. Next time I would still try to not edit too much since sometimes I still

get in the habit of erasing things or stopping what I write. I would say that the learning

dispositions group work in class was something that was significant since I got to understand

more what I had read since I had to apply it to what I had read.

Week 3 Reflection:

During the last week we worked on the P.B 1.2. During this week we also worked on reading

“Love for Lonely Writers” Sierra Gordon and then we answered the questions on Padlet. We also

worked on the video watching the video for the library and had to complete the video to get the

certificate. During the freewriting assignment I started to feel a little more used to writing now
without stopping. When I was doing the library module certificate I had felt a little confused and

also I was able to learn more about the resources being offered at the library. When I was

searching for the sources for the P.B assignment I felt very interested and I was seeing all these

sources that would help me connect and think more about what I was wanting to research.

During this research process I was very focused on looking for resources that would help me

with seeing the different resources that were available for students who were English learners. I

was very interested in the moment as I was reading through the sources as well. When I was

doing the question process for the sources, it really made me think about what I was reading and

it helped me focus on the main arguments being made for the reading. I would say the reading of

sources and answering the questions connected to something that I had done before since when I

would read documents and readings for my English classes in the past I would have to answer a

set of questions. However, the papers and articles that I found were very different from the type

of documents that I would read before. In other readings that I had before, the readings wouldn’t

talk too much about research and if they did mention some research it was very brief. I like

reading about the research since it helps me think more about the data and what can be some

follow up questions that could be asked aside from the main point. Regarding the reading by

Sierra Gordon, I really enjoyed reading the short story. It made me think more about how writing

can sometimes be difficult and how it’s so true that many things can influence our writing.

Overall, I would say that for this week I am not so sure on what I would try to do differently next

time.

Week 4 Reflection:

During this week, we have worked on reading and writing about “Writing about Writing

Chap.3,” “Discussing Writing Style and Gender Over Dinner,” and “Cultivating Listening-
Teaching From A Restored Logos.” We also worked on PB 1.3 & PB 1.4. For Problem Builder

1.3 we worked on building a worknet and for Problem Builder 1.4 we worked on summarizing

the conversation that we have listened on based on the articles that we have read about. As I was

working on the worknet and summarizing the conversation I felt a little nervous. However, when

I was reading the different articles that we have been reading in class I felt a little curious and

intrigued. Every time we read something new that we haven’t read before, I am always curious to

know what the next thing will happen, especially when we read papers from the Starting Lines

book. This week's reading from the Starting Lines book was also interesting since the student

wrote about the type of writing styles and gender while choosing a very interesting setting. The

location of the story was set in a restaurant which was very interesting especially since the

authors were interacting with the waiter. The experience overall, of reading the different pieces

of writing was interesting since I got to see the different writing styles there. I would also say

that the other pieces of writing that we read were different since they weren’t stories; however, I

felt interested as I was reading them. As I started my worknet, I was very confused on where to

start and what the correct way that I was supposed to be doing the worknet was. I wasn’t so sure

how to start it so I just started and once I did I could see the connections coming together and

working out. Once I started to see the worknet form, I felt as if I saw the connections more and

the conversation that the researchers were having with each other. Once I got to problem builder

1.4, I still had a little trouble summarizing the conversation overall that the writers were having

since I felt that there was a lot of information in these papers. However, once I started to see the

main connections between the writer’s I was able to summarize it overall. Just using the

connections and building upon what I have already done in the previous weeks for class, the

project started to make more sense to me. In the beginning when we started this project I was a
little confused and not sure what I was going to do however, now that we are nearing the

building of the main project for the conversation, I can now see it come together as a whole. To

conclude, overall I would say that last week was a little stressful in terms of summarizing what I

had found. It was a little challenging for me however, I would say that next time I won’t really

do anything since it was all part of the learning process for me.

Week 5 Reflection:

This week in writing we worked on building a draft for project one and also giving peer

feedback. As I was working on making a draft for my project I was very confused on what type

of platform I would be using to convey the information and conversation that the scholars were

going to have. I decided to go with making a Padlet since I thought that it would work well. As I

was summarizing the scholars ideas I was not so sure how to do it in the beginning. After getting

peer feedback, I now know more of what is expected of me to do. I think that going through the

process of giving feedback was a little difficult since I was not sure what to comment back on

since the projects looked good to me. However, after further rereading what my peers had written

I started to see that maybe there are some things that they could add/remove in order to help

strengthen the conversation that they were going to have. This week, I think that I really got to

see that peer feedback is not so bad. Before, I wouldn’t really think much of the feedback that

was given to me because the person would usually just say it sounds good and constructive

feedback was not really given. I also used to feel bad when I would receive something that says

that my paper wasn’t good enough because I felt as though I didn’t do a good job. Even now

when I was looking at my feedback I was a little disappointed that people didn’t think my draft

was as good as I thought since only negative things were pointed out. However, after looking at
the feedback and seeing what I can improve on I see that that is true. My peers pointed out things

that I now see are some things that could be improved. Overall, I would say that I really enjoyed

working on my draft and seeing what my peers think since it helps me analyze what I need to

change.

Week 6 Reflection:

During this week we worked on making our Wikipedia account and doing the training and

exercises for the website. This week we also started looking for articles and did a quick check in

during class of some of the things that we were confused about regarding Wikipedia. During the

time that we were in class doing the Wikipedia project I was a bit confused on where exactly we

were getting our topic. However, after hearing more about the discussions in class I realized that

it was just a continuation of project 1. I think that last week my whole mood was just confusion

since everything from what we were doing in class to what we were doing in Wikipedia was all

just very confusing to me. I still feel confused as to how the project will turn out since I am not

sure of how to navigate the whole Wikipedia website even after having done the training. I am

also having trouble looking for articles where I can contribute. I would say that as I did the

training it didn’t even occur to me that the tools on Wikipedia were all for different uses.

Growing up, when I was in school I was taught to not really use Wikipedia because anyone can

just edit them so I don’t really know how to use the website. However, after going through the

training I realized that yes anyone edits the page however, it’s not as unreliable as I had

previously thought. I think that I will move on to reach out to Dr.Warwick since I think I need

some more explanation of the project. This week in class I realized that I need to learn when to
reach out when I know that I am having trouble. Going forward, I will try to ask questions in

order to get clarification on what I don’t understand.

Week 7 Reflection:

This week I felt it was a little challenging because we started using Wikipedia. I still don’t really

understand how to fully use Wikipedia even with all the training we have. However, I know how

to use some of the basics. I would say that it was difficult at first adjusting how to use Wikipedia

and I also did not really understand what the point of the project was. However, the more that I

am working on the project I am able to see the vision come to life. This week I started and

finished working on my bibliography and it wasn’t that hard since the sources were already there

for me from the last project. I would also say that it was a little scary using Wikipedia because I

don’t want to accidentally plagiarize. One of the things that I am still confused about is how to

engage with other people on Wikipedia and I am also not sure if we are supposed to ask before

we add something to them?

Week 8 reflection:

This week I felt a bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of things that I needed to get done for my

other classes and I am also feeling as though the Wikipedia project is just taking too much time. I

am scared that what I will contribute to Wikipedia won’t make any sense. Although I understand

what the purpose of the Wikipedia project is, I am not sure how I will end up doing it for the

female project. That is what worries me since I don’t know what my final project will look like.

Although I do think that the EliReview will help guide me in the right direction for the

Wikipedia project since last time I found it helpful for Project 1. This week we are working on
drafting for the Wikipedia project and this is kind of confusing for me since I don’t really know

what I will contribute specifically yet. I have a rough draft planned out and I will try to revise it

and upload it to EliReview so that I am able to get some feedback. I think that something that

might’ve been helpful for me to do is to ask more questions to Dr.Warwick. Next time, I will try

to do things more differently so that it will be easier.

Week 9 Reflection:

Last week we worked on our contributions for Wikipedia and we also worked on giving peer

feedback to our classmates’. In this class we also worked on the Wikipedia training and we also

did a mindfulness activity which consisted of writing how we feel. One other thing that we

worked on was reading the reflective writing in the starting line from a past student in Writing 2.

We also went to the DuBois event in which we were able to see the recipients for the Yolanda

Garcia Award as well with the distribution of another scholarship. In this event we were also able

to talk to some of the graduate students after the awards. During this week of class, I felt very

worried since I did not know what my contribution would look like. During the mindfulness

activity I was able to be more conscious of how I was feeling and it made me realize how

stressed I was. However, the activity helped me calm down as well since I was able to regulate

my emotions by focusing on where I was stressed. In the time that we were at the DuBois event,

I felt very happy seeing the recipients since they all had done something to help their community.

I would say what didn’t go well was that I did not know how to make my contribution and I was

very confused on how to start it or where I could add information. I think that maybe talking and

asking how I can contribute my information to Wikipedia would have been helpful. However, I
think that the training was very helpful and I was able to figure out how I can add my

contributions to Wikipedia.

Week 10:

This week, I have been really busy working on my reflection and wikipedia project. I am also

working on my portfolio as well which I plan to turn in for the final. I am feeling very nervous

about the work that I have to do and I am also feeling overwhelmed by it. I think that I have been

all over the place, especially since finals have been just around the corner and I am not sure how

I will do. I am hoping to do really well. The Wikipedia project has been something that I have

really enjoyed doing and I am very glad to be wrapping up this class and to have been able to

learn so much about writing and also all the writing that I have created. This week, I tried to get

everything done for writing, however, I have not been able to due to everything else that I have

to do for my other classes. One of the things that I am really grateful for is having to learn that

freewriting is another way in which I am able to write what I feel like in the moment without

feeling judged. I think that I will definitely try to incorporate the use of freewriting into my daily

life. This week, I worked on incorporating the use of the peer feedback that I got on EliReview

from my peers. However, I was slightly disappointed since I was not able to get as much helpful

feedback that I was hoping for. I do think that the feedback that I got from Dr. Warwick was very

helpful since I did realize that the changes did need to be made and so I decided to go back into

my project and start editing some more things. Overall, I am very glad that I am in the process of

getting all of my projects turned in on time.