Self-Awareness in Practice

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SELF-AWARENESS IN PRACTICE

The following are general examples of how teachers have provided instruction, guided practice, and independent practice.

Instruction

Define self-awareness for your students.

Example: “Self-awareness is the capacity to be the object of your own attention and recognize your own feelings, what you do, your thoughts, and special personality traits. It’s more than just being conscious of your body and thoughts. Being self-aware is like you have stepped outside your body and can observe yourself as others do.”

Explain self-awareness’ importance to students.

Example: “Self-awareness is like a thermometer. It helps you judge ‘how much’ or ‘how little’ you are, you have done, or you feel. For example, are you cautious or a risk-taker? Would others say that, too? If there is a homework assignment due Friday, when you are self-aware you can gauge how much you have accomplished and how much is left to do. You then could set a goal of working two hours on Wednesday and Thursday and plan your time accordingly.”

Introduce the essential components of self-awareness (i.e., be open to new experiences, engage in self-examination and reflect) and provide examples of the components related to the students’ context.

Example: “Trying new things is basically being a scientist testing things. Do you like this? Or not? Think of how you feel when you do something new and afterward, too. Sometimes you won’t want to try something. Go ahead and do it as a way of exploring yourself. Also, what are some good questions you can ask yourself? Questions encourage us to think about what is happening in our lives. What are things you might observe about yourself? Observations also help us recognize things about ourselves.”

Develop an activity or materials that get your students thinking about self-regulation and the essential components.

Example: Have students write about themselves in the eyes of a friend, a relative, a teacher, or other person. Another activity is to have them pick one of the following quotes and discuss it or write about it:

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” (C.G. Jung)
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” (Carl R. Rogers)
“As you become more clear about whom you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you – the first time around.” (Oprah Winfrey)

Guided Practice

Provide opportunities for students to practice.

Example: Have students take self-assessments (e.g., Educationplanner.org, Interest Assessment, Skills Profiler, and Interest Profiler). Or employ Exit Tickets that require each student to answer two questions each day when they leave class. After two weeks, return each student’s answers to share with others in a group setting. Another option is to have students participate in the “Describe Me” exercise. They also might do a time inventory study of their average day. For example, if 24 hours is a pie chart, how big is the slice for school, work, being with friends, doing chores, watching television, homework, sleeping, etc. Ask them if they are satisfied with the size of the slices and what would be the ideal pie slice sizes.

Provide feedback and support to students as they practice.

Example: Ask them questions about their self-observations.

Guide students through reflection on and application of self-awareness.

Independent Practice

Support students as they personalize application of self-awareness.

Example: If using journals, set aside time for students to identify their feelings. Encourage them to describe their observations, reflect on them, and theorize what they could change. Also give them time to regularly review past entries to reinforce self-awareness, look for patterns, and observe progress.