About this KNoT
Throughout the SoCIETIE curriculum you make choices about projects, partnerships, opportunities and learning experiences. But what shapes those choices? Why do different people move through the same program in such different ways?
This workshop introduces reflexivity as a practical learning tool. Moving beyond reflection on what happened, reflexivity helps us examine how our assumptions, values, experiences and contexts shape what we notice, how we interpret situations and what possibilities we see. The concept builds on reflection by encouraging us to examine our own beliefs, judgments and taken-for-granted assumptions rather than focusing only on events and outcomes.
Using your own SoCIETIE journey as a starting point, you'll explore how personal lenses and contextual influences have shaped your choices, opportunities and learning. Through interactive activities, guided conversation and future-focused planning, you'll develop practical approaches for learning more intentionally from experience and applying those insights to future social change practice.
Preparation
Please read the short overview of reflexivity before attending:
University of Warwick: Reflexivity
Reflexivity involves examining our own beliefs, judgments and practices, and considering how they influence how we understand and respond to situations. It goes beyond reflection by asking us to examine the person making the judgment, rather than only the judgment itself.
Reading: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ces/research/current/socialtheory/maps/reflexivity/
As you read, consider:
- What is the difference between reflection and reflexivity?
- What assumptions or perspectives might shape how you approach learning?
- How might different people experience the same situation differently?
What You’ll Learn
In this workshop, students will explore reflexivity as a tool for learning, collaboration and social change practice.
Through a series of interactive activities, students will:
- Explore how assumptions, values, experiences and identities influence the questions they ask and the choices they make.
- Map their SoCIETIE journey and identify significant choice points, opportunities and influences.
- Examine how personal lenses and contextual factors interact to shape what feels possible, visible or desirable.
- Practise reflexive dialogue by helping others explore experiences from multiple perspectives.
- Identify future experiments, questions and practices that can support ongoing learning.
How to Complete This KNoT
Complete a Reflexive Learning Reflection using one significant decision, opportunity or turning point from your SoCIETIE journey.
You may choose one of the following formats:
- Written reflection (approximately 500 words)
- Video reflection (up to 5 minutes)
- Audio reflection (up to 5 minutes)
- Creative reflexive artefact with a short commentary
Your reflection should explore:
- What happened?
- What was shaping how you experienced and interpreted the situation?
- What was shaping the situation around you?
- How these influences interacted.
- What you understand differently now.
- What question, experiment or action you will carry forward into future learning or practice.
The goal is not simply to describe an experience, but to explore how personal lenses and contextual influences shaped that experience and what you can learn from it moving forward.
Submit your completion task via the Qualtrics survey within 10 calendar days of attending the KNoT.
Submit your Completion Task here:
Submit your completion task for this KNoT via the Qualtrics survey (ANU Login required). You have 10 calendar days after the KNoT to submit it.
Writing your reflection
Most completion tasks ask you to reflect on what you did. For prompts, sentence starters, and the five areas a strong reflection covers, see Writing Your Reflection. Your completed tasks come together at the end of the semester in the Completion Evidence.