Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity In Twelve Weeks

As the second half of your first semester begins, this week is a chance for you to stop and reflect on how you have been adjusting to College so far.
There are lots of new and different challenges in College, and it's important to take time and examine how well you have been meeting them, as well as to find out where and how to get support with any of the areas you are finding more difficult - whether academic, personal or social.

This week we will cover:

Reflective Practice
Academic Adjustment
Personal Adjustment
Social Adjustment
Advice & Supports

What's On See this week's event calendar

Reflective Practice

What Is It?

Reflective practice is, in simple terms, critically reflecting on your experiences, what you learned, and what you would do differently next time. This focus on what you learned and what you would do differently is what differentiates reflective practice from general thinking about an experience.

This week's Checkpoint theme is to encourage you to critically reflect on your first six weeks in College, and how well you have been managing your academic, personal, and social adjustment.

Why Should You Do It?

Reflective practice will help you to get more out of your learning throughout your time in College (and afterwards in your career). It helps you to play an active role in your education, rather than just passively absorbing information.

You will also almost certainly be assigned at least one reflective journal as an assessment for a module during your time at Trinity, and already being familiar with the concept of reflective practice and methods will help you to do well on that!

How To Do It

There are a number of different methods you can use (some more structured than others), and there is plenty of literature on reflective practice if you are interested in exploring. One model you may find useful is Gibb's Reflective Cycle, illustrated and further outlined below:

Description	What happened?	Describe the event you are reflecting on in detail. Ask yourself: where were you; who else was there; what were you doing; why were you there; what were other people doing; what happened; what was the result?
Feelings	What were you thinking and feeling?	Try to remember what you were thinking and how you were feeling when the event started and as it progressed, and consider how you feel about the outcome. Ask yourself: what do you think about the event now; did your thoughts and feelings change over time; how did other people make you feel; did any of your thoughts or feelings surprise you?
Evaluation	What was good and bad about the experience?	Try to evaluate what happened. Ask yourself: what was good and what was bad about the experience; what did or did not go well?
Analysis	What sense can you make of the situation?	Ask yourself more detailed questions about the good and the bad of the experience. Break the event down into its component parts so they can be explored separately. For example, when considering what went well, ask yourself: what did you do well; what did others do well; how were your expectations challenged? When thinking about what went wrong, make sure to consider how you or others contributed to this, and whether anything surprised you.
Conclusion	What else could you have done?	Ask yourself what you could have done differently. This is one of the key learning stages of reflective practice, and requires you to have been as honest and as detailed whilst completing the previous stages as possible. Considering what you could have done differently should also give you more insight into your own and other people's behaviour and how they contributed to the outcome of the event.
Action plan	If the situation arose again, what would you do?	Think yourself forward into encountering the event again and plan what you would do. Ask yourself: if you would act differently; how you would act differently; when you would do the same thing?

Description

What happened?

Describe the event you are reflecting on in detail.
Ask yourself: where were you; who else was there; what were you doing; why were you there; what were other people doing; what happened; what was the result?

Feelings

What were you thinking and feeling?

Try to remember what you were thinking and how you were feeling when the event started and as it progressed, and consider how you feel about the outcome.
Ask yourself: what do you think about the event now; did your thoughts and feelings change over time; how did other people make you feel; did any of your thoughts or feelings surprise you?

Evaluation

What was good and bad about the experience?

Try to evaluate what happened.
Ask yourself: what was good and what was bad about the experience; what did or did not go well?

Analysis

What sense can you make of the situation?

Ask yourself more detailed questions about the good and the bad of the experience.
Break the event down into its component parts so they can be explored separately. For example, when considering what went well, ask yourself: what did you do well; what did others do well; how were your expectations challenged? When thinking about what went wrong, make sure to consider how you or others contributed to this, and whether anything surprised you.

Conclusion

What else could you have done?

Ask yourself what you could have done differently.
This is one of the key learning stages of reflective practice, and requires you to have been as honest and as detailed whilst completing the previous stages as possible. Considering what you could have done differently should also give you more insight into your own and other people's behaviour and how they contributed to the outcome of the event.

Action plan

If the situation arose again, what would you do?

Think yourself forward into encountering the event again and plan what you would do.
Ask yourself: if you would act differently; how you would act differently; when you would do the same thing?

Reflective Template

Academic Adjustment

Reflective prompts:

Is Your Course Right For You?

It is difficult to know whether or not a course is right for you before starting College, and, consequently, many students find that their course is not what they expected when they begin their studies. This can be a very difficult realisation - particularly when you have worked so hard to get there - and you may feel responsible for the expectations of family members or teachers as well.

Consider whether you agree with the following statements related to your course:

The course is very different to what I expected
The material we are covering does not seem relevant
I am concerned about what I will do when I finish the course
I often think about changing course
My friends are studying courses that sound more interesting to me

If you find that you strongly agree with most of these statements, it may be that your course is not right for you. If you feel that it may be a wrong fit, you should speak to your Tutor and the Careers Service about your concerns, and they will advise you on what options are available to you.

Reflective Practice Think of a time you struggled with your course and complete the reflective template.

How Are You Managing Independent Learning?

By now, you will have realised that your workload in College is yours to manage, regardless of your course. This can be a difficult adjustment to make, and the time management, note-taking, and writing strategies covered in Week 4 on Study Skills can help with that.

Think about if you agree with the following statements about your studies:

I find learning in College challenging
I am falling behind in my classes
I don't know how to find books and information in the Library
I don't know what kind of sources and information I should be using for my assignments
The pace of learning is challenging
I struggle to complete my assignments and readings on time

If you find you strongly agree with most of these statements, you may be having difficulty adjusting to independent learning and managing your workload. Happily, there are lots of ways you can learn these skills!

Improved organisation and time management are the first steps. You can find out more about developing these skills on our Study Skills page.

If you are struggling with finding appropriate sources, books, and information, you should talk to your Subject Librarian and look at the Library support page for further assistance.

You should also look at Student Learning Development's workshop schedule. Workshop content is based on proven strategies to hekp students improve their performance in their studies. Topics covered include: reading, writing, and thinking critically; applying generative AI; prcrastination and concentration; and science writing and reports.

If you feel you need more specific support, you can book a one-to-one session with Student Learning Development to help you refine particular skills and organise and complete your workload.

Reflective Practice Think of a difficult academic experience from your semester so far and complete the reflective template.

Find Out More About College Supports

Personal Adjustment

Health

It is important to look after your health (both physical and mental) while you are studying. However, particularly if you are finding College hard, focus on supporting your wellbeing can be one of the first things you let go of. Meeting the challenges you find in College will be easier if you look after your health.

Think about if you agree with the following statements about your health:

I rarely get a good night's sleep
I worry about my general health
I find that I feel anxious frequently
I have no energy and am tired all the time
I do not feel I look after my health
I do not eat a healthy diet
I do not exercise

If you find that you strongly agree with most of these statements, you may need to do more to look after your health.

If you feel your physical health has been neglected, Week 5 will give you lots of ways to look after your body and eat well.

Taking regular exercise also helps to boost your mental health, so try to get involved in a Sports Club, go to the gym in the Sports Centre, or just get out for a walk every day.

If you think you need to see a GP about your physical health you can make an appointment with the College Health Centre.

If your concern is about your mental health, and feelings of anxiety, low mood, and low energy, there are a range of services on campus to help you - formally and informally - depending on who you are most comfortable speaking to:

Reflective Template Think of a difficult personal experience from your semester and complete the reflective template.

Finance

Managing your money, and making sure you have enough, can be stressful for anyone.

Think about if you agree with the following statements about your finances:

I never seem to have enough money
I worry about money frequently
I have difficulty managing money
I am worried I do not have enough money to survive
Money is a major issue for me

If you find you strongly agree with most of these statements, you may be having difficulty managing your finances. We're going to talk more about Managing Your Money in Week 9, but the first thing to do is to make a budget. Keep note of all of your monthly expenses (rent, bills, phone, insurance) and track all other money you spend (on a spreadsheet, or in an app) to find out how much money you need to support yourself. You may need a part-time job to help with this, but it is recommended that you do not work more than 15 hours a week to avoid it interfering with your study.

If you are in financial need, you should talk to the SU Welfare Officer or the Senior Tutor's Office, which manages the Student Assistance Fund. As in all cases, if you are struggling financially, you can also talk to your Tutor.

Reflective Template Think of a time you struggled with money this semester and complete the reflective template.

Find Out More About College Supports

Social Adjustment

Engagement

It is important not just to engage with the academic material of your course, but also with wider College activities. For the years that you study here (and beyond), you are a part of the Trinity community and what you get from your College experience will often depend on what you put in.

Think about if you agree with the following statements:

I haven't made any friends in College
I'm finding it difficult to settle in to College
I haven't joined any societies or clubs
I find myself a bit out of place
I don't feel I've engaged well in College

If you find you strongly agree with most of the statements, you may not be engaging with College life as well as you could be. There are plenty of ways to get involved, for all personality-types - from clubs & societies, to volunteer work and more. If you're not sure where to start, have a look at the page for Week 3, and maybe have a coffee with your S2S mentor to ask for their advice about the best events to attend and societies to join.

Reflective Template Think of a time you found engaging in College life or socialising difficult and complete the reflective template.

Tinity Societies Hub