Ready for Spring? 5 Reflection Questions for Winter Break

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Hello Edu Magicians, welcome to
the Edu Magic podcast with your

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host, Doctor Sam Fessich.
Doctor Sam is a professor of

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education, author of Edu Magic,
and a Pumpkin Spice Latte fan.

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This podcast is designed for pre
service teachers.

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Remember friends, teaching
doesn't begin at graduation, but

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during that first class at 8:00
AM.

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Let's get this party started.
This podcast is a crowd member

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of Teach Better Podcast Network,
Better Today, Better Tomorrow

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and the podcast to get you
there.

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Explore more podcasts at
www.teachbetterpodcastnetwork.com.

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Now let's get on to the episode.
Hello there, Edge Magicians, and

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welcome back to another episode
of the Edgy Magic Podcast.

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My name is Doctor Sandthesic,
and today we're going to talk

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about the fall semester is over.
We're going in the spring.

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What do I do during winter
break?

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There's so many things that you
can do to be thinking about and

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getting ready for the spring
semester now that your fall

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semester has ended.
And if you're a first semester

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student, there's a lot of
reflection that can be done

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during this time so you can hit
the ground running during your

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spring semester.
So let's talk about some

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important ways to wrap up the
fall semester and head into

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winter because we are ready to
go for spring.

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First and foremost, it's really
important to reflect.

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Reflection isn't just for you as
a future teacher.

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It's also for you as a college
student, taking the time to

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pause and think about what study
strategies worked for you, what

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places you like to study with,
who you enjoy spending your time

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with, and what you can do
differently can set you up for a

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really amazing spring semester.
So I recommend going your

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favorite coffee shop.
Or maybe you're like me, you

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want to be on the couch to the
cuppa hot cocoa, That's cool

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too.
And dive into some of these

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reflection questions.
You can head off to the show

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notes to find a printable for
your own.

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Let's talk about some of these
reflection questions.

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What are some things you are
most proud of this semester

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besides your grades?
Remember, grades don't tell the

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full story.
They tell a snapshot in time

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about how you did in a single
course.

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Yes, those grades add up to your
GPA, but they do not define you

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and they are not the entire
story of what happened this

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semester.
So maybe you had a really rough

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start to the fall semester and
your grades reflected that.

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Please do not stress about it.
Know that you can continue to do

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better in the spring by taking
some time to reflect, you can

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really hit the ground running.
So what are some things you're

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proud of during this semester?
Did you join a new club?

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Did you take on a leadership
role in an educational

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organization?
Maybe you presented at a

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conference.
Shout out to the students you

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presented at KSLA this semester.
Maybe you made some new friends,

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or have a new friend group, or
changed friend groups.

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Maybe you were able to learn
something new, a new skill.

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Did you pick up a new job, an
internship or a tutoring job?

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So many different things beyond
grades that you can be proud of.

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So go ahead and jot down a few
of your proudest memories,

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proudest accomplishments that
you had this semester.

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Next, what strategies are you
going to carry into the spring

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semester?
What worked really well for you?

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Are you the type of person that
likes to have everything planned

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out on your Google Calendar or
Outlook calendar?

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Do you use Microsoft to do to
check off all those little tasks

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and really make a big task and
drill it down into multiple

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areas that you can complete?
Maybe you'd like 1 though, and

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you'd like to check off things
there too and have a table

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that's organized with all of
your classes and

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extracurriculars.
Or maybe you'd like to have a

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planner and put everything in
there.

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So what worked well?
Do you like the digitally plan?

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Do you like the paper pencil
plan?

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Did study groups work well for
you or did you find that you did

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better with individual study
time in a quiet space?

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Did you find a nice space to
study?

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Did you check out the library or
individual study rooms?

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Or maybe you are a big fan of
coffee shops?

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What worked well for you?
What strategies helped you

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succeed regarding self-care and
maintaining a healthy work slash

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student life balance?
Did you work out?

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Did you eat healthy?
Did you go for a walk after

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class?
Did you review your notes?

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Did you stay on top of your
assignment?

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So think about what helps you
succeed and how you're going to

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bring them into that spring
semester.

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Everybody has challenges that
they're overcoming, so where's

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marriage that you struggled
with?

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What are some resources on
campus that can help support you

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next semester?
Maybe you really struggled with

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mental health.
Go look on campus to find mental

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health resources, counselors,
and support.

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Maybe you were struggling with
time management and go to one of

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the career counselors on campus.
Maybe you were struggling with

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keeping up with all the work in
and out of class.

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Again, go find someone on campus
that can help support you and

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maybe an academic success center
could be helpful or attending

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tutoring sessions.
So go look for tutoring sessions

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available in topics that you're
looking at.

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You're looking at your schedule
for next semester.

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I'm going to need some help in
that stats class.

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Go and look for tutoring
sessions day one for that stats

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class.
Maybe you can even visit

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professor office hours.
Guess what, these office hours

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are not just to talk about how
you're doing in class or an

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assignment, but these are that.
These are here to help you

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getting to know their professor
or seeing how they're doing,

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seeing how you're doing in a
class.

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What are some extra resources
you can explore?

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Are there campus workshops
available at the beginning of

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the semester that can help you
in tasks like time management

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and planning?
Go ahead and check them out.

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Are there different
organizations that can support

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you as a resource for next
semester?

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Our 4th question is how did you
contribute to campus community?

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Do you want to get more
involved?

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Do you feel like you're taking
on too much?

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So really reflect?
Were you able to dive into a

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specific campus community group
or organization?

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Did you give it your all or did
you feel like you weren't able

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to give everything because
you're you really spread

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yourself them.
So really think about the events

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you attended, the events you
volunteered at, maybe presented

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or attended a professional in
development.

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Really think about which
organizations are helping you

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and which ones are spreading
you.

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To think you want to engage with
the campus community because you

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never know where that can lead.
That can lead to leadership

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opportunities, networking, and
maybe even a job.

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So make sure you don't spread
yourself too thin when you're

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exploring lots of different
organizations and groups on

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campus.
Pick a few that fit you and your

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schedule and your passion areas.
Our last reflection question is,

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what is one goal that you want
to do this semester?

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Is it an academic goal?
Is it a social goal?

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Is it a personal goal?
Make it something that is

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achievable and reasonable and
time bound and something you can

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track throughout your spring
semester.

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Maybe you want to go to the gym
three times a week.

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Maybe that's a personal goal of
yours.

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Maybe you want to turn in all of
your assignments.

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That's an academic goal of
yours.

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So I think about how can you
track that?

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How can you monitor your
progress?

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Maybe for the social goal, you
want to engage in a campus

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organization at least once a
month.

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Track that you can make it
exciting, make it achievable.

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Create something really fun on
Canva to track that skill.

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Speaking of an involvement, just
like we're going to get involved

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in campus, right?
Winter break is the perfect time

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to explore those opportunities.
Check out your university's

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website for clubs and
organizations, service projects

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and get involved to make those
connections and to network and

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build those leadership skills.
Take some time to reflect.

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Write down your responses.
It doesn't have to be

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paragraphs, it can just be
bullet points.

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Share them, post about them.
I would love to see what you're

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doing this spring semester from
what you learned about yourself

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in the fall.
Remember, when you're looking at

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those grades that come out, it's
just one piece of the puzzle.

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You are so much more than that
grade or that percentage.

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You are an amazing educator.
You're an educator of

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excellence.
Let's keep that going in the

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spring semester.
You have the edgy magic within

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you.
Bye for now.

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And there you have it, Edu
Magicians.

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If you enjoyed this episode,
please subscribe and share it

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with your friends.
For more Edu Magic, check out S

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fessage.com and follow Doctor
Sam on Twitter and Instagram at

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S fessage.
Until next time you have the Edu

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Magic within you.