TABLE 2.

Proposed scaffolds for engaging in reflective practices^a

Step	Description	Example
What is the situation?	The practitioner describes only the situational context and the facts of what occurred of what was said; feelings are described in the next step.	I teach a general chemistry course. Yesterday, after an out-of-class review session before the midterm, a student came up to me. Everyone else had left the room, and it was just the two of us. She asked me what an intermolecular force (IMF) was, which is a subject covered in the first month of the course. I asked her which force she was talking about—London dispersion, dipole-dipole, or H-bonds—to which she replied that she didn't know what any of those were. I told her that she should already know this or have come to me earlier than two days before the test. Her eyes became wide, and she was very quiet while I explained what IMFs are and the different types. She then left without saying anything else. This morning, she did not come to class, which was the final review before the midterm on Friday.
How did you feel?	The practitioner responds and gives their interpretation of the situation, with a particular focus on their own thoughts and feelings as well as those of others involved in the situation.	Right before my interaction with this student, I was actually pretty happy. The review session had gone well. When the question was asked, I was initially confused, because I didn't understand how she didn't address foundational topic before. I was a little bit shocked when she said that she had no idea what IMFs were in general. I think my blurted-out statement probably made her feel embarrassed or like she was going to fail the upcoming test. At the time, I was not concerned with what I said, as I was mainly worried about her possibly failing the course, and I also was frustrated with her for not seeking help before it was too late. After seeing that she chose not to come to class today, I am really worried that I may have discouraged her from the subject altogether. I hope she isn't going to drop the class. If she does, I feel like it would be partially my fault.
Has something similar happened before?	The experience that is being reflected upon is related to any prior knowledge or previous experiences of the practitioner. It should be noted that relating a specific experience to a previous situation is not always possible; in such an instance, this step can be skipped.	Weirdly, this is similar as to when I was working with a postdoc I hired a few years ago. He was international and had missed a deadline for filing for their visa, and when he approached me to get help with this problem, the first words out of my mouth were “How could you miss the deadline?” It was a similar situation, in that I spoke without thinking, and my concern for the other person involved in the conversation took over my thought processes to the detriment of my brain-to-mouth filter. This then resulted in me giving a response which was completely unhelpful and only served to increase another person’s anxiety or feelings of “I messed up.” However, with the post doc, I was speaking to an adult aged 28 who had just seriously jeopardized their job. Additionally, while I was his boss, we were close to being peers in both age and experience level. This is a direct contrast to the student who was either 18 or 19 and may not have even wanted to pursue STEM. She was also my student which forces an unfortunate power dynamic into the situation. I think the common factor between these two situations is that when my brain goes into “panic mode” I say whatever is on my mind, and even I myself do not always agree with those initial, panicky thoughts. I have the knowledge about how to correct this, but I need to work on making “think before you speak” a habit when I become frazzled rather than just a habit during more normal conversations.
Why were the outcomes as described?	The situation is then evaluated; the practitioner makes sense of the experience by 1) exploring why certain aspects went well while others did not, 2) considering whether they had the adequate knowledge and skills to handle the situation, and 3) considering what someone who has experience with this type of situation would have done.	When speaking with my student, it was good that she approached me to get help, and I explained the concept well. However, I made her, most likely, feel insecure and judged by my comment. Her not coming to the review the following day was likely due to my actions. I know my mentors from both undergrad and grad school would have first explained the concepts and then patiently asked their student if they were all right and if there were any extenuating circumstances that they needed an extension for. They would have approached with understanding rather than disbelief. I have the skills necessary to do the same thing, but apparently not the impulse control. As I think about it, I may have discouraged my student from the subject completely. Our department sees too few female applicants, and I hate to lose those that do choose to come here, especially due to my dumb, thoughtless comment.
What will you do going forward?	The practitioner concludes by articulating what was learned with an emphasis on how to react to similar situations in the future. Based on this analysis, a plan is created to guide future steps toward achieving change.	I have a problem with blurting out my initial thoughts when I am surprised. I need to learn how to delay my reactions to unexpected situations. As a next step, I will become more mindful of thinking before speaking in all conversations to hopefully force that action to be an ingrained habit. In the future, I will be open to people coming to me with any level of question and will specifically phrase my words to not imply a negative judgment. Something I read about in a journal was the need for more formative feedback for teachers. I may have students give anonymous questions or comments partway through the semester, rather than just the end of course evaluations, to try and catch gaps in understanding like what occurred with this student.

^aAn expanded version is provided in Section 3.6 of the Supplemental Material.