Reimagining the Diary: reflective practice as a positive tool for teacher wellbeing
Are you a teacher or teaching professional? Have you ever wanted to keep a diary but never found the time? Are you interested in moving beyond the traditional diary format and using reflective practice to improve your own wellbeing?
If so, the ‘Reimagining the Diary’ project at the University of Bristol would very much like to hear from you. This exciting research project (which has received funding from ESRC IAA and Brigstow) is in its fourth stage and is currently running at the University of Bristol, led by academics in the School of Education and Law, our creative partners Stand+Stare, and with support from Teacher5aday and the Bupa Foundation.
The previous stage of this project, run in collaboration with Teacher5aday, has received fantastic feedback. One participant said: ‘I have to thank @drlucykelly and @martynreah for the absolute gift that is [the Diary Toolkit]. If you get a chance to be involved in this in the future, do not hesitate. It’s an absolute life raft and place of sanctuary for me right now’ (RtD/Teacher5aday pilot, 2020).
70 participants will be provided with a physical version of our ‘Diary Toolkit’ for the first 2-3 weeks, and then a PDF version (created using research from the previous phases of the project, and sponsored by the Bupa Foundation) to use between January and March 2021. Having made a Teacher5aday wellbeing pledge, the activities within the ‘Diary Toolkit’ will be used to track their wellbeing journey across the two terms.
Why a ‘Toolkit’?
The ‘Toolkit’ reimagines, and reclaims, the loaded term ‘diary’ (Kelly et al, 2020) for twenty-first-century teachers. The ‘Toolkit’ moves beyond the traditional written diary format, reimagining it into a multi-modal, playful and creative space where participants are encouraged to try out a range of reflective activities to record their thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams, including: story-boarding, audio recording, free-writing, doodling and affirmation-writing.
The activities in this ‘Toolkit’ are designed to span a week, with the intention that you repeat the same format for a month or more. After working with all the activities for a month, you can choose which ones to pick to make your very own customised ‘Toolkit’.
The ‘Toolkit’ has three stages: transition, main activity, and reflection. All three stages will need to be completed each day and should take you no longer than 30 minutes in total. You can decide when you complete your daily reflection and, if you don’t have access to a printer, you can just use plain/lined paper.
Research and CPD support
This ‘Diary Toolkit’ is for your own use and will not be shared with the research team – although you may wish to share an entry as part of the online exhibition at the end of the project, which will celebrate our collective wellbeing journey. At the end of the pilot project, you will be asked to reflect anonymously on the process of keeping the ‘Diary Toolkit’ and the perceived impact it had on your wellbeing via an online questionnaire (taking 20-30 minutes to complete). The feedback from this questionnaire – as well as mini wellbeing check-in questionnaires (1 per month and no more than 5 questions) will be used to inform future research, commercialisation and teaching.
In addition to using the ‘Toolkit’, we will keep in touch with the group of participants during the pilot (i.e. between January and March) via Zoom. The first will be at the start of January (date to be confirmed) to celebrate the launch of the project. These sessions will offer bespoke wellbeing CPD, drawing on the expertise of Bupa and the Teacher5aday steering group. Indeed, Bupa Foundation are offering their fantastic ‘Wellbeing for Educators’ programme as part of this CPD element – watch this space! Indeed, we hope this approach will allow for a more bespoke level of ongoing support aimed at improving wellbeing in a measurable way.
How to get involved
If you are interested in participating, please complete the initial application form, which can be accessed here:
We only have 70 physical ‘Toolkits’, so we’re offering this on a first-come-first-served basis, with a reservation list. Participation is completely voluntary, and you can withdraw at any time. You can also request that your contribution is not named if you wish. Further information about the project will be given once we have our group of participants.
You can also find out more about the project here:
So we’re now into the final month of this collaboration and what a journey it’s been! I have learnt so much and it’s definitely helped my own wellbeing. The feedback has been wonderful. One participant said: ‘I have to thank @drlucykelly and @martynreah for the absolute gift that is [the Diary Toolkit]. If you get a chance to be involved in this in the future, do not hesitate. It’s an absolute life raft and place of sanctuary for me right now’ (RtD/Teacher5aday pilot, 2020).
During this phase we’ve worked with around 65 teachers from across the country, with different levels of experience and from different backgrounds. Each participant was provided with a PDF of the Diary Toolkit and, for the first month, repeated the same 7 activities in our ‘blanket’ Toolkit. This gave the participants the opportunity to get to know the Toolkit and to think about those activities they liked, as well as those they didn’t. The Transition and Reflection stages were also part of the Toolkit.
After the participants had used this ‘blanket’ version, I then asked them to step back and consider those activities that resonated with them the most and had the most impact on their wellbeing, and to use these to create their custom-made Toolkit. Participants used this for a month and then had an opportunity to assess whether or not this customised version was working for them and, if needed to customise it further.
Alongside the Diary Toolkit component, participants have been invited to monthly CPD, organised by Martyn Reah. These sessions have featured wellbeing ‘experts’, including Patrick Ottley-O’Connor, Julie Hunter, Abbie Mann and Dr Sue Roffey. It’s been great to have an opportunity to ‘come together’ as a community and reflect on different elements of wellbeing and to use this to refocus our own wellbeing journey.
I’ve been collecting data along the way – monthly mini wellbeing check-ins (using the Edbinburgh-Warwick framework) followed by a detailed survey at the end of the programme – so it will be interesting to see what impact the Diary Toolkit and a bespoke wellbeing CPD programme have had on teacher wellbeing.
We’re excited to be running this programme again next year, with funding from Bupa for 70 physical Diary Toolkits, so watch this space!
Twitter feedback on the ‘Reimagining the Diary’ and Teacher5aday collaboration project:
#diarytoolkit I really enjoyed writing my affirmation today. If everything I would like to do is because I think it will make me happy, why not be happy now? @drlucykelly@teacher5aday
Monkey Mind in full chatter this morn, insisting on reasons why I should NOT run (out 3times already; busy day; cold, dark & wet..but thought of my #diarytoolkit#exercise#pledge & got my run done…naturally, #wellbeing significantly improved. Monkey really doesn’t know best!
Being involved in the #diarytoolkit project has been really enlightening. Listening to @MsHMFL& @ottleyoconnor talking about schools run with well-being at the core of everything was inspiring & really uplifting. And to be referred to as ‘my Mary’ by Pat made my week!
My timetable is rammed til Weds midday & I notice this too. I have found some I interesting benefits from #diarytoolkit. For example, the transition activity is really key for me & I use these activities at other times to have a ‘quick fix’. Loving it!
I really enjoyed the 2nd #teacher5aday#diarytoolkit CPD with @drlucykelly@MsHMFL & @MartynReah Great conversations about all things staff mental health & wellbeing with a superb group of teachers & leaders, who are prioritising self-care & care of others!
@drlucykelly @MartynReah #diarytoolkit I am now conflicted. Do I stick to the transitions and activities that are comfortable or do I mix it up so that it pushes me more? At the start of the project I was unsure about some ‘tools’ but now value them. Food for thought. Love it!
So much to #learn from my own #wellbeing reflection working the #diarytoolkit ….I would be happy and grateful for that but tonight’s CPD was excellent-inspiring to hear what is possible in schools when staff #wellbeing is a leadership priority!
Wow what an hour! Well 50mins as I missed the 1st 10 rushing to get home!
A really busy week (12-14 hour days ) feeling a little overwhelmed with my to do list but a relaxing Saturday with my diary writing and renewed energy with a positive affirmation this morning. Colouring is very relaxing. Thanks #diarytoolkit@drlucykelly@teacher5aday
Finished sewing a top that I started making in the summer holidays. Sewing never fails to ease my nerves. Going to leave the sewing machine out & ready so I can just dip in & out with little projects. Learnt a few new techniques in the process. @teacher5aday@drlucykelly#Learn
Perfect time to reflect on ‘balance’. I’m keeping these traffic light leaves in my #ReimaginingTheDiary kit, as a reminder that sometimes we need to stop, sometimes we need to pause, & sometimes we need to go for it! #teacher5aday#notice
I love this! Am going to look out for some leaves of my own to add to my diary when I head to pick up my daughter from school. It’s great how being in the #diarytoolkit project is bringing ways to #connect between diaries too
I have to thank @drlucykelly& @MartynReahfor the absolute gift that is ‘Reinmagining the diary’. If you get chance to be involved in this in the future, do not hesitate. It’s an absolute life raft & place of sanctuary for me right now. @teacher5aday#Notice#SelfCareIsVital
I’m thoroughly enjoying it too! I have missed a day or two – but have got back into the swing of things yesterday evening. #SelfCareVitals#GetThoseMultivitamins
Enjoyed story boarding today. I couldn’t think of 1 event so drew 4 things that gave me joy in my Reception class today. Reminders it’s a great job. @drlucykelly@MartynReah#diarytoolkit
Made a lot of progress on my #teacher5aday today – shared my wellbeing pledge with staff in our weekly bulletin for tomorrow and renewed my @Headspace educator subscription. My “reimagining the diary” will be a vital help in my first term as Principal @drlucykelly@MartynReah
I have really enjoyed being able to reflect on the positives and understand areas where I can grow and explore those so the tension I was expecting has been dissipating each day
I completed the Thursday activity for 8 days and found it really levelled my mood. It was useful to see that although some days are very work heavy, over the course of a week there is balance #diarytoolkit
Week 1 Reflection #diarytoolkit#3goodthings 1. 7 consecutive days of #wellbeing diary work feels good, the completion bit & the positive impact & action. 2. Ive pushed myself to #learn new methods of reflection #mayfly 3. #exercise 5 runs completed as foot injury heals.
I’m enjoying the different ways of reflecting too…it’s an interesting process!
Really enjoyed tonight’s free drawing while listening to @drchatterjeeuk and the focusing on my wellbeing @drlucykelly@teacher5aday#diarytoolkit It was only after I linked the meaning of the charm I drew with the podcast- thank you
Completed my #diarytoolkit tonight using the Mayfly sound app and loved it. Really helped me to reflect about today and plan for tomorrow @MartynReah@drlucykelly
Sounds like a great idea and led me to reading @drlucykellyetal’s interesting article “In our daily struggles”. I keep a thankfulness diary that I write in at the end of each day. It’s designed with 3 years to a page so I can look back on what was going on last year. Love it.
I really enjoyed the free writing yesterday even though I didn’t get chance to do it till just before bed. Today I made sure to do my picture board when I got home and it was surprisingly enjoyable. Even with stick people! @teacher5aday@drlucykelly
#diarytoolkit#teacher5aday It was a real test yesterday as to whether I could/would complete tasks. Busy at work & quite draining. Transition was observing, which was lovely. I stood at my kitchen window and watched my garden. Free Writing. Cathartic! @drlucykelly@martynreah
It’s my fourth day writing as a part of the ‘Reimagining the Diary’ with @drlucykelly and @MartynReah, I’m getting in the swing of free writing regularly and am loving the process of writing more cathartically every day! I’ve also enjoyed storyboarding the successes of the week!
As someone who loves reading books about well being, but don’t often take time to put it into practice I am excited to be part of #diarytoolkit .
It’s been really helpful to reflect tonight after stopping working at 8pm #DiaryToolkit has reminded me of nicer times earlier today with the family #connect before I got worried by work. I lead a fab team so my pledge is going to be about empowering and trusting them, thankyou
Thankyou @drlucykellyfor helping me reflect. Wow. Your words resonate with me. I’ve always run myself ragged on Sunday nights and I have to stop. I’m going to do 20 minutes more then stop because as you say the list will never end. Tomorrow I’ll talk to my team for help.
Have been putting it off all day, but finally got round to making a start on #RethinkingTheDiary project…And it was actually pretty fun! Thanks @drlucykelly& @MartynReahfor enabling the first step.
After the #teacherdiary launch, and listening to @MartynReah and @drlucykelly, I have my 50p ready to put on my desk. My well-being & student well-being are 2 sides of the same coin. Love this portable reminder!
I have had really high quality professional learning about supporting the wellbeing of my young people that’s included 1 slide and 3 or 4 sentences on the importance of looking after my wellbeing and gone no further. It feels really good to have landed in the #diarytoolkit… …project where the launch offered high quality professional learning from @drlucykellyand @MartynReah, investing fully in how I support my own wellbeing, with the brief, important acknowledgement that in doing this I’ll be investing in the wellbeing of my young people… … I need this investment in creative, community building professional learning about wellbeing (which honours the way this is both a collective necessity and needs to be bespoke and individual). I’m 11 years into this profession and intend to retire from it who knows when…To sustain the multidimensional work we’re called to do – pedagogical, relational, organisational and more – I’ve had to learn and keep learning about myself in an equally multidimensional way. I’m thankful for the #diarytoolkit offering space to stay invested in this now. I’m feeling all the appreciation for you both finding the commitment and energy over the summer to pull this phase project together. Thank you. I hope that it gives back to you both too.
Already learning so much from the #diarytoolkit project…great introductory session from @teacher5adayand @drlucykellythis evening…and now podcast recommendations, brilliant!!
Hello! My name is Lucy Kelly and I’m the PI (Principal Investigator) for the ‘Reimagining the Diary’ project, which explores diary-keeping and reflective practice as a positive tool for teacher wellbeing. I’m about to launch the next pilot phase with Martyn Reah and Teacher5aday, so I thought it would be useful to share my experiences – and my own journey of using the Diary Toolkit – here.
But, before we launch on Wednesday (exciting!), here’s a brief overview of the project. This is taken from a section I’ve written for Jamie Thom’s forthcoming book on supporting teachers experiencing anxiety.
The ‘Reimagining the Diary’ Project (currently funded by Brigstow and ESRC IAA, University of Bristol)
Led by Dr Lucy Kelly (School of Education, University of Bristol), with Dr Catherine Kelly (School of Law, University of Bristol) and Stand+Stare (creative partners)
The ‘Reimagining the Diary’ (2018) project explores reflective practice (e.g. reflective diary-writing/ journaling) as a positive tool for individual teacher wellbeing. In a profession recognised as one of the most ‘stressful’ (Holmes, 2019: 20), this practice might be a ‘small, but important, step’ (Kelly, 2020: online) in addressing the current wellbeing crisis within the sector (ibid).[1]
In both phases, we worked with a group of fifteen teachers at various stages of their career, and with differing levels of experience. In Phase 1, participants chose a diary – plain notebook, kindness jotter, sound journal – and kept it for a week during term-time, before reflecting on the process via an online survey. Participants’ entries were not analysed because we wanted the reflections to be as authentic as possible. Notwithstanding the limitations of our study – including sample size and duration – our results reveal that ‘over 93 per cent of participants perceived an improvement in their wellbeing when keeping a diary, using it as a tool for celebration and catharsis and an opportunity to look at an event or situation from different perspectives. Despite time being the biggest factor to consider, 86.7 per cent of the group would advise other teachers to keep a diary, and 60 per cent said that they would continue this practice’ (Kelly, 2020: online).
In terms of catharsis, the diary was ‘a safe place to explore your world’ (Johnstone, p.xvii) because it helped participants turn the abstract into the ‘concrete’ (Hayes, p.46), making it much easier to deal with. Extracting thoughts and feelings onto the page encouraged users to separate themselves from the day’s experiences; writing became ‘a release […] somewhere for your thoughts to go, because they don’t normally go anywhere else’ (RtD, focus group 2019). Furthermore, the diary had a therapeutic quality, acting as a ‘venting tool’ (ibid). Interestingly, although time was the biggest factor, participants felt ‘bereft’ if a day was missed, recognising the extra ‘thoughts charging around’ that hadn’t been ‘processed’ (RtD, survey 2019).
Using the diary as ‘a stress buster’ (RtD, survey 2019) to reflect on the working day (which 86.7% did), helped participants position themselves at the centre of their own ‘narratives’ (Carr, 2006: 320), because ‘teachers […] need an outlet as we are also people with lives and worries’ (RtD, survey 2019). Indeed, the diary was an opportunity ‘to switch off’ (RtD, survey) and insert boundaries in a profession without any (Kelly, 2020: online; Kelly, forthcoming).
Yet our findings also reveal that teachers must document positive emotions and experiences too – such as ‘moments […] enjoyed in the classroom’ (RtD, survey 2019). This celebratory practice improves self-esteem and self-confidence (Hayes, 2018) because it refocuses teachers’ attention onto what is going well in the classroom and beyond – however small – instead of what isn’t.
This links to perspective – the final key theme from Phase 1. The diary enabled participants to reconnect to their ‘why’ (Howard, 2020) and what teaching meant to them, personally, including their aspirations and ‘philosophy’ (RtD, survey 2019).
Yet, our Phase 1 survey data demonstrated that reflective practice, like wellbeing, is bespoke. To move the project forward, we had to consider a format that wasn’t prescribed but still offered structure and choice to those who needed it. Furthermore, if we were asking teachers to devote some of their limited time to reflection, then the format had to be aesthetically pleasing, accessible, non-judgemental, and non-expectant. The idea of it being a private, slow space was also important: how could we help teachers slow down and bookend their day in an engaging, meaningful way?
From these musings the research team came up with the ‘Diary Toolkit’; a smorgasbord of reflective practice. The ‘Toolkit’ reimagines, and reclaims, the loaded term ‘diary’ (Kelly et al, 2020) for twenty-first-century teachers. The ‘Toolkit’ moves beyond the traditional written diary format, reimagining it into a multi-modal, playful and creative space where participants are encouraged to try out a range of reflective activities that move beyond the traditional mode of writing. The ‘Toolkit’ also includes ‘Transition’ and ‘Reflection’ phases. Before completing the main activity, participants use a spinner/dice to decide on a mindfulness practice – such as drinking a hot beverage slowly or listening to a favourite piece of music – to encourage a reflective mode of thinking. The ‘Reflection’ stage invites participants to reflect on what they would like to do with the main activity – share, archive, use or destroy – in order to question the audience and purpose of the diary and, perhaps, to let go of prior expectations.
Participants kept the ‘Toolkit’ for a week during the spring term and were asked to try – and reflect on – each main activity once. The ‘Transition’ and ‘Reflection’ stages were also included. As with Phase 1, personal entries weren’t looked at, but a detailed survey was completed to gather views. Initial feedback on the ‘Diary Toolkit’ is very positive: 93% of participants preferred it to another diary format and 86% would like to continue using it. Most teachers enjoyed the range of reflective practices: it was playful and creative, whilst providing structure for those participants who, having had a full day in school, didn’t want to make further decisions. Additionally, 71% of participants would recommend the ‘Toolkit’ to other teachers and, although time was still the main factor (alongside COVID-19 and lockdown), 93% liked the ‘Transition’ stage because it helped them to separate school/home and ritualise reflective practice. Participants praised the positive impact the ‘Toolkit’ had on their wellbeing too. As one individual summarised: ‘I came into this project last year imagining that a diary entry was just about writing about what happened that day. My eyes have now been opened to a plethora of reflective activities that have helped me keep sane!’ (all RtD, survey 2020).
In Phase 3, we are working with Martyn Reah and the #teacher5aday community. We have recruited 70 teachers to use a PDF of the ‘Toolkit’ between September and December. Participants will start the project using the ‘blanket’ ‘Toolkit’, but they will then have the opportunity to create their own, custom-made ‘Diary Toolkit’ based on their favourite activities. We really hope this bespoke approach to reflective practice will help teachers reclaim the diary as a space for their personal and professional selves to flourish (Kelly, forthcoming).
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, then you can find me on Twitter at @drlucykelly.
References
Carr D (2006) Moral education at the movies: on the cinematic treatment of morally significant story and narrative. Journal of Moral Education 35(3): 319-333, DOI:10.1080/03057240600874448
Hayes, M.C. 2018. Write Yourself Happy: The Art of Positive Journalling. London: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.
Holmes, E., 2019. A Practical Guide to Teacher Wellbeing. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Howard, K., 2020. Stop talking about wellbeing: a pragmatic approach to teacher workload. Woodbridge: John Catt Educational Limited
Johnstone C (2018) Dare to be Happier: An Introduction to the Power of Journaling. Ayrshire: Snowdrop Press.
Reimagining the Diary’ survey, University of Bristol, April 2019. Data available on formal request.
‘Reimagining the Diary’ survey, University of Bristol, April 2020. Data available on formal request.
‘Reimagining the Diary’ focus group, University of Bristol, May 2019. Data available on formal request.
[1] What follows is taken from: Kelly, L. 2020. Reclaiming teacher wellbeing through reflective diary writing. IMPACT, 9. Available at: <https://impact.chartered.college/article/reclaiming-teacher-wellbeing-reflective-diary-writing/> [Accessed 10 July 2020]; and Kelly, L. Forthcoming. Writing Wellbeing: using reflective diary-writing to support English teacher wellbeing. In A. Watson and R. Newman, eds. Due 2021. A Practical Guide to Teaching English in the Secondary School. 2nd edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Ch. 22.
