Self-Reflection Questions for Students’ Personal Growth

If we don’t know who we are, it can be hard to know where we’re going. That’s why self-reflection is so vital for students, who are already at such pivotal moments in their lives. Self-reflection questions can reveal different aspects of who we are, like our dreams, fears, values, and aspirations. When students take the time to ask themselves the right questions, it can be a transformative experience. Not only do they gain clarity, but they begin to align their actions with their goals, setting themselves up for long-term success.

Teachers play a key role in this process. By creating a reflective classroom culture, teachers can help students dig deeper and learn more aspects of themselves that can create powerful change in their lives. In this article, we’ll explore the incredible potential of self-reflection, how students can make time for it in their daily lives, and the different ways teachers can create a thoughtful, reflective classroom that aids student growth.

How Self-Reflection Supports Key Educational Outcomes

Even when there is a quiet moment, our world is full of constant distractions that pull us away—especially when reflection is most necessary. Helping students understand the why behind self-reflection is key to building up the habit, even when things get busy. Here are just a few reasons regular contemplation helps us achieve present and future success:

Decreases Stress: A recent study found that undergraduate students who took just a few minutes out of their day to self-reflect experienced decreased stress levels and higher reliance than those who didn’t.¹ For highschoolers juggling classes, extracurriculars, graduation plans, and their personal life, taking a moment to pause can help them refocus and handle their responsibilities with calmness and clarity.
Boosts Academic Performance: Studies have shown that self-reflection has the power to enhance motivation and school performance.² By getting to the heart of why they want to learn, students are instilled with intrinsic motivation, which can fuel their academic drive.
Develops Emotional Intelligence: Self-regulation, resilience, and self-awareness can improve with consistent reflection.³ Students can learn to notice and understand how they react, respond, and recover in challenging situations, which are key components of emotional intelligence that can support academic and personal growth.
Encourages Goal Setting: Reflection helps students identify what they want to achieve.⁴ With specific prompts, students can also explore the necessary goals they need to set for themselves.
Increases Confidence in Career Goals: Self-reflection also gives students clarity on their future career path.⁵ This can be done in many different ways—like journaling prompts or free writes that explore specific strengths, talents, and passions.
Supports Informed Decision-Making: Reflecting on our day can help us make better-informed decisions for the next.⁶ This can be as simple as asking: What went right today? Questions like these can be the foundation for students to make wise choices.

Any form of self-reflection, no matter how big or small, is valuable!

Incorporating Self-Reflection into Daily Life

Though it would be nice to have a dedicated time for self-reflection every day, that’s not always realistic. Students are busy. They get home from practices, rehearsals, or club meetings and often still have responsibilities like homework, chores, or social obligations. With so much going on, it can be easy for students to feel discouraged and mistakenly believe that self-reflecting requires a huge time commitment. But the truth is, any form of self-reflection, no matter how big or small, is valuable.

To help jumpstart self-reflection, here are some strategies students can integrate into their daily lives. These tips can make it easier for them to consistently and meaningfully reflect while also juggling their busy schedules.

Combine Self-Reflection with an Existing Habit

Ask students to consider their daily habits. What are some times throughout their days they could self-reflect, even for a moment? For example, if a student goes on a daily run, they could use their last mile for quiet reflection instead of listening to music. Similarly, if a student drinks coffee every morning, it could be a great time to journal or meditate. If done consistently, self-reflection can become a part of a student’s daily habits—without them having to make any sacrifices in their time.

Make Self-Reflection Enjoyable

For students who prefer written reflection, finding the time to write in the day can be tough. That’s why making it enjoyable can help build up a self-reflection habit. Encourage students to create a space that’s comfortable for them, using their favorite chair, blanket, notebook, or even candles. If self-reflection is linked with relaxation, it can be easier to carve out time for.

Know When to Say No

Though it’s natural for students to be busy, sometimes lack of self-reflection results from doing too much. If students physically don’t have any time or energy to think at the end of each day, they may need to consider changing things around in their schedule. Not taking the time for proper reflection may lead to unregulated emotions, frustration, and uncertainty about what step to take next in life.

By exploring all the different categories of self-reflection techniques, students can find an option that best fits them.

Different Strategies for Self-Reflection

There are many different ways to self-reflect. By exploring all the different categories of self-reflection techniques, students can find an option that best fits them. Here are the main strategies people can use to self-reflect—and some examples of how to implement each in the classroom.

Cognitive Reflection

Cognitive reflection refers to internal, thought-based self-reflection. This can be exercised through asking yourself questions and getting deeper to the root of your ideas. One of the best ways to properly practice cognitive reflection is having the time and space–like a walk or early morning alone. But a wonderful aspect of cognitive reflection is that it can be exercised anywhere, at any time! It can be incorporated in the classroom through rhetorical questions or quiet reflective time.

Written Reflection

Written reflection is self-reflection exercised in writing. Journaling and writing-based projects are great ways to process ideas when thinking alone feels too overwhelming. Written reflections also serve as great tools to come back to, when you need a reminder of your goals and how far you’ve come. (This can be especially helpful in longer-form assignments and project-based learning.) In the classroom, teachers can ask students to fill out exit slips or give homework with written self-reflection prompts.

Verbal Reflection

Verbal reflection is the practice of reflecting your thoughts aloud. Talking with a friend, using voice memos, and talk therapy are all forms of verbal reflection that can lead to personal growth. Verbal reflection, especially with others, can be a helpful way to receive insight when writing or thinking alone is inaccessible. Teachers can encourage verbal reflection by asking their students to discuss in groups or by directly asking questions after each lesson.

Creative Reflection

Creative reflection allows you to explore your inner world through artistic expression. Painting, creating a collage, writing a song, or dancing—these are just a few examples that can help others process their thoughts and emotions. An especially appealing aspect of creative reflection is that you can share your art with others as well—giving people a cathartic experience that can validate their feelings even further. School projects that give students creative freedom—to make music videos, movies, drawings, poems, or skits—are a great way to implement this in the classroom.

Somatic Reflection

Somatic reflection focuses on tuning into your body to understand your emotional and physiological experiences. Practices like yoga, mindful movement, or breathing exercises can help us feel at peace within our body, process pain, and release difficult emotions we didn’t even realize we were holding in. Stretching or conducting short breathing exercises can help students regulate and feel ready, especially for difficult tests or presentations.

Self Reflection Types at a Glance

To make it easier to compare these strategies and pick exercises that best fit your classroom, here’s a quick reference sheet of each unique reflection type:

Reflection Type	Reflection Summary	Classroom Example
Cognitive Reflection	Internal, thought-based	Rhetorical questions; quiet reflective time
Written Reflection	Writing out your thoughts	Exit slips; self-reflection prompt assignments
Verbal Reflection	Speaking out your thoughts	Asking students questions; group discussions
Creative Reflection	Reflecting through art and creativity	Assigning creative school projects
Semantic Reflection	Reflecting through body awareness	Stretching; breathing exercises

Implementing Self-Reflection in the Classroom

To encourage students to develop a habit of self-reflection, try incorporating the following approaches in the classroom:

Written Cards: At the beginning of class, have students fill out a slip of paper with a simple prompt on it. This prompt doesn’t have to be lesson-related—any kind of self-reflection has the power to influence academics. Prompts can vary, like: What’s something I’m grateful for today? What do I want to get out of today’s class? What am I proud of this week?
Journal: Students can answer questions each week and write freely on what they’re learning or what they find interesting in class. Over time, patterns might appear that can point to valuable discoveries. In a history class, a student may find in their journaling they have a passion for medieval history. Similarly, a student may reflect in their journal that they’ve been doing poorly on quizzes and realize they need to change their study habits.
Art Projects: For creative thinkers, this can be especially helpful. Let students take what they’ve learned and apply it to a fun art project, like creating a collage, poem, or video. Not only will they get to exercise their creativity, but they have something to represent their reflections and share with others.
Group Reflections: Students can get into groups or pair up to reflect on the course material. Having other people to discuss class with openly can open up exciting conversations and help students feel less alone if they’re struggling with material.
Guided Class Meditations: When school is stressful and students are juggling a hundred different things at once, dedicate five minutes at the end of class for a guided meditation. Many free videos can be found online, giving students in-class opportunities to breathe and ground themselves. Though not strictly academic, peace of mind can make a huge difference in class behavior and success.⁷

Self-Reflection Questions for Students

One of the biggest questions that comes up when students self-reflect is: Where do I start? Prompts can be incredible launching points, no matter how students reflect. To jumpstart their thinking, here are some ideas to guide students towards deeper insights that can lead to powerful change. For classroom use, download our free self-reflection questions PDF filled with prompts to use in school and at home!

Career Exploration

Where do I see myself in five years? In ten? Twenty?
What’s my dream job?
What kind of lifestyle do I see in my future?
What are my favorite classes, and why?
What’s my biggest passion?
How do I define success?

Self-Discovery

What are my values?
When do I feel the most energized? When do I feel the most drained?
Who inspires me?
What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses?
Are there things I’m avoiding right now?
What am I proud of?
What makes me happy?

Navigating Relationships

What are the traits I look for in a friend?
Who’s someone in my family that’s impacted me the most?
How can I show up for others today?
How can I show my appreciation for others today?
Who am I grateful for?
What lessons can I learn from the people around me?
Who in my life could use some extra support right now?
How can I express my feelings and opinions honestly and respectfully when there’s a disagreement?

Building Healthy Habits & Goal Setting

What habits are helping me become the person I want to be?
Are my goals still serving me?
Is there a habit I can replace with a more productive one?
Why do I want to create better habits for myself?
What’s one thing I can do today to get me closer to my goals?

Well-Being & Growth

What helps me recharge when I feel overwhelmed?
What habits often make me feel my best? My worst?
Am I stressed about something right now? Is it something I can control?
Have I been resting enough lately?
When do I feel most confident?
What are three things I like about myself?

Academic Achievement

What was the most interesting thing I learned today?
How can I use what I learned in my daily life?
How can I be more proactive in my classes?
What class is challenging me lately?
Is there any way I can improve my study habits?
What does it mean for me to succeed academically?
How do I learn best?

Every Day

How did today go?
How am I feeling?
What was the highlight of the day?
What was a challenging moment I faced today? How did I respond and react?
What’s a lesson I learned today?

Overcoming Challenges of Self-Reflection

While self-reflection is invaluable for student growth, exercising it in a classroom doesn’t come without challenges. Here are some common issues that may come up in student self-reflection and how teachers can combat them to create a welcoming, judgment-free classroom.

Negative Self-Talk and Over-Criticism

Sometimes, self-reflection can lead to self-deprecating places—ideas that we aren’t good enough or should be doing more. Remind students that thoughts are just thoughts. They don’t have to hold any value if we don’t want them to. To keep students from becoming overly self-critical, shift their reflection prompts in a more positive direction. For some students, you can also suggest they try out a different reflection strategy that leaves less room for negative rumination—like deep breathing or guided positive meditations.

Distractions and Lack of Focus

One of the biggest problems facing high-quality reflection is all the things pulling us away from it. Encourage students to give all their attention to self-reflection—even if it’s only for five minutes. To help students focus, consider putting some calming music on and setting aside the same time every day for reflection so it’s always expected.

Unclear Purpose or Motivation

Especially if not school-related, students may become frustrated with self-reflection if they don’t understand the activity’s purpose. Remind students they have a choice in what they want to reflect on, and encourage them to see all the benefits of digging deeper into their thoughts, goals, and dreams. Offering up relevant prompts will also interest students more—like questions about plans after graduation or career goals.

Fear of Judgment

If using in-class reflection exercises, students might not be fully honest in their journals/writing prompts out of fear of judgment from others, especially if the assignment is graded or shared. To combat this, make sure your classroom is welcoming, positive, and judgment free—so students can fully be themselves. For privacy, let students choose whether they’d like to fully share their written work.

Self-Reflection Challenges Summary

Here’s a brief overview of issues teachers can face with self-reflection in the classroom and help students find solutions that fit them best.

Challenge	Solution
Students can become overly self-critical in their reflections	Offer positive, uplifting prompts or different reflection strategies that avoids rumination, like deep breathing or positive meditations
Students can get distracted easily	Carve out dedicated time for self-reflection in the classroom; consider playing music and emphasis a no-phones policy
Students aren’t motivated, don’t see the point of self-reflection exercises	Remind them of the benefits and offer up relevant prompts
Students fear judgment with in-class self-reflection exercises	Create a welcoming, positive classroom environment; respect what students are willing to share and give them privacy with self-reflective assignments

The Lasting Impact of Self-Reflection

Self-reflection is an important life skill that empowers students to be their best. When implemented in education, not only do students build up a habit of reflection in their life, but it can create a culture of honesty and authenticity in the classroom. Knowing the different types of self-reflection and its powerful results will inspire students to carry these skills into the real world, properly setting themselves up for success.

This shift from test-based education to reflection-based education is the heart of ERA’s mission. We’re striving to bring life skills like self-awareness to education so students are optimally prepared for the modern world. By equipping them with the tools they need to take on life’s challenges, we can help students thrive after graduation.

Want to get involved? Send us a message or spend some more time with us learning more about education reform and our Life Discovery curriculum. And if you end up using one of our activities, tag us on social media using #educationrevolution Together, we can take education a step further and better prepare our students for the Test of Life™!

P.S. If you’d like self-reflection questions for classroom use, make sure to download our free PDF!

Resources

Fiodorova, A. & Farb, N. (2021). Brief daily self-care reflection for undergraduate well-being: A randomized control trial of an online intervention. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 35(2), 158–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2021.1949000 ↩︎
Zhai, N., Huang, Y., Ma, X., & Chen, J. (2023). Can reflective interventions improve students’ academic achievement? A meta-analysis. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 49, 101373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101373 ↩︎
Mertens, E. C., Deković, M., van Londen, M., & Reitz, E. (2022). Parallel changes in positive youth development and self-awareness: The role of emotional self-regulation, self-esteem, and self-reflection. Prevention Science, 23(4), 502–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01345-9 ↩︎
Chung, H. Q., Chen, V., & Olson, C. B. (2021). The impact of self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection before and after revision on student self-efficacy and writing performance. Reading and Writing, 34(7), 1885–1913. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10186-x ↩︎
Ran, J., Liu, H., Yuan, Y., Yu, X., & Dong, T. (2023). Linking career exploration, self-reflection, career calling, career adaptability and subjective well-being: A self-regulation theory perspective. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Volume 16, 2805–2817. https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s420666 ↩︎
Larsen, D. P., London, D. A., & Emke, A. R. (2016). Using reflection to influence practice: Student perceptions of Daily Reflection in clinical education. Perspectives on Medical Education, 5(5), 285–291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-016-0293-1 ↩︎
Datu, J. A. (2017). Peace of mind, academic motivation, and academic achievement in Filipino High School students. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 20. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2017.19 ↩︎