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[It is] necessary to reflect on experience in order to draw out the meaning in it and to use that meaning as a guide in future experiences. (Kolb & Kolb, 2017, p. 12)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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- Reflection encourages learners to articulate connections<\/strong> between their experience and course content, including knowledge, skills, and values.<\/li>\n
- Reflection is an iterative<\/strong> process. It is important to provide students with opportunities for reflection before, during, and after the experience.<\/li>\n
- Reflection activities can take many forms<\/strong>, including reflective writing, group discussions, learning portfolios, and presentations.<\/li>\n
- Reflection activities should be graded<\/strong> to signal to students that it is an important aspect of their learning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Designing Reflection<\/h2>\n
There are any number of ways to design the reflective component\/s of your experiential learning activity. Below are several frameworks to help you structure students’ reflection.<\/p>\n
- Do What? So What? Now What?<\/a><\/dt>
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- Do what? <\/strong>What happened? What did you do? What did you expect? What was different? How did you react? What did you learn?<\/em><\/li>\n
- So what?\u00a0<\/strong>Why does it matter? How do your experiences relate to what you learned in this class (other classes, prior experiences)? How do your experiences link to your academic, professional, personal, and\/or civic growth?<\/em><\/li>\n
- Now what? <\/strong>Based on the experience, what would you do the same\/differently next time? How will you apply what you have learned in this experience to your future career\/life?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Adapted from Borton (1970) and Brock’s Centre for Pedagogical Innovation<\/a><\/p>\n
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- DEAL Model<\/a><\/dt>
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- Describe:\u00a0<\/strong>Where and when did the experience occur? Who was there\/not? What actions did you\/others take? Who did\/not speak\/act? What did you expect\/assume going into the activity? Did you attempt to test\/understand conclusions that you drew in previous experiences? How did you act\/communicate differently in this experience compared to previous experiences?<\/em><\/li>\n
- Examine: <\/strong>What concepts\/theories are relevant to this experience and how did they shape your understanding of the experience (and vice versa)? Did you uncover biases or attitudes as a result of the experience and do you need to address these? What privilege did you and others bring to the situation?<\/em><\/li>\n
- Articulate Learning:\u00a0<\/strong>What did you learn as a result of the experience and why is it important? How can what you learned be valuable to you\/others? What conclusions did you draw from the experience and what are the limitations and implications of your conclusions?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Adapted from Ash & Clayton (2009) and\u00a0Brock’s Centre for Pedagogical Innovation<\/a><\/p>\n
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- The Reflection Cycle<\/a><\/dt>
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- Record: <\/strong>What was the context? What happened? Who was involved and in what ways?<\/em><\/li>\n
- Reflect: <\/strong>What are your thoughts in regards to the way you reacted, addressed, or thought about the situation? How did you feel at the time? What are the pros and cons of the situation? What was learned from the situation?<\/em><\/li>\n
- Analyze: <\/strong>How would you explain the reasons behind the situation? How could you integrate theory to explain concepts and ideas? How can you provide evidence of your learning awareness and progress of thinking?<\/em><\/li>\n
- Action: <\/strong>How do the situation and the conclusions you generated inform your future decisions, actions, thinking processes? What is your action plan on how to address such incidents?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Once you have selected a framework for reflection, you can design prompts and activities that will align with the course’s learning outcomes.<\/p>\n
To learn more about designing meaningful critical reflections assignments, see these modules<\/a> from the University of Calgary’s Taylor Institute.<\/p>\n
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Sample prompts<\/h3>\n
To be effective, reflection prompts should be tailored to support the learning outcomes<\/a> of the activity\/course. For example, do you want your students to leave the experience with a deeper understanding of academic theories and concepts? Of the personal or career-related skills they developed through the experience? Of the structure of (and their role in) broader society and\/or organizations?<\/p>\n
The following prompts are adapted from the University of Toronto’s Assignment Sample<\/a> and Ryerson University’s guide to Critical Reflection<\/a>.<\/p>\n
- Academic\/cognitive reflection<\/a><\/dt>
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- What specific academic material is relevant to this experience? Explain the concept, theory, etc. clearly and concisely so that someone unfamiliar with the material could understand it<\/li>\n
- How did the material emerge in the experience? When did I see it or note its absence? How did I or should I or someone else use it?<\/li>\n
- What academic (e.g. disciplinary, intellectual, professional) skills did I use\/should I have used? In what ways did I\/others think from the perspective of a particular discipline and with what results? How was I able to apply a skill, perspective, or concept related to the academic material?<\/li>\n
- How does this experience enhance my knowledge of a specific reading, theory, or concept? Does it challenge or reinforce my prior understanding? Provide examples. What complexities do you now see in the concept that you were not aware of before?<\/li>\n
- In what specific ways are my understanding of the material or skill and the experience the same and in what specific ways are they different? What are the possible reasons for the difference(s) or inadequacies? e.g. bias, assumptions, lack of information on my part or on the part of the author\/instructor\/community? What questions should I ask to put myself in a better position to judge the adequacy of the material?<\/li>\n
- Based on analysis of the experience in light of the course material, is the material (or my prior understanding of the material) adequate?<\/li>\n
- What are the most important learning moments you take with you from this experience?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Personal reflection<\/a><\/dt>
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- What were the most satisfying\/difficult parts of the experience? Would I want to repeat the experience? Why or why not?<\/li>\n
- How did this experience make me feel (positively and\/or negatively)? How did I handle my emotional reactions? Do I believe I should have felt differently than I did?<\/li>\n
- What assumptions or expectations did I bring to the situation (including my assumptions about other persons involved) and how did they affect my actions?\u00a0 To what extent did they provide true? If they did not prove true, why was there a discrepancy?<\/li>\n
- How have past experiences influenced the manner in which I acted or responded to this situation? Am I comfortable with the influence past experiences has on me?<\/li>\n
- What personal strengths\/weaknesses of mine did the situation reveal? In what ways did they affect the situation positively\/negatively? What might I do to build on strengths and overcome weaknesses?<\/li>\n
- Why did I, or did I not, experience difficulty working\/interacting with other people? What might I do differently next time to minimize such difficulties?<\/li>\n
- What personal skills did I draw on in handling this situation? What personal skills would I like to have had I order to have handled it better and how might I develop them?<\/li>\n
- How did this situation reveal my own attitudes or biases, toward other people, toward the organization in question, etc.? Do I need to make any changes?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Civic reflection<\/a><\/dt>
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- What was I\/or someone else trying to accomplish? In taking the actions I\/or they did, was the focus on symptoms of problems or causes of problems? Was the focus (symptom or cause) appropriate to the situation? How might I\/they focus more on underlying causes in the future?<\/li>\n
- What roles did reach person\/group\/organization involved in the situation play and why? What alternative roles could each have played?<\/li>\n
- Did I\/other individuals act unilaterally or collaboratively and why? Should I\/they have worked with others in a different way?<\/li>\n
- Did I reinforce or challenge an assumption or social system by the way I acted? How does this experience highlight the relationship between the larger systems?<\/li>\n
- How else could I have handled the situation? Identify both the paths of least resistance and the paths of greater resistance. Why did I\/others follow the path I\/they did?<\/li>\n
- What agendas did I and others bring to the situation? Are these agendas appropriate? Are they understandable? Are they shared? How are these agendas related to larger social or cultural issues?<\/li>\n
- In what ways did power difficulties emerge in this experience? What are the sources of power in this situation and who benefits and is harmed? In what ways might any dependence be eliminated?<\/li>\n
- What privilege did I\/others bring to this situation? What are the sources of such privilege? How am I, or others, disempowered by lack of privilege?<\/li>\n
- How did leadership emerge in this situation, on my part and\/or the part of others?<\/li>\n
- What is the interest of the common good in this situation? In what ways is the individual good (mine or that of other people) linked to and\/or contrary to the common good? What trade-offs between them are involved?<\/li>\n
- In what way did any other trade-offs (long-term\/short-term; justice\/efficiency; etc.) emerge in this situation? Were the trade-offs made appropriate or inappropriate and why?<\/li>\n
- What changes does this experience suggest are needed: within my group, within the organization, within our society more generally? How can these changes be accomplished with individual action or collective action\/working within the system or challenging the system\/etc.?<\/li>\n
- How does this experience help me to better understand the organization\u2019s vision, mission, and goals? What does it reveal to me about the relationship between the organization and those it serves? What does it suggest about how this relationship might be improved?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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For more prompts for community-based experiential learning, see Western University’s Sample Prompts<\/a><\/p>\n
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Sample activities<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Reflection can be designed as stand-alone activities (e.g., reflective essay or journal) and\/or integrated into other activities (e.g., reflection prompts integrated into quiz or assignment). Whatever their form, reflection activities should be graded to emphasize their value in the learning process.<\/p>\n
Below are several ideas for assessable reflective activities:<\/p>\n
- One-minute papers<\/a><\/dt>
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In one minute (or some other short period of time), students write a brief reflection on their experience and what they learned in response to given prompts. For example: What is the most important issue discussed today? What did you find difficult to comprehend? What are some issues or questions you would like to explore further?<\/em> One-minute papers can be written and submitted anonymously at the end of the class, activity, or experience. One-minute papers give instructors feedback on the effectiveness of the learning activities so far.<\/p>\n
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- Double-entry journals<\/a><\/dt>
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Students jot down notes about the facts (who, what, where, etc.) of the experience in one column; in a second column, students reflect on the experience, making connections to own thoughts and feelings, course concepts, etc.<\/p>\n
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- Reflective journals<\/a><\/dt>
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Journal reflections<\/a> can be used to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas to make personal links to the issues at hand from the course. Journal writing allows the students to revisit past experiences and reconsider other perspectives and ways in addressing issues and situations. Reflective writing helps students develop critical thinking skills and judgement. Journal writing also promotes written language skills.<\/p>\n
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- Learning portfolios\/e-portfolios<\/a><\/dt>
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Throughout the learning experience, students maintain a narrative reflective log and collect and organize artifacts that provide evidence of their learning. Learning portfolios can be used to monitor development and progress as a form of self-assessment. Learning portfolios can be used in combination with the other types of reflections, such as one-minute papers and individual journal reflections.<\/p>\n
e-Portfolios<\/a> are online (or electronic) learning portfolios and widely considered a high-impact practice<\/a>. At Carleton, students can develop a cuPortfolio<\/a> in their own online space, choose the layout of it, decide whether it is private, shared with the professor, or available to the public, define the purpose of it, and decide whether it is course- or job-related engagements. Sample ePortfolio rubrics<\/a><\/p>\n
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More ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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- Written responses to reflection prompts integrated into a quiz or assignment<\/li>\n
- Critical events journal<\/li>\n
- Essay, report, or presentation (arts-based, multimedia, oral, etc)<\/li>\n
- Self-awareness tools and activities (e.g., questionnaires about learning patterns)<\/li>\n
- One-on-one oral assessments with the instructor<\/li>\n
- A project that develops ideas further (individually or in small groups)<\/li>\n
- Self-evaluation and\/or group evaluation of a task performed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Assessing Reflection<\/h2>\n
In the activity\/course design<\/a> planning stage, you decided what teaching\/learning activities would prepare students for assessments that would provide evidence of their learning in relation to the outcomes you established. Assessing reflection activities can be difficult without a clear idea of the learning outcomes.<\/p>\n
For example, an e-portfolio activity can be assessed in relation to any number of learning outcomes:<\/p>\n
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- To communicate using concepts scientifically;<\/li>\n
- To communicate using concepts accurately;<\/li>\n
- To support their arguments with evidence;<\/li>\n
- To connect concepts and ideas to real-life applications, connect theory and practice;<\/li>\n
- To make references and citations properly;<\/li>\n
- To reorganize and synthesize ideas, concepts and data;<\/li>\n
- To critically reflect on the experience\/learning;<\/li>\n
- To engage in effective self-assessment on the learning process;<\/li>\n
- To demonstrate critical and creative thinking skills.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Preparing a rubric may help you to identify which learning outcomes can be assessed through the activity and which will need to be assessed in other ways.<\/p>\n
If possible, consider inviting students to have a say in how their work will be judged – for example invite them to suggest the criteria you will use to assess their work, or include them in creating a rubric.<\/p>\n
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Sample rubric<\/h3>\n
Rubrics are helpful assessment tools that can help you to articulate the learning outcomes and expectations for yourself and for students. A well-defined rubric will also speed up grading, as feedback is built into the rubric’s criteria and descriptors.<\/p>\n
Below is a sample rubric for experiential learning, broadly:<\/p>\n
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