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REFLECTION: HELPING STUDENTS MAKE THE LEARNING CONNECTION
"
We had the experience but missed the meaning"
Eliot, T. S. (1943)
The Four Quartets
Reflection is necessary to ensure a successful service-learning experience. It
allows students to make sense of what they are doing and learn from it. The
complete reflection process is never-ending: it stays with students during
every step of their journey and assists them in searching through the basic
questions of: what, so what, and now what?
Without deliberate and guided reflection, students may not learn from their
experiences – in fact, they might even reinforce existing prejudices. Connected
reflection is essentially the component that links the “service” the students are
doing at their community organizations with the structured “learning” they are
working through in the classroom. Without structured reflection, students may
fail to make the connection between the course content and its relationship to
the service work.
Reflection leads to understanding, which in turn leads to more informed
action. Critical reflection leads to awareness of social problems and to the
quest for better solutions.
Various methods and tools are available to conduct reflection. Whatever the
form of reflection, it is important to start integrating thinking about the
experience early in the semester to help students understand the process
and its connection to the service-learning experience.
CRITICAL REFLECTION ASSIGNMENTS INCLUDE:
Small-GroupWork
Class Discussions
Group Problem Solving
Reflective Essays
Artistic Projects
Case Studies
Agency Analysis Papers
Portfolios
Histories
Ethnographies
Electronic Discussion Groups
Products Created for Organizations
Presentations to Community Organizations
Multimedia Class Presentations
Problem-Solving Papers
Theory Application Papers
Journals (Personal; Guided;
Key-Phrase; Dialogue)