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REFLECTION FAQS
Role of Reflection in Service-learning
9. How can faculty design effective reflection?
This section summarizes key principles that faculty can use as a starting point for the design of reflection.
In order to design an effective reflection process, faculty must address the question: How can reflection contribute to effective service-learning? The six principles below can help faculty in enhancing both the quality of students' service as well as the quality of student learning through reflection.
Connected: Effective service-learning integrates service with course work. Reflection is the means through which faculty can help students develop meaningful connections between the service experience and course content.
Continuous: Student learning is enhanced by providing multiple opportunities for reflection before, during and after the project. Project effectiveness is also enhanced by using reflection to prepare students for the service-learning experience and to guide students as they address community concerns.
Challenging: Service-learning projects should challenge students to think in new ways, raise new questions, and explore new ways of problem-solving, including the kind of public problem-solving connected to democratic civic engagement. By encouraging students to explore issues more deeply and to think about issues and solutions they may not have considered, faculty can enhance students' problem-solving efforts as well as the resulting learning.
Coaching: Faculty must challenge students while simultaneously providing support and creating a 'safe' environment--one where students are confident that their contributions and feelings will be respected. Furthermore, students need support in executing complex project tasks. Note that continuous reflection facilitates the faculty coaching role by providing project related information in a timely manner.
Contextualized: Faculty can enhance the effectiveness of service-learning projects by ensuring that reflection activities are appropriate for the context and setting of the project. Faculty must consider factors such as student knowledge and attitudes, community needs, and course objectives and constraints in designing the reflection process.
Communication Structured reflection should provide opportunitues for communication with peers, faculty and community organizations. Communication with community organization and faculty is essential to ensuring that the project is effective in meeting community needs. Communication with faculty, peers and community organizations can also enhance student learning by exposing students to multiple perspectives.
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