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REFLECTION FAQS
Structured Reflection
2. Why is structured reflection critical to effective service-learning?
The previous section introduced reflection as a process, one that is structured by faculty with the intention of assisting students in making connections between course content and the service experience. Reflection is a critical component of all experience-based pedagogies. However, a well-designed reflection process is particularly important in service-learning for the following reasons:
- Textbooks and lectures use techniques such as highlighting key points, examples, clarifying common misconceptions, and summaries to facilitate student learning. In contrast, experience provides few explicit guides to learning. Students need to be challenged, encouraged and supported in reflecting on service projects and in connecting these experiences to coursework.
- Experience is unstructured and messy. Real-world projects are not simple applications of concepts and rules learned in the classroom. The tasks of collecting information, framing the problem, identifying alternatives and recommending and justifying solutions appropriate to specific contexts are challenging tasks. Reflection activities such as project logs and journals provide opportunities for students to share project progress and concerns on an ongoing basis. Project effectiveness and student learning can both be enhanced by reviewing student reflection and providing guidance.
- The importance of structured reflection is underscored by the realization that a significant portion of the learning experience cannot be observed or controlled by the instructor. Faculty may not be priveleged to the complexity of detail in a service project, yet faculty are expected to provide guidance to students in addressing problems. Further, different students/ teams can be involved in different projects. Thus unlike textbook problems/ cases, it may be difficult to integrate discussion of project details in classroom discussion. A carefully structured reflection process can facilitate the exchange of relevant information between students, faculty and the community in a timely manner.
- Reflection is also important because students need a safe space for grappling with the range of emotions that arise from a service experience.
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