Effective Reflection…
- Links service objectives to the course objectives by integrating the service experience with course learning;
- Is guided and purposeful;
- Occurs regularly within the course;
- Includes components that can be evaluated according to well-defined criteria;
- Provides opportunities for both private and public reflection;
- Fosters civic responsibility
Eyler, Giles and Schmiedes, A Practitioner’s Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning identify
The 4 C’s of Reflection
- Continuous in time frame. An ongoing part of the learner’s education and service involvement, this allows students to formulate new ideas following Kolb’s Cycle of Learning
- Connected to the intellectual and academic needs of those involved. This is where the connection between real life experiences and course material are compared and become relevant.
- Challenging to assumptions and complacency. Reflection must challenge students and provoke thought in a more critical way.
- Contextualized in terms of design and setting. Faculty determine if the reflection is appropriate for the context of the service-learning experience, thus adding to the linkage between thinking about course content and actually applying it.