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| | Source: Kara Connors and Sarena D. Seifer, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, September 2005 |
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| |  | Introduction |
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The process of reflection is a core component of service-learning.
Service-learning practitioners and researchers alike have concluded
that the most effective service-learning experiences are those that
provide “structured opportunities” for learners to critically reflect
upon their service experience. Structured opportunities for reflection
can enable learners to examine and form their beliefs, values,
opinions, assumptions, judgments and practices related to an action or
experience, gain a deeper understanding of them and construct their own
meaning and significance for future actions (Moon 1999). Reflection
“facilitates the student's making connections between their service and
their learning experience” and indeed the hyphen in the phrase
“service-learning” can has been interpreted as representing this
connection (Eyler and Giles 1999). This fact sheet provides an overview
of reflection in higher education service-learning and links to helpful
resources. |
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| | | The Theory Behind Reflection |
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Service-learning is deeply rooted in the action-reflection theories of
John Dewey and David Kolb, who both describe the importance of
combining individual action and engagement with reflective thinking to
develop greater understanding of the content being studied (Crews
1999). Kolb is widely cited for providing a scientific interpretation
of reflection (Olson 2000). Kolb illustrates the process of reflection
in the Experiential Learning Cycle (Figure 1). The process begins with
a defining and sharing of the “What?” of the student's experience and follows a continuous cycle towards “So What?” and “Now What?”. Answers
to the what, so what and now what questions are tied together to form a
comprehensive and integrated discovery and learning cycle for the
student throughout the duration of a service-learning experience (Eyler
1999). |
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| | | Strategies for Fostering Reflection |
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Effective strategies for fostering reflection are based on four core
elements of reflection known as “the four C's” (Eyler and Giles 1999).
These elements are described below: |
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| Core Element | Definition | | Continuous | The reflective process is implemented and maintained continuously before, during and after the service-learning experience. | | Connected |
The service experience is directly linked, or connected, to the
learning objectives of the course or activity and allows for
“synthesizing action and thought.” | | Challenging |
Learners are challenged to move from surface learning to deeper,
critical thinking through the use of thought provoking strategies by
the instructor or community facilitator. Since learners may encounter
uncomfortable feelings, it is important that the students feel they are
in a safe and mutually respectful atmosphere where they can freely
express their opinions, ideas and thoughts. | | Contextualized | Reflection is contextualized when it “corresponds” to the course content, topics and experience in a meaningful way. |
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When developing opportunities for reflection in service-learning, it is
important to consider students' diverse learning styles. The most
effective reflective practices will appeal to and meet the needs of
different student's learning styles. Having students complete Kolb's
Learning Style Inventory (described at http://www.coe.iup.edu/rjl/instruction/cm150/selfinterpretation/kolb.htm) can help to inform an instructor's selection and design of reflection activities. |
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Eyler's reflection map template, below, can be a helpful tool for
thinking through the various options for incorporating reflection into
a service-learning course or program (Eyler 2001). A slide presentation
that describes the reflection map is available at http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/pdf_files/Reflection.ppt. |
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| | Before Service Activity | During Service Activity | After Service Activity | | Alone | | | | | With Fellow Students | | | | | With Community Partners | | | |
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are a wide range of meaningful reflective practices and strategies that
can be incorporated into service-learning, including the frequently
used approaches listed below. The list below was adapted from those
developed by The Career and Community Learning Center at the University
of Minnesota (www.servicelearning.umn.edu).
They are included here to jump-start your own brainstorming about
reflection strategies for your service-learning course or program:
- Discuss and/or have a speaker on a certain issue that relates to the students' service experiences.
- Have
guided discussion questions in large or small groups that challenge
students to critically think about their service experiences.
- Find events in the community that students can attend together and debrief about afterwards.
- Find
articles, poems, stories or songs that relate to the service students
are doing and create and discuss questions around relevant social
issues. Or, ask students to write or bring in such items and describe
how it is relevant to or reflects their service experience.
- Use
case studies or scenarios for students to act out and discuss something
they did not know how to handle during their service in the community.
Have the students role play appropriate and inappropriate responses to
the situation.
- Ask students to create a map that
shows how their service-learning experience connects to larger issues
at the state/national/global level and where community involvement and
citizenship fit in.
- Have student view a video or documentary to elicit discussion about critical issues that relate to their service experiences.
- Write
letters-to-the-editor or to government officials that address issues
important to the community organizations with which they are working
and that can help inform the general public.
- Have students make a collage to express how they view their service site and their service.
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students maintain a print or electronic reflective journal. Writing in
journals is widely used by service-learning programs to promote
reflection. Journaling exercises are most meaningful when instructors
pose key questions for analysis and description concerning their
opinions before and after the service-learning experience. This website
provides an example of journal instructions from a service-learning
course at Michigan State University. http://www.msu.edu/~gordon46/SLWPReflect.html |
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| | | Citations, References and Other Resources |
| | | Bringle, R. G., and J.A. Hatcher. “Reflection in service-learning: Making meaning of experience.” Educational Horizons , 77.4 (1999): 179-185. |
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| | | Connors, K.M. “Unit 4: Plan course instruction and activities.” Advancing the Healthy People 2010 Objectives Through Community-Based Education: A Curriculum Planning Guide .
Eds. K.M. Connors, S. Cashman, S.D. Seifer, and M. Unverzagt. San
Francisco , CA: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, 2003. This
unit provides useful reflective learning tools. |
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| | | Crews, R. “Benefits of service-learning.” Communications for a Sustainable Future . Boulder , CO : University of Colorado at Boulder , 1999. |
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| | | Del Piccolo, G.L. The Importance of Reflection. |
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| | | Eyler, Janet, and D.E. Giles. A Practitioners Guide to Reflection in Service- Learning.
Nashville : Vanderbilt University , 1996. This guide is a resource for
anyone seeking to use critical reflection in service-learning. Drawing
upon student testimony of successful reflection, it assists in
developing reflection activities for service-learning courses or
programs. The guide is practical and interactive by design and should
foster active engagement on the part of the reader, through both the
nature of its content and it's accessibility. The authors discuss
different ways to reflect and learn suited to different learning styles
such as the activist, reflector, theorist, pragmatist learning styles.
Various reflection activities are covered including reading, writing,
doing, and telling. The book includes a reflection bibliography,
reflection guides and handbooks, and an interview guide. |
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Eyler, Janet and D.E. Giles. Where's the Learning in Service-Learning? San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999. Available at www.josseybass.com |
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Eyler, Janet. “Creating your reflection map.” In Service-Learning:
Practical Advice and Models. Ed. M. Canada. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
New Directions for Higher Education Series, 2001. 35-43. Available at www.josseybass.com |
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| | | Eyler, Janet. “Reflecting on Service: Helping Nursing Students Get the Most from Service-Learning.” Journal of Nursing Education 41.10 (2002): 453-56. |
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| | | Hatcher, J.A., and R.G. Bringle. (1997). “Reflections: Bridging the Gap between Service and Learning.” Journal of College Teaching 45 (1997): 153-158. [Reprinted in NSEE Quarterly, 24.3 (1999): 12-16.] |
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| | | Hot Topic on Reflection, National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. |
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| | | Howard, J. (2001). Service-Learning Course Design Workbook . Ann Arbor : University of Michigan OSCL Press, 2001. |
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| | | Kolb, D.A. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development . Engelwoods Cliffs , NJ : Prentice-Hall, 1994. |
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| | | Kolb, D. Learning Style Inventory . Boston , MA : McBer and Company, 1985. |
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| | | Mezinow, Jack, ed. Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood: A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory Learning. National Helpers Network, Inc, 1999. |
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| | | Moon, J. Reflection in Learning and Professional Development . London : Kogan Page Limited, Stylus Publishing Inc, 1999. |
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| | | Olson, R. and M. Bush M. “Reflection and Service-Learning.” A Guide for Developing Community-Responsive Models in Health Professions Education.
Eds. K.M. Connors, and S.D. Seifer. San Francisco , CA :
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, 1998. This chapter provides
an overview of reflection and examples of reflection. |
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| | | Parrillo, L.A. How to Guide to: REFLECTION. Holland , PA : Brighton Press, Inc, 1994. |
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| | | Rama, D.V. and R. Battistoni. Service-learning: Using Structured Reflection to Enhance Learning from Service .
The purpose of this website is to provide guidance to educators on
using structured reflection to enhance the learning from service
experiences. |
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| | | Reed, J. and C. Koliba. Facilitating Reflection: A Manual for Leaders and Educators.
This online manual was designed for educators and leaders of service
groups who have an interest and a commitment to provide reflection
opportunities for students and community partners alike. |
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| | | Reflection Activities.
The reflection strategies described in this online document are based
on Robert Bringle and Julie Hatcher's “Reflection in Service Learning:
Making Meaning of Experience” (1999) as well as examples from community
college faculty around the country. |
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Silcox, H.C. Reflection: The Key to Service Learning . New York : National Helpers Network, 1995.
The Feinstein Center at the University of Rhode Island has developed
“issue packets” to help students reflect on the issues they will be
confronting in their service experiences. Issue packets have been
developed for these issues: arts, children and families, elderly,
environment, health care, homelessness, hunger and literacy. |
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Welch, M. “The ABCs of Reflection: A Template for Students and
Instructors to Implement Written Reflection in Service Learning.” NSEE Quarterly
25 (1999): 1, 23-25. This article describes a theoretically based template
for implementing written reflection now being taught to faculty by the
Bennion Center at the University of Utah . Students are led to reflect
on the following aspects of the service-learning program: the Affect
(which involves exploration of feelings and emotions), Behavior
(meaning the actions taken before, during, and after the
service-learning project), and Cognition or Content (information,
concepts, or skills examined). |
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