Skip to main content

Reflection

4 Key Principles of Reflection

  • Continuous
    Reflection should be ongoing, occurring before, during and after students' experiences.
  • Connected
    Reflection provides opportunity to integrate learning from experience with academic content or personal development, including ways in which the experiences illustrate concepts, theories, and trends.
  • Challenging
    Reflection both supports and challenges students to engage issues by thinking critically, pushing them to pose stimulating questions and to develop alternative explanations for their initial perceptions and observations of their experiences.
  • Contextualized
    Reflection relies on the analysis of the context of the issues being discussed and the setting. It occurs in various forms and settings.

      (Eyler, Giles, & Schmiede, 1996)

Levels of Reflection
The Mirror: A clear reflection of the Self

  • Who am I? What are my values? What have I learned about myself?
  • How has this challenged my stereotypes or prejudices?
  • How have I challenged my ideals, philosophies, or the way I live?

The Microscope: Makes the small experience Large

  • What have I learned about the organization, people, or community?
  • Do I feel that my actions had any impact? Why or why not?
  • Does this experience compliment or contrast with what I've learned in class? In what ways?

The Binoculars: Makes what appears distant, appear Closer

  • From my experience, am I able to identify any underlying or overarching issues which influences the problem?
  • How is this issue/agency impacted by what is going on in the larger political/social sphere?
  • How will this experience alter my future behavior/attitudes/career?

Types of Reflection

  • Reading: Literature & written material case studies, books, professional journals, poems
  • Writing: Written exercises journaling, essays, self-evaluations, creating portfolios, analysis paper, poems, case studies, song lyrics
  • Doing: Projects & activities simulations, role playing, video development, musical performance, analyzing/creating budgets, watching related movie
  • Telling:  Oral exercises informal/formal discussions, storytelling, teaching a class, presentations, legislative testimony, debate
    (Reflection: Getting Learning out of Service, Mark Cooper, Coordinator, The VAC)