Reflection about the activity How do i feel
Answers
It is clear that the power in learning is in the action of doing the activity. Reflection provides the same power through the action of articulating thoughts. Reflection is the necessary bridge in the learning process that takes place when a student is involved in a service-learning experience. There are the traditional strategies such as writing in journals, reporting orally in front of the class, or writing an essay describing the experience. The following examples will include and also move ahead of the tried and true, giving the facilitator a variety of other methods that he/she might like to incorporate in the classroom.
1. Personal Journals
2. Dialogue Journals
3. Highlighted Journals
4. Key Phrase Journals
5. Double-entry Journals
6. Critical Incident Journals
7. Three-part Journals
8. Free Association Brainstorming
9. Quotes
10. Quotes in Songs
11. Reflective Essays
12. Directed Writings
13. Experiential Research Paper
14. Service-Learning Contracts and Logs
15. Directed Readings
16. Ethical Case Studies
17. Class Discussion
18. Truth is Stranger than Fiction
19. Student Portfolios
20. It's My Bag
21. It's Your Thing/Express Yourself
22. Small Group Week
23. Email Discussion Groups
24. Class Presentations
( A note about reflection journals: a common tendency is for journal entries to become a mere log of events rather than a reflective activity in which students consider the service experience in the context of learning objectives. Guidance is needed to help students link personal learning with course content.)
1. Personal Journal - Students will write freely about their experience. This is usually done weekly. These personal journals may be submitted periodically to the instructor, or kept as a reference to use at the end of the experience when putting together an academic essay reflecting their experience. (Hatcher 1996)
2. Dialogue Journal - Students submit loose-leaf pages from a dialogue journal bi-weekly (or otherwise at appropriate intervals) for the instructor to read and comment on. While labor intensive for the instructor, this can provide continual feedback to students and prompt new questions for students to consider during the semester. (Goldsmith, 1995)
3. Highlighted Journal - Before students submit the reflective journal, they reread personal entries and, using a highlighter, mark sections of the journal that directly relate to concepts discussed in the text or in class. This makes it easier for the instructor to identify the student to reflect on their experience in light of course content