<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Reflection Introduction

Section I:
Getting
Started
Introduction

Developing
Campus
Support

Tools

Next Steps

Section II:
Integrating
Service-
Learning
Introduction

1: Overview of
Service-Learning

2: Overview of
Instructional Design

3: Reflection

4: Assessing
Student Learning

5: Capacity-building

6: Civic Learning

7: Theme-based
Course Design

8: Completing
Design of Syllabus

9: Scholarship
of Teaching
and Learning

 

Section II: Chapter 3: Reflection

Chapter 3: Reflection

As was discussed in Chapter 1, reflection is one of the most important elements of any service-learning enhanced course. It is also one of the aspects of service-learning that presents many students and faculty with unfamiliar challenges.

In Jumpstart service-learning, reflection is key to helping students make strong connections between their work with pre-school children, schools, and families and their course material; otherwise, the students may feel that Jumpstart is an add-on to the course. Similarly, it is through reflection that the learning goals and the service goals can best be met – and that the quality of student learning and service can best be improved over the course of the semester.

Remember Dewey’s point that experience alone – without reflection – can be “mis-educative”; in other words, it is easy to draw problematic lessons from experience when we do not think carefully about the experience and the lessons we believe it offers. Especially since the undergraduates involved in Jumpstart service-learning are often first or second year students, without a strong background in early childhood education, it is crucial that they have opportunities to unpack their experiences with young children. Through structured reflection, guided by the instructor, students can examine the misperceptions, fears, and misunderstandings that can easily arise when they are unfamiliar with the community organization and/or not well-versed in the family and pre-school dynamics that shape the lives of young children. Through this process, we can better ensure that their experiences in the community are truly “educative,” not “mis-educative.”

This chapter focuses in depth on using reflection in service-learning courses. Topics in this chapter include:

The Tools at the end of this chapter provide sample reflection activities and tips on reflection: