4 The Importance of Student Reflection
Sharon Raz and Nomita Yadav
Reflection is an essential component of community-based learning. It turns a community experience into a meaningful learning experience. Reflecting on community experiences deepens the learning and insights, and strengthens our commitment to community involvement and social responsibility. Without opportunities for students to reflect upon their community work in the context of course content, the learning potential of community projects is limited. We should provide students with some mechanism that encourages them to link their community experience to course content and reflect upon why community work is important.
Figure: This diagram is a visual representation of the elements of CB/EL pedagogy
From: The University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Civic Engagement and Service-Learning”.
There is a variety of activities and assignments that instructors can incorporate into their community-based learning. Here are some ideas:
Personal Journals provide a way for students to express thoughts and feelings about the community experience throughout the course. Structured journals guide students to link personal learning with course content.
Reflection Essays provide a way for students to reflect on their community engagement and its connection with the course content and their personal lives.
Online discussion is a way to facilitate reflection with the instructor and peers involved in community projects. Students can write weekly summaries and identify critical incidents that occurred at the community site. Instructors can post questions for consideration and topics for directed writing.
Community engagement portfolios contain evidence of both processes and products completed and ask students to assess their work in terms of the learning outcomes of the course. Portfolios might include any of the following: community engagement contract, weekly log, personal journal, impact statement, directed writings, photo essay, and products completed during the community experience.
Class presentations offer students an opportunity to present their final analysis of the community activities and to offer recommendations for future community engagements.
