Teaching Reflection for Service-Learning (2015). In M.E. Ryan (Ed.) Teaching Reflective Learning in Higher Education. (original) (raw)
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This study examines the importance of structured reflection in service-learning courses. The study consisted of interviews with 15 faculty and 72 students from three different higher education institutions; interviews were conducted between October 1998 and March 1999. Focus group interviews with faculty gathered information about course design, classroom practices, and faculty perceptions of student learning. Student interviews focused on how students interpreted the service experience in relation to the course, that is, the connections between academic course material and the community work/service experience; the role reflection played in the course and in their personal and academic development; and the things they did in and out of class to help connect the service experience and the formal course content. The study found that it is essential to provide structured, intentional reflection in service-learning courses, and that reflection enhances learning by connecting the service experience to the academic course. (Contains 36 references.) (CH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
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Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2015
Today, there is a growing belief among researchers and practitioners that reflection promotes students' learning and development in different ways. Despite this belief, the clear role of service-learning in enhancing learning is still debated. Although it is understood though with less clarity that reflection plays a key role in promoting learning, there is less clarity about the nature, types and practice of reflection in different contexts. There are different views on this subject from various quarters. There is much discussion in the current literature on reflection and its application in the developed world. However, less is known how reflection helps enhance students' learning in developing world context. The aim of this paper is to review the role and application of reflection in service-learning field in multiple contexts. In this regard, the paper extensively surveys works from different writers about the nature, type, models and application of reflection as a means for promoting learning. On the basis of the review of the current literature, the paper concludes that unlike conventional teaching approaches and irrespective of its contextual application and models used, reflection plays a key role in enabling students to challenge their own beliefs, test their own assumptions, create new knowledge and develop new ideas.
Reflection: Linking Service and Learning-Linking Students and Communities
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While research on service-learning has been mixed, there is evidence to suggest that service-learning programs which thoroughly integrate service and academic learning through continuous reflection promote development of the knowledge, skills, and cognitive capacities necessary for students to deal effectively with the complex social issues that challenge citizens. While there is not much research in the service-learning literature that specifically addresses techniques of reflection, evidence from studies of problem-based learning, situated cognition, and cognitive development suggests approaches to reflection that will enhance the power of service-learning in attaining these important goals which facilitate full community participation. This review presents concrete suggestions about this type of program.