Reflection

A reflection component is required for most of the experiences that appear on the Cocurricular Record.  Aldous Huxley once said: "Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happened to him."  Learning is a combination of active and reflective processes.  The many activities and experiences that occur as a part of the cocurriculum at Truman State University can become even more valuable learning experiences when opportunities for reflection are included.  Reflection uses a wide variety of higher order thinking skills such as critical analysis, synthesis, problem-solving, reflective judgment, evaluation and identification of themes and patterns, and creation of meaning.  The purpose of this website is to help you develop reflection experiences that will enhance the learning potential of the cocurricular experiences of students for which you serve as a mentor.

Six principles can help mentors create quality reflection opportunities.

1. Connected: Reflection should connect the cocurricular activity with the student's curricular experiences.

2. Continuous: Opportunities to reflect should occur before, during and after the cocurricular experience.

3. Challenging: Reflection should challenge students to think in new ways, explore issues more deeply and gain insight into their own behavior and learning.

4. Coaching: Through reflection, mentors should provide a balance of challenge and support.  Knowing the mentor is available to provide necessary coaching and support creates a safe environment within which the student can excel.

5. Contextualized: Reflection should be appropriate for the context and setting of the cocurricular experience, the student's level of development, the learning objectives of the experience, and the needs of the various constituencies served by the particular cocurricular activity.

6. Communication: Reflection should provide opportunities for communication with peers, mentors, faculty, staff, and/or members of the community whenever possible.  Reflection is enhanced when the student is exposed to multiple perspectives.  (adapted from: http://www.compact.org/disciplines/reflection/faq/role-of-part2.html)

Sample reflection activities include the following: case studies, journals (i.e. structured, critical incidents, team journals), portfolios, papers, discussions, focus groups, presentations, and interviews (http://www.compact.org/disciplines/reflection/types.html).

In designing questions to encourage reflection, it may be useful to think of viewing cocurricular experiences through the following three lenses:

• The Mirror (a clear reflection of the self)

  Who am I?  What are my values?  What have I learned about myself through this experience?  How have I changed?

• The Microscope (makes the small experience large)

  Describe the experience.  What would I change?  What have I learned?  Do my actions make an impact?  What more needs to be done?  What have I learned in my classes that helped me in this experience?  What have I learned in this experience that will help me in my classes?

• The Binoculars (makes what appears distant, appear closer)

  What problems did I encounter in this experience?  What factors contributed to the problem?  Did I contribute to the problem?  How did we attempt to solve the problem?  What were the results of this intervention?

  (adapted from: http://www.fiu.edu/~time4chg/Library/reflect.html)