reflective learning assignment

Effectiviology

Reflective Learning: Thinking About the Way You Learn

• Reflective learning involves actively monitoring and assessing your knowledge, abilities, and performance during the learning process, in order to improve the process and its associated outcomes.
• For example, if you’re studying for a test, you can engage in reflective learning by asking yourself how well you understand each of the topics that you’re studying, and based on this figure out which topics you need to spend more time on.

Reflective learning can be beneficial in various ways and in various contexts, so it’s often worthwhile to engage in it. As such, in the following article you will learn more about reflective learning, and see how you can engage in it yourself, as well as how you can encourage others to engage in it.

Examples of reflective learning

An example of reflective learning is a person who starts a new hobby, and asks themself how well they’re learning the new information that comes with the hobby, whether there are any gaps in their knowledge, and which learning strategies they enjoy using the most.

Other examples of reflective learning appear in various domains, both in academia and outside of it. For instance:

• A student taking a difficult course can ask themself which parts of the material they struggle with and why, in order to figure out what they should be focusing on, and how they can modify their learning to make it more effective.
• An intern learning to perform various tasks at their new workplace can assess their ability to perform those tasks, so they can know which tasks they need to ask for help with.
• An athlete who’s preparing for a competition can think about which learning strategies aren’t working well for them and why, and then either improve the way they use those strategies, or replacing those strategies with better ones.

The benefits of reflective learning

There are many potential benefits to reflective learning:

• It can help you assess your situation , for example by prompting you to identify gaps in your knowledge and areas where you need to improve.
• It can help you figure out how to improve your learning process , for example by prompting you to figure out which learning techniques work well for you and which ones don’t.
• It can help you understand yourself better , for example by prompting you to consider what kind of assignments or information you struggle with the most.
• It can help you develop your general metacognitive skills , by training you to think critically about how you learn.
• It can increase your feelings of autonomy and control, by making you feel that you’re actively in charge of your learning process.
• It can increase your motivation to learn, by making you feel more in control of the learning process, and by making that process more deliberate and effective.
• It can improve your learning outcomes , both directly, by helping you modify the learning process, as well as indirectly, through the other benefits that it offers, such as increased motivation.

Accordingly, many studies have shown that reflective learning can lead to personal growth and improved learning. For example, one study found that encouraging students to reflect on what they’re learning and how they learn had a positive impact on their learning outcomes, and had additional benefits when it came to their critical thinking skills and their ability to organize their thoughts. Similarly, another study found that reflective learning helped students process the learning material and link it to material that they’ve encountered previously.

Furthermore, in addition to students, instructors can also benefit from the reflective learning that their students engage in. For example, reflective learning can prompt students to generate helpful feedback that instructors can then use to improve their teaching, for instance by identifying areas where students require more thorough explanations, or by identifying teaching methods that need to be modified.

Overall, reflective learning has various potential benefits, including helping learners assess their situation and improve their learning process, helping learners understand themselves and develop their metacognitive skills, and increasing learners’ feelings of autonomy and control, as well as their motivation. Accordingly, the importance of reflective learning is widely recognized in various fields , and it’s an important part of many education, training, and work programs.

How to be reflective in your learning

Being reflective in your learning means thinking about what you’re learning and how you’re learning it, in a way that helps you understand yourself and your learning better. There are several things that you can reflect on:

• Your understanding of the material. For example, how well you understand certain concepts.
• Your understanding of how to implement what you’ve learned. For example, when and how you can use a certain formula.
• Your learning process. For example, how well certain learning strategies work for you.
• Your abilities, preferences, and thoughts. For example, how difficult or enjoyable you find a certain topic.
• Your goals. For example, where and when you plan to implement something that you’ve learned, and what you hope to achieve by doing so.

You can reflect on these things in various ways and to different degrees.

For example, in some cases, you might engage in quick and shallow reflection while you’re studying, by asking yourself “do I really understand this material?”. Alternatively, in other cases, you might want to engage in slower and deeper reflection, by writing down all the key topics that you’ve learned about, and going over this list to identify areas that you don’t understand well.

Similarly, in some cases, you might want to quickly ask yourself “is this learning technique working well for me?”. Alternatively, in other cases, you might decide to write down a list of all the learning techniques that you’re using, and then rank them based on how effective they are for you. Furthermore, if you do this, you can also ask yourself what all the techniques that work well for you have in common.

When doing all this, you can use various questions to guide your reflection, as shown in the examples above, and the following are some specific questions that you might benefit from using:

• Which parts of the material do I understand well? How do I know that I understand this material well?
• Which parts of the material do I struggle with? What specifically am I struggling with, and why?
• Which learning techniques do I feel are helpful? Why do I feel that they are helpful?
• Which learning techniques do I feel are unhelpful? Why do I feel that they are unhelpful?
• Are there any changes that I can make to my learning process to make it better for me?
• Should I ask someone else for help, either with my reflection or with my learning? If so, then what should I ask about, and who is a good person to ask this?

Keep in mind that it’s often more difficult to engage in reflective learning than it is to simply move forward without reflection, especially in the short term. Accordingly, people often avoid reflection, particularly when they’re under time pressure. However, in the long term, reflective learning can be better, both when it comes directly to your learning outcomes, as well as when it comes to related benefits, such as your general ability to learn and your motivation to do so.

Overall, you can reflect on various aspects of your learning, including your understanding of the material, your understanding of how to implement what you’ve learned, your learning process, and your abilities, preferences, thoughts, and goals. You can encourage and guide reflective learning by asking relevant questions, such as “which parts of the material do I struggle with?”, “which learning techniques work well for me?”, and “is there anything I can do to make my learning process more effective?”.

Note : when engaging in reflective learning, you can also benefit from focusing on knowledge-building , an approach to learning and teaching that involves relatively deep engagement with the study material.

Reflective learning as a shared activity

Reflective learning can be something that you do by yourself or together with others. When done as a shared activity, reflective learning can take many forms. For example, it can involve a group of students openly discussing what challenges they faced while studying for a test, or a one-on-one meeting between a student and a tutor, where the tutor asks the student guiding questions about the student’s learning process.

There are advantages and disadvantages to individual reflection and shared reflection, as well as to the various forms of shared reflection. For example, while shared reflection as part of a group exposes people to more perspectives, which can help them identify more issues with their learning than they would be able to identify in a pair or by themselves, this approach can also make the reflection process much more stressful for people who are shy and struggle to work in groups.

Accordingly, when deciding whether and how to make reflective learning a shared activity, it’s important to consider the situation, and take any potential advantages and disadvantages into account.

Note : when it comes to shared reflective learning, an important concept to be aware of is the protégé effect , which is a psychological phenomenon where teaching, pretending to teach, or preparing to teach information to others helps a person learn that information. This is because the protégé effect means that shared reflective learning can help not only the person who is reflecting, but also those who help them do it.

How to encourage reflective learning in others

To encourage reflective learning in others, you can:

• Explain what reflective learning is.
• Explain why reflective learning can be beneficial.
• Explain how people can generally engage in reflective learning, potentially using relevant examples.
• Explain how they specifically can engage in reflective learning, potentially using relevant examples.
• Create an environment that is conducive to reflective learning, for example by giving people enough time to engage in reflection.
• Guide people’s reflection directly, for example by asking them questions that prompt them to think about their learning.

There are many ways in which you can do this. For example, you can give students a worksheet a day after an important exam, which has questions that guide them through the reflective-learning process. Similarly, you can dedicate 10 minutes at the end of class to having discussions in pairs, where students are encouraged to help each other reflect on their studies.

When encouraging reflective learning in others, you should remember that the end goal is to help them develop their skills and improve their learning outcomes. As such, you want to avoid the potential pitfalls of promoting reflective learning in an inappropriate manner. This can happen, for example, if you make the reflection feel like a pointless exercise, if you push learners to share information that they don’t feel comfortable giving, or if you force learners to use reflection techniques that don’t work well for them.

For example, this means that if you generally use reflective writing as a technique for promoting reflection, but someone feels much more comfortable engaging in reflection through sketching and drawing, then you should consider letting them do so, as long as it’s appropriate given the circumstances.

Reflective learning and reflective practice

Reflective practice involves actively analyzing your experiences and actions, in order to help yourself improve and develop.

The terms reflective learning and reflective practice  refer to similar concepts, and because their definitions vary and even overlap in some cases , they are sometimes used interchangeably.

Nevertheless, one possible way to differentiate between them is to say that people engage in reflective learning with regard to events where learning is the main goal, and in reflective practice with regard to events where learning is not the main goal. For example, a nursing student might engage in reflective learning when learning how to perform a certain procedure, whereas an experienced nurse might engage in reflective practice while performing the same procedure as part of their everyday routine.

Alternatively, it’s possible to view reflective learning as a notable type of reflective practice, which revolves around improving one’s learning in particular.

Overall, there is no clear distinction between reflective practice and reflective learning, and these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, potential distinctions between these terms are generally not important from a practical perspective, since they are unlikely to influence how the underlying concepts are implemented in practice.

Summary and conclusions

• Reflective learning has various potential benefits, including helping learners assess their situation and improve their learning process, helping learners understand themselves and develop their metacognitive skills, and increasing learners’ feelings of autonomy and control, as well as their motivation.
• You can reflect on various aspects of your learning, including your understanding of the material, your understanding of how to implement what you’ve learned, your learning process, and your abilities, preferences, thoughts, and goals.
• You can encourage and guide reflective learning by asking relevant questions, such as “which parts of the material do I struggle with?”, “which learning techniques work well for me?”, and “is there anything I can do to make my learning process more effective?”.

Other articles you may find interesting:

• Knowledge-Telling and Knowledge-Building in Learning and Teaching
• Reflective Practice: Thinking About the Way You Do Things
• The Factors that Determine Success at Learning

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Examples of Reflective Writing

Types of reflective writing assignments.

A journal  requires you to write weekly entries throughout a semester. May require you to base your reflection on course content.

A learning diary is similar to a journal, but may require group participation. The diary then becomes a place for you to communicate in writing with other group members.

A logbook is often used in disciplines based on experimental work, such as science. You note down or 'log' what you have done. A log gives you an accurate record of a process and helps you reflect on past actions and make better decisions for future actions.

A reflective note is often used in law. A reflective note encourages you to think about your personal reaction to a legal issue raised in a course.

An essay diary  can take the form of an annotated bibliography (where you examine sources of evidence you might include in your essay) and a critique (where you reflect on your own writing and research processes).

a peer review  usually involves students showing their work to their peers for feedback.

A self-assessment task  requires you to comment on your own work.

Some examples of reflective writing

Social science fieldwork report (methods section), engineering design report, learning journal (weekly reflection).

Brookfield, S 1987, Developing critical thinkers: challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting , Open University Press, Milton Keynes.

Mezirow, J 1990, Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: a guide to transformative and emancipatory learning , Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

Schön, DA 1987, Educating the reflective practitioner , Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.

We thank the students who permitted us to feature examples of their writing.

Prepared by Academic Skills, UNSW. This guide may be distributed or adapted for educational purposes. Full and proper acknowledgement is required. 

Essay and assignment writing guide

• Essay writing basics
• Essay and assignment planning
• Answering assignment questions
• Editing checklist
• Writing a critical review
• Annotated bibliography
• How do I write reflectively?
• Examples of reflective writing
• ^ More support

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

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• Writing a Reflective Paper
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• Acknowledgments

Reflective writing is a process of identifying, questioning, and critically evaluating course-based learning opportunities, integrated with your own observations, experiences, impressions, beliefs, assumptions, or biases, and which describes how this process stimulated new or creative understanding about the content of the course.

A reflective paper describes and explains in an introspective, first person narrative, your reactions and feelings about either a specific element of the class [e.g., a required reading; a film shown in class] or more generally how you experienced learning throughout the course. Reflective writing assignments can be in the form of a single paper, essays, portfolios, journals, diaries, or blogs. In some cases, your professor may include a reflective writing assignment as a way to obtain student feedback that helps improve the course, either in the moment or for when the class is taught again.

How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8.

Benefits of Reflective Writing Assignments

As the term implies, a reflective paper involves looking inward at oneself in contemplating and bringing meaning to the relationship between course content and the acquisition of new knowledge . Educational research [Bolton, 2010; Ryan, 2011; Tsingos-Lucas et al., 2017] demonstrates that assigning reflective writing tasks enhances learning because it challenges students to confront their own assumptions, biases, and belief systems around what is being taught in class and, in so doing, stimulate student’s decisions, actions, attitudes, and understanding about themselves as learners and in relation to having mastery over their learning. Reflection assignments are also an opportunity to write in a first person narrative about elements of the course, such as the required readings, separate from the exegetic and analytical prose of academic research papers.

Reflection writing often serves multiple purposes simultaneously. In no particular order, here are some of reasons why professors assign reflection papers:

• Enhances learning from previous knowledge and experience in order to improve future decision-making and reasoning in practice . Reflective writing in the applied social sciences enhances decision-making skills and academic performance in ways that can inform professional practice. The act of reflective writing creates self-awareness and understanding of others. This is particularly important in clinical and service-oriented professional settings.
• Allows students to make sense of classroom content and overall learning experiences in relation to oneself, others, and the conditions that shaped the content and classroom experiences . Reflective writing places you within the course content in ways that can deepen your understanding of the material. Because reflective thinking can help reveal hidden biases, it can help you critically interrogate moments when you do not like or agree with discussions, readings, or other aspects of the course.
• Increases awareness of one’s cognitive abilities and the evidence for these attributes . Reflective writing can break down personal doubts about yourself as a learner and highlight specific abilities that may have been hidden or suppressed due to prior assumptions about the strength of your academic abilities [e.g., reading comprehension; problem-solving skills]. Reflective writing, therefore, can have a positive affective [i.e., emotional] impact on your sense of self-worth.
• Applying theoretical knowledge and frameworks to real experiences . Reflective writing can help build a bridge of relevancy between theoretical knowledge and the real world. In so doing, this form of writing can lead to a better understanding of underlying theories and their analytical properties applied to professional practice.
• Reveals shortcomings that the reader will identify . Evidence suggests that reflective writing can uncover your own shortcomings as a learner, thereby, creating opportunities to anticipate the responses of your professor may have about the quality of your coursework. This can be particularly productive if the reflective paper is written before final submission of an assignment.
• Helps students identify their tacit [a.k.a., implicit] knowledge and possible gaps in that knowledge . Tacit knowledge refers to ways of knowing rooted in lived experience, insight, and intuition rather than formal, codified, categorical, or explicit knowledge. In so doing, reflective writing can stimulate students to question their beliefs about a research problem or an element of the course content beyond positivist modes of understanding and representation.
• Encourages students to actively monitor their learning processes over a period of time . On-going reflective writing in journals or blogs, for example, can help you maintain or adapt learning strategies in other contexts. The regular, purposeful act of reflection can facilitate continuous deep thinking about the course content as it evolves and changes throughout the term. This, in turn, can increase your overall confidence as a learner.
• Relates a student’s personal experience to a wider perspective . Reflection papers can help you see the big picture associated with the content of a course by forcing you to think about the connections between scholarly content and your lived experiences outside of school. It can provide a macro-level understanding of one’s own experiences in relation to the specifics of what is being taught.
• If reflective writing is shared, students can exchange stories about their learning experiences, thereby, creating an opportunity to reevaluate their original assumptions or perspectives . In most cases, reflective writing is only viewed by your professor in order to ensure candid feedback from students. However, occasionally, reflective writing is shared and openly discussed in class. During these discussions, new or different perspectives and alternative approaches to solving problems can be generated that would otherwise be hidden. Sharing student's reflections can also reveal collective patterns of thought and emotions about a particular element of the course.

Bolton, Gillie. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development . London: Sage, 2010; Chang, Bo. "Reflection in Learning." Online Learning 23 (2019), 95-110; Cavilla, Derek. "The Effects of Student Reflection on Academic Performance and Motivation." Sage Open 7 (July-September 2017): 1–13; Culbert, Patrick. “Better Teaching? You Can Write On It “ Liberal Education (February 2022); McCabe, Gavin and Tobias Thejll-Madsen. The Reflection Toolkit . University of Edinburgh; The Purpose of Reflection . Introductory Composition at Purdue University; Practice-based and Reflective Learning . Study Advice Study Guides, University of Reading; Ryan, Mary. "Improving Reflective Writing in Higher Education: A Social Semiotic Perspective." Teaching in Higher Education 16 (2011): 99-111; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8; What Benefits Might Reflective Writing Have for My Students? Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse; Rykkje, Linda. "The Tacit Care Knowledge in Reflective Writing: A Practical Wisdom." International Practice Development Journal 7 (September 2017): Article 5; Using Reflective Writing to Deepen Student Learning . Center for Writing, University of Minnesota.

How to Approach Writing a Reflection Paper

Thinking About Reflective Thinking

Educational theorists have developed numerous models of reflective thinking that your professor may use to frame a reflective writing assignment. These models can help you systematically interpret your learning experiences, thereby ensuring that you ask the right questions and have a clear understanding of what should be covered. A model can also represent the overall structure of a reflective paper. Each model establishes a different approach to reflection and will require you to think about your writing differently. If you are unclear how to fit your writing within a particular reflective model, seek clarification from your professor. There are generally two types of reflective writing assignments, each approached in slightly different ways.

1.  Reflective Thinking about Course Readings

This type of reflective writing focuses on thoughtfully thinking about the course readings that underpin how most students acquire new knowledge and understanding about the subject of a course. Reflecting on course readings is often assigned in freshmen-level, interdisciplinary courses where the required readings examine topics viewed from multiple perspectives and, as such, provide different ways of analyzing a topic, issue, event, or phenomenon. The purpose of reflective thinking about course readings in the social and behavioral sciences is to elicit your opinions, beliefs, and feelings about the research and its significance. This type of writing can provide an opportunity to break down key assumptions you may have and, in so doing, reveal potential biases in how you interpret the scholarship.

If you are assigned to reflect on course readings, consider the following methods of analysis as prompts that can help you get started :

• Examine carefully the main introductory elements of the reading, including the purpose of the study, the theoretical framework being used to test assumptions, and the research questions being addressed. Think about what ideas stood out to you. Why did they? Were these ideas new to you or familiar in some way based on your own lived experiences or prior knowledge?
• Develop your ideas around the readings by asking yourself, what do I know about this topic? Where does my existing knowledge about this topic come from? What are the observations or experiences in my life that influence my understanding of the topic? Do I agree or disagree with the main arguments, recommended course of actions, or conclusions made by the author(s)? Why do I feel this way and what is the basis of these feelings?
• Make connections between the text and your own beliefs, opinions, or feelings by considering questions like, how do the readings reinforce my existing ideas or assumptions? How the readings challenge these ideas or assumptions? How does this text help me to better understand this topic or research in ways that motivate me to learn more about this area of study?

2.  Reflective Thinking about Course Experiences

This type of reflective writing asks you to critically reflect on locating yourself at the conceptual intersection of theory and practice. The purpose of experiential reflection is to evaluate theories or disciplinary-based analytical models based on your introspective assessment of the relationship between hypothetical thinking and practical reality; it offers a way to consider how your own knowledge and skills fit within professional practice. This type of writing also provides an opportunity to evaluate your decisions and actions, as well as how you managed your subsequent successes and failures, within a specific theoretical framework. As a result, abstract concepts can crystallize and become more relevant to you when considered within your own experiences. This can help you formulate plans for self-improvement as you learn.

If you are assigned to reflect on your experiences, consider the following questions as prompts to help you get started :

• Contextualize your reflection in relation to the overarching purpose of the course by asking yourself, what did you hope to learn from this course? What were the learning objectives for the course and how did I fit within each of them? How did these goals relate to the main themes or concepts of the course?
• Analyze how you experienced the course by asking yourself, what did I learn from this experience? What did I learn about myself? About working in this area of research and study? About how the course relates to my place in society? What assumptions about the course were supported or refuted?
• Think introspectively about the ways you experienced learning during the course by asking yourself, did your learning experiences align with the goals or concepts of the course? Why or why do you not feel this way? What was successful and why do you believe this? What would you do differently and why is this important? How will you prepare for a future experience in this area of study?

NOTE: If you are assigned to write a journal or other type of on-going reflection exercise, a helpful approach is to reflect on your reflections by re-reading what you have already written. In other words, review your previous entries as a way to contextualize your feelings, opinions, or beliefs regarding your overall learning experiences. Over time, this can also help reveal hidden patterns or themes related to how you processed your learning experiences. Consider concluding your reflective journal with a summary of how you felt about your learning experiences at critical junctures throughout the course, then use these to write about how you grew as a student learner and how the act of reflecting helped you gain new understanding about the subject of the course and its content.

ANOTHER NOTE: Regardless of whether you write a reflection paper or a journal, do not focus your writing on the past. The act of reflection is intended to think introspectively about previous learning experiences. However, reflective thinking should document the ways in which you progressed in obtaining new insights and understandings about your growth as a learner that can be carried forward in subsequent coursework or in future professional practice. Your writing should reflect a furtherance of increasing personal autonomy and confidence gained from understanding more about yourself as a learner.

Structure and Writing Style

There are no strict academic rules for writing a reflective paper. Reflective writing may be assigned in any class taught in the social and behavioral sciences and, therefore, requirements for the assignment can vary depending on disciplinary-based models of inquiry and learning. The organization of content can also depend on what your professor wants you to write about or based on the type of reflective model used to frame the writing assignment. Despite these possible variations, below is a basic approach to organizing and writing a good reflective paper, followed by a list of problems to avoid.

Pre-flection

In most cases, it's helpful to begin by thinking about your learning experiences and outline what you want to focus on before you begin to write the paper. This can help you organize your thoughts around what was most important to you and what experiences [good or bad] had the most impact on your learning. As described by the University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre, preparing to write a reflective paper involves a process of self-analysis that can help organize your thoughts around significant moments of in-class knowledge discovery.

• Using a thesis statement as a guide, note what experiences or course content stood out to you , then place these within the context of your observations, reactions, feelings, and opinions. This will help you develop a rough outline of key moments during the course that reflect your growth as a learner. To identify these moments, pose these questions to yourself: What happened? What was my reaction? What were my expectations and how were they different from what transpired? What did I learn?
• Critically think about your learning experiences and the course content . This will help you develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding about why these moments were significant or relevant to you. Use the ideas you formulated during the first stage of reflecting to help you think through these moments from both an academic and personal perspective. From an academic perspective, contemplate how the experience enhanced your understanding of a concept, theory, or skill. Ask yourself, did the experience confirm my previous understanding or challenge it in some way. As a result, did this highlight strengths or gaps in your current knowledge? From a personal perspective, think introspectively about why these experiences mattered, if previous expectations or assumptions were confirmed or refuted, and if this surprised, confused, or unnerved you in some way.
• Analyze how these experiences and your reactions to them will shape your future thinking and behavior . Reflection implies looking back, but the most important act of reflective writing is considering how beliefs, assumptions, opinions, and feelings were transformed in ways that better prepare you as a learner in the future. Note how this reflective analysis can lead to actions you will take as a result of your experiences, what you will do differently, and how you will apply what you learned in other courses or in professional practice.

Basic Structure and Writing Style

Reflective Background and Context

The first part of your reflection paper should briefly provide background and context in relation to the content or experiences that stood out to you. Highlight the settings, summarize the key readings, or narrate the experiences in relation to the course objectives. Provide background that sets the stage for your reflection. You do not need to go into great detail, but you should provide enough information for the reader to understand what sources of learning you are writing about [e.g., course readings, field experience, guest lecture, class discussions] and why they were important. This section should end with an explanatory thesis statement that expresses the central ideas of your paper and what you want the readers to know, believe, or understand after they finish reading your paper.

Reflective Interpretation

Drawing from your reflective analysis, this is where you can be personal, critical, and creative in expressing how you felt about the course content and learning experiences and how they influenced or altered your feelings, beliefs, assumptions, or biases about the subject of the course. This section is also where you explore the meaning of these experiences in the context of the course and how you gained an awareness of the connections between these moments and your own prior knowledge.

Guided by your thesis statement, a helpful approach is to interpret your learning throughout the course with a series of specific examples drawn from the course content and your learning experiences. These examples should be arranged in sequential order that illustrate your growth as a learner. Reflecting on each example can be done by: 1)  introducing a theme or moment that was meaningful to you, 2) describing your previous position about the learning moment and what you thought about it, 3) explaining how your perspective was challenged and/or changed and why, and 4) introspectively stating your current or new feelings, opinions, or beliefs about that experience in class.

It is important to include specific examples drawn from the course and placed within the context of your assumptions, thoughts, opinions, and feelings. A reflective narrative without specific examples does not provide an effective way for the reader to understand the relationship between the course content and how you grew as a learner.

Reflective Conclusions

The conclusion of your reflective paper should provide a summary of your thoughts, feelings, or opinions regarding what you learned about yourself as a result of taking the course. Here are several ways you can frame your conclusions based on the examples you interpreted and reflected on what they meant to you. Each example would need to be tied to the basic theme [thesis statement] of your reflective background section.

• Your reflective conclusions can be described in relation to any expectations you had before taking the class [e.g., “I expected the readings to not be relevant to my own experiences growing up in a rural community, but the research actually helped me see that the challenges of developing my identity as a child of immigrants was not that unusual...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can explain how what you learned about yourself will change your actions in the future [e.g., “During a discussion in class about the challenges of helping homeless people, I realized that many of these people hate living on the street but lack the ability to see a way out. This made me realize that I wanted to take more classes in psychology...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can describe major insights you experienced a critical junctures during the course and how these moments enhanced how you see yourself as a student learner [e.g., "The guest speaker from the Head Start program made me realize why I wanted to pursue a career in elementary education..."].
• Your reflective conclusions can reconfigure or reframe how you will approach professional practice and your understanding of your future career aspirations [e.g.,, "The course changed my perceptions about seeking a career in business finance because it made me realize I want to be more engaged in customer service..."]
• Your reflective conclusions can explore any learning you derived from the act of reflecting itself [e.g., “Reflecting on the course readings that described how minority students perceive campus activities helped me identify my own biases about the benefits of those activities in acclimating to campus life...”].

NOTE: The length of a reflective paper in the social sciences is usually less than a traditional research paper. However, don’t assume that writing a reflective paper is easier than writing a research paper. A well-conceived critical reflection paper often requires as much time and effort as a research paper because you must purposeful engage in thinking about your learning in ways that you may not be comfortable with or used to. This is particular true while preparing to write because reflective papers are not as structured as a traditional research paper and, therefore, you have to think deliberately about how you want to organize the paper and what elements of the course you want to reflect upon.

ANOTHER NOTE: Do not limit yourself to using only text in reflecting on your learning. If you believe it would be helpful, consider using creative modes of thought or expression such as, illustrations, photographs, or material objects that reflects an experience related to the subject of the course that was important to you [e.g., like a ticket stub to a renowned speaker on campus]. Whatever non-textual element you include, be sure to describe the object's relevance to your personal relationship to the course content.

Problems to Avoid

A reflective paper is not a “mind dump” . Reflective papers document your personal and emotional experiences and, therefore, they do not conform to rigid structures, or schema, to organize information. However, the paper should not be a disjointed, stream-of-consciousness narrative. Reflective papers are still academic pieces of writing that require organized thought, that use academic language and tone , and that apply intellectually-driven critical thinking to the course content and your learning experiences and their significance.

A reflective paper is not a research paper . If you are asked to reflect on a course reading, the reflection will obviously include some description of the research. However, the goal of reflective writing is not to present extraneous ideas to the reader or to "educate" them about the course. The goal is to share a story about your relationship with the learning objectives of the course. Therefore, unlike research papers, you are expected to write from a first person point of view which includes an introspective examination of your own opinions, feelings, and personal assumptions.

A reflection paper is not a book review . Descriptions of the course readings using your own words is not a reflective paper. Reflective writing should focus on how you understood the implications of and were challenged by the course in relation to your own lived experiences or personal assumptions, combined with explanations of how you grew as a student learner based on this internal dialogue. Remember that you are the central object of the paper, not the research materials.

A reflective paper is not an all-inclusive meditation. Do not try to cover everything. The scope of your paper should be well-defined and limited to your specific opinions, feelings, and beliefs about what you determine to be the most significant content of the course and in relation to the learning that took place. Reflections should be detailed enough to covey what you think is important, but your thoughts should be expressed concisely and coherently [as is true for any academic writing assignment].

Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Critical Reflection: Journals, Opinions, & Reactions . University Writing Center, Texas A&M University; Connor-Greene, Patricia A. “Making Connections: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Journal Writing in Enhancing Student Learning.” Teaching of Psychology 27 (2000): 44-46; Good vs. Bad Reflection Papers , Franklin University; Dyment, Janet E. and Timothy S. O’Connell. "The Quality of Reflection in Student Journals: A Review of Limiting and Enabling Factors." Innovative Higher Education 35 (2010): 233-244: How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Amelia TaraJane House. Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas; Ramlal, Alana, and Désirée S. Augustin. “Engaging Students in Reflective Writing: An Action Research Project.” Educational Action Research 28 (2020): 518-533; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; McGuire, Lisa, Kathy Lay, and Jon Peters. “Pedagogy of Reflective Writing in Professional Education.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2009): 93-107; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; How Do I Write Reflectively? Academic Skills Toolkit, University of New South Wales Sydney; Reflective Writing . Skills@Library. University of Leeds; Walling, Anne, Johanna Shapiro, and Terry Ast. “What Makes a Good Reflective Paper?” Family Medicine 45 (2013): 7-12; Williams, Kate, Mary Woolliams, and Jane Spiro. Reflective Writing . 2nd edition. London: Red Globe Press, 2020; Yeh, Hui-Chin, Shih-hsien Yang, Jo Shan Fu, and Yen-Chen Shih. “Developing College Students’ Critical Thinking through Reflective Writing.” Higher Education Research and Development (2022): 1-16.

Writing Tip

Focus on Reflecting, Not on Describing

Minimal time and effort should be spent describing the course content you are asked to reflect upon. The purpose of a reflection assignment is to introspectively contemplate your reactions to and feeling about an element of the course. D eflecting the focus away from your own feelings by concentrating on describing the course content can happen particularly if "talking about yourself" [i.e., reflecting] makes you uncomfortable or it is intimidating. However, the intent of reflective writing is to overcome these inhibitions so as to maximize the benefits of introspectively assessing your learning experiences. Keep in mind that, if it is relevant, your feelings of discomfort could be a part of how you critically reflect on any challenges you had during the course [e.g., you realize this discomfort inhibited your willingness to ask questions during class, it fed into your propensity to procrastinate, or it made it difficult participating in groups].

Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas.

Another Writing Tip

Helpful Videos about Reflective Writing

These two short videos succinctly describe how to approach a reflective writing assignment. They are produced by the Academic Skills department at the University of Melbourne and the Skills Team of the University of Hull, respectively.

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Introduction to Psychology: Reflective Journal Assignment

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Student Learning Librarian

Reflective Learning Journals

What is reflective learning.

Our default way of tackling almost anything - assignments, projects, and even life - tends to be more like a checklist. We "tick the boxes" when we've finished a task and move on. How often do we REALLY stop to think, question, or reflect on what we've read or learned, or what we've learned. Mostly we're just glad to be done!

Watch the video below to learn a better approach. The concept of reflection - deciding how to make use of knowledge, information, or experience is a significant part of the learning process.

What is a Reflective Learning Journal?

A learning journal is about writing that's done for the purpose of learning.  You are writing to learn. There is no single right way or wrong way to write a reflective learning journal. You simply write down, using your own personal everyday language, what you thought about or what you felt or experienced as you engaged with the reading or other course materials. Reflective writing or reflective practice help you develop the skills to be an independent learner.

• Reflective Learning Journal Ideas A learning or reflective journal is a steadily growing document that you write to record the progress of your learning. This type of journal is not simply a summary of the course material; it should also include your reactions , your thoughts, your feelings and your questions about what you've learned. There is no right or wrong way to do this.

If You're Stuck....

How to get un-stuck when writing .

Your instructor explained her expectations in the guidelines she provided to the class, but you may still find yourself stuck when encounter that blank page. Here are some idea that might help you get unstuck:

• Write as though talking to yourself or a friend. This puts you in touch with your writing voice and helps you express your thoughts which in turn, helps you connect what you're learning to the ideas or experiences meaningful to you.
• Don't censor what you are thinking ahead of time. Don't judge what you are writing.Something that might seem silly or stupid at first may just be the seed that turns into something strong and focused as you continue to work with it.
• Don't be afraid to express a negative reaction to something you read. Again, as you work with it, you will begin to understand why you responded the way you did. You may learn something about yourself, you didn't expect to.
• Start to look for connections in the theories you are reading about to knowledge you have in other areas whether your personal life, other courses, your job or workplace, your family life, relationships etc. Notice patterns that may begin to emerge. This expands your learning and understanding in a real-world context.

Still stuck? Maybe some of the Student Reflection Question listed in the link below willhelp  jump start your thinking.

• Student Reflection Questions
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Reflective writing: Types of reflective assignments

• What is reflection? Why do it?
• What does reflection involve?
• Reflective questioning
• Reflective writing for academic assessment

Types of reflective assignments

• Differences between discursive and reflective writing
• Sources of evidence for reflective writing assignments
• Linking theory to experience
• Reflective essays
• Portfolios and learning journals, logs and diaries
• Examples of reflective writing
• Video summary
• Bibliography

On this page:

“Reflection in a programme of study or professional context is a purposeful activity. It drives learning and change...” Williams et al., Reflective thinking

What do you reflect on as part of assignments?

While you should be reflecting on all of your studies and assignments, the previous page introduced some aspects of courses that often explicitly require reflection. This page will consider what issues you should address when reflecting on each area of your course - especially as part of an assessment.

There are two different kinds of reflection that you may encounter at university and the sections below consider each. If the focus of your assignment is to look at theory in practice, you are likely to be looking at reflection focused on theory and academic evidence . This is often the case for disciplines where reflective practice is an important part of the profession (Social Work, Nursing and Education are good examples). If you are being asked to reflect as part of your learning or as personal development, you are likely to be looking at reflection focused on you and your development . This is also the case for students reflecting as part of their Hull Employability Awards.

Reflection focused on theory and academic evidence

In this kind of reflection, the aim is to relate theory and academic evidence to practice (and vice versa ). This is achieved by comparing your experiences to theory and exploring the relationships between both. This will enable you discuss to what extent they are comparable or not. Theory can also be used to reflectively interpret your experiences. See the video on our Linking theory to experience page   for examples of how to do this.

For any kind of reflection, you should consider:

The event or experience

How does the event or experience relate to theory or academic evidence?

Theory and/or academic evidence

What is the relationship between the theory/evidence and your event/experience?

The relationship between

This is the relationship between the event/experience and theory/academic evidence. To what extent are the two comparable? Why is this?

As with all academic writing you must consider evidence. In this context your experiences, reflections and academic evidence can be used.

Your understanding

Can you apply theory or academic evidence to your reflection to increase your understanding of it?

Your development

All the ideas in developmental reflection below are often applicable to an academic context. (See below)

Reflection focused on you and your development:

In this kind of reflection, the focus is on you. You need to reflect on your experiences to highlight the learning and development you have achieved. You need to use your experiences as reflective learning points to inform future events.

What you are learning

It's why you are here after all! (In assignments, only a brief description needs to be written about what you are learning as your lecturer knows the topic already.)

• How you are learning it

We do not simply absorb information. Reflect on how you learn best so you can keep doing it

• How you are using what you are learning

Seeing the use and value of what you are learning is a fantastic motivator

• What your strengths and weaknesses in learning are

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can help you identify areas to focus on. This can be for both improving your weaknesses and maximising your strengths.

• What your learning priorities are

There are many aspects to defining your learning priorities. You may wish to focus on certain areas to achieve your desired grade. You could be matching requirements for your future career goals. Perhaps you're sticking to your strengths or interests?

• How you can improve and build upon your learning process

The more time you put into figuring out how you learn and what works for you - the easier you will find your studies.

• How well you are working toward your short-, medium- and long-term goals.

There is no point in setting yourself goals if you do not have any checks in place to see if you are succeeding. Use reflection to keep checking on your progress and revise your goals if you need to.

How your reflection can inform future practice

Reflection is all about improving for the future. Use your reflection to inform future practice. This works for all disciplines - from scientists devising a new approach for experimentation to nurses devising ways to improve their patient care.

• What you are learning (only a brief description need be written about this - your lecturer knows the topic already)

Do not forget to also consider:

• your motivation
• your attitudes and ideas, and changes in these
• the skills you need for different components of your study and learning
• if anything is blocking your learning
• the gaps in your knowledge and skills
• how you might address any of these gaps.
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Reflection and Reflective Writing - Skills Guide

Reflective assignments.

• Reflecting on Your Experiences
• Reflecting on Your Skills
• Reflecting on Feedback
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What is a reflective assignment?

Reflective assignments can take many different forms and there will be differences between courses and between modules.  An assignment might require you to reflect on your skills, or experiences, or both.  It will generally (although not always) require you to use a reflective model.  In the Resources box of this page you will find key sources of reflective models.  Some of the conventions of academic writing are different for reflective assignments: It is generally acceptable to write in the first person (e.g. "My task was to..."), and you will be expected to draw upon your own experiences.  Other things remain the same, for example you will usually still be expected to read around the subject and include references to the work of others.

How do I write a reflective assignment?

Because reflective assignments can vary so much, it is important that you fully understand the question and the assignment brief.  Make sure you understand what you are being asked to write, what format you should submit your work in and if there is a specific reflective model that you need to use.  If you are in any doubt then check with your lecturer.  Sources for some of the key reflective models can be found in the ' Further Reading ' section of this guide.

It can be difficult to balance the personal nature of reflection with the knowledge that what you write will be read by someone else.  If you are struggling you may find it helpful to begin with a purely personal reflection using some of the tools on the other pages of this guide.  You can then adapt your reflection to fit the requirements of your assignment.

Another challenging aspect can be including references to academic sources, as it can be difficult to see how these fit in to writing about your own personal experiences.  Academic theories or research can be used to enhance your understanding of your experiences and help you make sense of what has happened.  Again, it might be useful to begin with a personal reflection and then review this with an academic theory in mind, looking for ways that the theory could apply to your personal experience.

Sources for Key Reflective Models

Reflective Writing Tips and Advice

Reflective writing tips and advice video podcast - 28 mins.

Alex and Tim discuss reflective writing, outlining their tips, some useful reflective models and tips from students.  This video was recorded live during the Reflective Writing Livestream on the 14th October 2020.

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Designing for the Core

Designing for Reflection

Active reflection can supercharge student learning. Reflection in courses can help students draw connections between ideas in the course and other aspects of their lives, better process complexity, make meaning of what they have learned and the learning process, and develop habits of mind that can carry over to other academic and professional endeavors. Bkey skilut the success of active reflection depends on how it is structured and how students are guided through the process.

This page aims to provide faculty with two main types of resources to promote reflection:

• Frameworks for structuring reflection assignments
• Example reflection prompts

Structuring Reflection Assignments

Simply asking students to “reflect” on a course or assignment is unlikely to have the benefits associated with active reflection. Instead, students must be guided through effective means of structuring reflection. Moreover, by providing students with a framework for reflection, you reduce the cognitive load dedicated to  how to reflect, providing more mental resources to focus on the reflection itself.

D.E.A.L. Model

A framework particularly useful when reflecting on specific  experiences is the  DEAL Model : Describe the experience, Explain the experience from multiple perspectives, and Articulate Learning.

• Describe the Experience.  Emphasizes a short (3 sentence or less)  objective description of the experience. The “What? Where? Who? When? Why?” of the experience
• Core Competencies. Explaining the experience from the perspective of (e.g.) collaboration and written communication. This helps students draw connections between the course/learning experience and the key skills emphasized in the core curriculum.
• Personal Growth. Strengths and weaknesses that emerged in the experience. This helps students draw connections between the course/learning experience and their personal lives and abilities.
• Academic Enhancement. Here the perspectives are drawn from the course and students are asked to apply one or more concepts/perspectives to the experience. This emphasizes connections between course  content and the wider world.
• What did you learn?
• How did you learn it?
• Why is what you learned important?
• What will do as a result of the learning?

An example DEAL reflection assignment connected to the CSU Core Competencies may look like this:

• Describe your experience working through the signature assignment.
• Digital Literacy: How did your use of digital tools or forms enhance, diminish, or otherwise influence your experience?
• Collaboration: How did your work with others on this assignment enhance, diminish, or otherwise influence your experience?
• Articulate your learning: What are the two most important things you learned through this assignment process?

What? So What? Now What?

This model of reflection may be familiar to some students, as it is sometimes used in high school education. It is more flexible and quicker than other models, and so is typically more appropriate for shorter, written reflections.

Fundamentally, you can organize any reflection around these three broad prompts:

• What happened?
• Why does it matter?/What is important about it?
• What will you do next time?

This approach to reflection focuses on student takeaways and lessons learned. Whereas the previous two models most shine when the focus is on a learning  experience , the 3-2-1 is especially good for cementing conceptual and content learning.

3-2-1 reflections can be short, even done at the end of each class period, or longer depending on the context provided. In either case, the process of providing a 3-2-1 reflection includes:

• Setting context. Here you will specify the domain for reflection. It may be the class period, the most recently completed module or unit, the recently completed signature assignment, a specific activity or class experience, or even the entire course.
• 3 things you learned, noticed, and/or experienced. Here students are asked to reflect back within the provided context.
• 2 things connected to something outside of the context (i.e., broader studies or personal life) and/or 2 things you want to learn more about.
• 1 thing you intend to try next time around or would do differently going forward.

Example Reflection Prompts [1]

Faculty are encouraged to design reflection prompts and assignments that best fit with their course and instructional style. But the following taxonomy and examples may be used as a basis for design.

Summative Reflection

• In what ways have you improved as a writer/artist/scientist, etc.? What brought about those improvements? Point to specific experiences, readings, assignments, or discussions in the course.
• What was your biggest accomplishment in the course? How did the signature assignments and other course elements help you reach it? Be specific.
• What skills did you master in this course? How are they reflected in your signature assignments and other course work? Be specific.

Process Reflection

• What problems did you encounter in completing the signature assignments? How did you troubleshoot them?
• Talk about the aims and strategies that led to the completion of your signature assignments. How did your thinking about the assignments evolve over time? Illustrate this using specific experiences you had while working on the assignments. How did the assignment evolve (or not) with your thinking? What went according to plan and what surprises did you encounter? What still needs work?
• Outline the steps you took to complete the signature assignments, and tell me about your thinking at each step.

Evaluative Reflection

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your signature assignments? Explain while making specific references to your work.
• Discuss your best work in this course and explain using specific references to the work why it is your best.

Learning Reflection

• Make connections between what you learned in this course and what you’ve learned in other courses at CSU or before. Make specific references to your work in this class and in the other courses. How did what you learned in the other courses enhance what you learned in here, and vice versa?
• As part of the CSU Core Curriculum, this course is designed to help you develop the following core competency/competencies: [insert for course]. Making specific references to your work in this course, tell me how you have progressed toward achieving this competency/these competencies.
• Reflect on how you thought about [course topic] before you took this course and how you think about it now that the course is over. Have any of your assumptions or understandings changed? Why? What assignments/activities/readings were influential in this process? How will you approach [course topic] differently in the future?
• These example prompts come from Salt Lake Community College. https://www.slcc.edu/eportfolio/reflection.aspx ↵

CSU Core Curriculum Handbook by Core Curriculum Committee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Structure of academic reflections

Guidance on the structure of academic reflections.

Academic reflections or reflective writing completed for assessment often require a clear structure. Contrary to some people’s belief, reflection is not just a personal diary talking about your day and your feelings.

Both the language and the structure are important for academic reflective writing. For the structure you want to mirror an academic essay closely. You want an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion.

Academic reflection will require you to both describe the context, analyse it, and make conclusions. However, there is not one set of rules for the proportion of your reflection that should be spent describing the context, and what proportion should be spent on analysing and concluding. That being said, as learning tends to happen when analysing and synthesising rather than describing, a good rule of thumb is to describe just enough such that the reader understands your context.

Example structure for academic reflections

Below is an example of how you might structure an academic reflection if you were given no other guidance and what each section might contain.  Remember this is only a suggestion and you must consider what is appropriate for the task at hand and for you yourself.

Introduction

Identifies and introduces your experience or learning

• This can be a critical incident
• This can be the reflective prompt you were given
• A particular learning you have gained

When structuring your academic reflections it might make sense to start with what you have learned and then use the main body to evidence that learning, using specific experiences and events. Alternatively, start with the event and build up your argument. This is a question of personal preference – if you aren’t given explicit guidance you can ask the assessor if they have a preference, however both can work.

Highlights why it was important

• This can be suggesting why this event was important for the learning you gained
• This can be why the learning you gained will benefit you or why you appreciate it in your context

You might find that it is not natural to highlight the importance of an event before you have developed your argument for what you gained from it. It can be okay not to explicitly state the importance in the introduction, but leave it to develop throughout your reflection.

Outline key themes that will appear in the reflection (optional – but particularly relevant when answering a reflective prompt or essay)

• This can be an introduction to your argument, introducing the elements that you will explore, or that builds to the learning you have already gained.

This might not make sense if you are reflecting on a particular experience, but is extremely valuable if you are answering a reflective prompt or writing an essay that includes multiple learning points. A type of prompt or question that could particularly benefit from this would be ‘Reflect on how the skills and theory within this course have helped you meet the benchmark statements of your degree’

It can be helpful to explore one theme/learning per paragraph.

Explore experiences

• You should highlight and explore the experience you introduced in the introduction
• If you are building toward answering a reflective prompt, explore each relevant experience.

As reflection is centred around an individual’s personal experience, it is very important to make experiences a main component of reflection. This does not mean that the majority of the reflective piece should be on describing an event – in fact you should only describe enough such that the reader can follow your analysis.

Analyse and synthesise

• You should analyse each of your experiences and from them synthesise new learning

Depending on the requirements of the assessment, you may need to use theoretical literature in your analysis. Theoretical literature is a part of perspective taking which is relevant for reflection, and will happen as a part of your analysis.  

Restate or state your learning

• Make a conclusion based on your analysis and synthesis.
• If you have many themes in your reflection, it can be helpful to restate them here.

Plan for the future

• Highlight and discuss how your new-found learnings will influence your future practice

Answer the question or prompt (if applicable)

• If you are answering an essay question or reflective prompt, make sure that your conclusion provides a succinct response using your main body as evidence.  

Using a reflective model to structure academic reflections

You might recognise that most reflective models mirror this structure; that is why a lot of the reflective models can be really useful to structure reflective assignments. Models are naturally structured to focus on a single experience – if the assignment requires you to focus on multiple experiences, it can be helpful to simply repeat each step of a model for each experience.

One difference between the structure of reflective writing and the structure of models is that sometimes you may choose to present your learning in the introduction of a piece of writing, whereas models (given that they support working through the reflective process) will have learning appearing at later stages.

However, generally structuring a piece of academic writing around a reflective model will ensure that it involves the correct components, reads coherently and logically, as well as having an appropriate structure.

Reflective journals/diaries/blogs and other pieces of assessed reflection

The example structure above works particularly well for formal assignments such as reflective essays and reports.  Reflective journal/blogs and other pieces of assessed reflections tend to be less formal both in language and structure, however you can easily adapt the structure for journals and other reflective assignments if you find that helpful.

That is, if you are asked to produce a reflective journal with multiple entries it will most often (always check with the person who issued the assignment) be a successful journal if each entry mirrors the structure above and the language highlighted in the section on academic language. However, often you can be less concerned with form when producing reflective journals/diaries.

When producing reflective journals, it is often okay to include your original reflection as long as you are comfortable with sharing the content with others, and that the information included is not too personal for an assessor to read.

Developed from:

Ryan, M., 2011. Improving reflective writing in higher education: a social semiotic perspective. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(1), 99-111.

University of Portsmouth, Department for Curriculum and Quality Enhancement (date unavailable). Reflective Writing: a basic introduction [online].  Portsmouth: University of Portsmouth.

Queen Margaret University, Effective Learning Service (date unavailable).  Reflection. [online].  Edinburgh: Queen Margaret University.

Promoting Student Reflection Through Reflective Writing Tasks

Elena Taylor, Ph.D.

Reflection is a necessary component of learning. Through reflective assignments and tasks, students are given opportunities to evaluate their learning and analyze strategies they use while acquiring and applying course material. Reflections also help students assess and think deeply about the information presented in class and thus better retain it. Through reflecting on their learning, students are also given the opportunity to formulate goals for future improvement. Reflective tasks can be implemented in any classroom, and writing is a powerful tool to do that. This article describes several writing tasks that promote student reflection both on the course material and on their own performance: writing reflective journals, reflections on writing assignments, reflections on teacher and peer feedback, writing-to-learn activities, and letters to the Reviewer.

Keywords: reflection, self-evaluation, writing

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience” (John Dewey).

Introduction

Reflection has long been seen in education as a necessary component of learning. John Dewey, the American philosopher, defined reflection as “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends” (Dewey, 1933, p. 118). The importance of learners’ awareness of their own learning processes and experiences has been emphasized by many educators and has become a foundation for several learning theories (e.g., Kolb, 1984; Mezirov, 1991; Revans, 1982). At the basis of these theories is the idea that learning is better achieved through experience and action, which includes learners’ reflection on their learning experiences and processes, rather than through the passive acquisition of knowledge and skills (Pais Marden & Herrington, 2021).

The literature describes a number of benefits that learners’ reflection has on the effectiveness of the learning process. When students reflectively approach their learning, they develop their critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies (Crane & Sosulski, 2020; Fullana, Pallisera, Colomer, Fernández Peña, & Pérez-Burriel, 2016; Pais Marden & Herrington, 2021). They can see the application of the knowledge obtained in the classroom more clearly by becoming better aware of connections between the materials learned in class and their own lives (Crane, 2018). Through reflections, learners also develop the ability to evaluate both successes and setbacks in their performance and make goals for improvement (N. Anderson, 2012; Ryan, 2013). As N. Anderson (2012) stated, “When learners engage in reflecting upon their learning, they become better prepared to make conscious decisions about what they can do to improve themselves […]” (p. 182). Carefully crafted and regularly implemented reflective activities can also activate student metacognitive processes [1] by allowing them “to examine and evaluate their personal investment of time and energy in learning” (Crane & Sosulski, 2020, p. 86), thus creating the opportunity for deeper and more active learning (Pais Marden & Herrington, 2021). All these abilities facilitate learner autonomy and help students become independent and responsible learners in the future (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010; Andrade & Evans, 2013; Benson, 2007).

Reflective components find their place in my own everyday classroom routine. Based on several years of my language teaching experience, I noticed that through reflection on their own learning, the use of language-learning strategies, and factors influencing their learning, students can gain a better understanding of their language development. However, I also know that it may be challenging for students to engage in self-driven, independent reflection. According to Crane and Sosulski (2020), “Reflection […] best serves students when it is carefully structured (e.g., written reflections and directed discussions), guided by another individual (e.g., a teacher or mentor), and linked to clear learning objectives” (p. 75). Therefore, as a teacher, I try to incorporate structured reflective elements in my courses, which primarily consist of English-language learners of various linguistic and cultural backgrounds, to maximize students’ learning experiences and help them succeed at the university and beyond.

The practical implementation of reflective elements in a course (e.g., tasks, activities, assignments) can take multiple forms: written and oral, group and individual, formal and informal. In my own language classes, I often implement reflective writing by assigning individual reflective writing tasks, which allow students to analyze course projects, activities, or their own performance and make personal goals for improvement.

Reflective writing is described in the literature as a process that involves a transformation of experiences and life events into thoughts and feelings, along with personal opinions, viewpoints, judgments, and critical evaluation (Moon, 2001). Ramlal and Augustin (2020) define reflective written pieces as “very personal but also very critical” because, along with a summary of life experiences, they also demonstrate the writer’s “critical thinking, critical engagement, critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis” (p. 520). Morrison (1996) suggests that through writing reflections, writers can critically assess their experiences and observations and make meaning of them, which may promote their personal development. Similar views are found in Gibbs (1988), whose model of reflective writing culminates in action plans that the writer makes as a result of analysis, reflective evaluation, and interpretation of thoughts and feelings.

Research on reflective writing also addresses its implementation in the classroom by describing reflective activities and discussing their pedagogical value and consequences for student learning. Grossman (2008) discusses four types of reflections–content-based reflections, metacognitive reflections, “self-authorship” reflections, and transformative and intensive reflections–and their implementation in a wide range of courses. Greene (2011) suggests that the implementation of guided student questions, letters to self, peer editing exercises, and creative writing activities can encourage students’ self-examination, deep retrospection, and metacognition. Orem (2001) focuses on one type of reflective writing, journal writing, and refers to it as a powerful teaching technique in a language classroom that can empower learners by giving them the opportunity to reflect on their learning processes and practice authentic language.

Some researchers describe pedagogical approaches and propose suggestions for promoting student knowledge of processes involved in writing reflections and enhancing their metacognition and reflective abilities. For example, Greene (2011) and Ramlal and Augustin (2020) propose modeling as a pedagogical tool that can increase students’ ability to write thoughtful, more evaluative reflections. Ryan (2011), on the other hand, suggests that providing students with models of effective reflections is not enough for the development of their own reflective skills; therefore, in order for students to achieve success in reflective writing, they need to be explicitly taught and scaffolded. Ramlal and Augustin (2020) found that implementing peer editing and collaborative group work may be beneficial in helping students develop their reflective writing skills. Using social media applications, such as Google Docs, was also described as an effective pedagogical strategy that improves student reflective writing (Marciano, 2015; Ramlal & Augustin, 2020; Zheng, 2013). Finally, rubrics that guide students’ writing activities and help them critically evaluate their writing were found to be effective in promoting students’ metacognitive skills that help them produce more critical reflections (Ramlal & Augustin, 2020).

In this article, I describe several writing tasks used in my own classes that promote student reflection both on the course material and on their own performance: writing reflective journals, reflections on writing assignments, reflections on teacher and peer feedback, writing-to-learn activities, and letters to the Reviewer. Following the description of each reflective task, I will explain how the task can be used in the classroom and provide a few examples of students’ written responses. All reflective tasks described in this article were implemented in my own courses with English language learners, but they can be adjusted to a variety of instructional contexts and be applicable to diverse student populations.

Writing Reflective Journals

Description.

Writing development is challenging to track. Based on my experience, students may not always be aware of the positive progression of their writing skills. Therefore, in my writing courses, I implement reflective journals [2] to facilitate students’ self-reflection and help them notice positive improvements in their writing. The purpose of reflective journals is to provide students with the opportunity to think about and analyze their learning processes (Carroll, 1994; Farrah, 2012; Orem, 2001). Because I follow a multi-draft approach in my writing courses, students receive a short reflective prompt for each draft they submit over the course of the semester. Along with aiming to promote students’ reflective and analytical skills and raise awareness of their writing development, I also strive to align these reflective journals with the course material. Therefore, the journal prompts in my classes are designed to help students reflect on the application of the material presented in the course to their own writing. For example, if we had a recent lesson on paragraph unity, a prompt may ask students to reflect on the flow and cohesion of sentences in their paragraphs.

Implementation

As I mentioned, in my writing classes, students receive a reflective prompt on each draft they compose in the course. Their responses are expected to be no longer than 250 words–not to overburden them with additional writing load and thus maintain their motivation. For convenience, teachers can design a labeling system to keep the prompts (and students’ responses) organized. For example, to label prompts of reflective journals in my classes, where three drafts are normally required for each writing project, I use two numbers–the first one to indicate the writing project and the second one to indicate the draft (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3). However, these reflective journals can also be implemented in courses (not necessarily writing courses) where students only submit the final version of their writing assignments.

Below I provide some examples of the prompts used in my classes:

1.1 What did you do to come up with ideas for your paper as you were working on this first draft? What or who helped you? Describe and evaluate the effectiveness of this invention process.

1.2 You already learned about transition words between sentences and paragraphs. Describe what you did in order to decide where to use transition words and which ones to use in your draft.

1.3 Pretend a local newspaper is interested in buying your paper for $10,000 in order to publish it. What revisions do you think you could make to polish this final draft so that the newspaper would be happy to pay that much?

2.1 Think about the audience of your paper. What rhetorical features (e.g., style, tone, language) did you choose in your paper to appeal to your audience? Are the overall content and organization of this paper appropriate for this audience?

2.2 What is the most important information you learned about integrating academic sources in your paper? How was this knowledge applied in your second draft?

2.3 Why do you think this annotated bibliography would be helpful to someone interested in this topic? What makes it effective? Provide specific examples.

3.1 What is the most helpful and important thing that you learned about integrating quotations? How did you use this information as you were working on your first draft?

3.2 What do you think can strengthen your argument? Providing additional support (evidence)? Including counterclaims with rebuttals? Something else? Provide specific suggestions.

3.3 You just completed the third project of this course. What do you think you have improved the most in your writing up to this point? What helped you improve it? How did you notice your improvement?

These prompts are designed to help students become more aware of their composing processes and notice their growing ability as writers. They can also help the teacher assess students’ progress in the course–that is, their understanding of the material and its application to students’ writing, their writing challenges that need to be addressed in class or during individual writing conferences (if applicable), and their achievement of the course learner outcomes.

Here are a few student examples of reflective journal entries:

What is the most helpful and important thing that you learned about integrating quotations? How did you use this information as you were working on your first draft?

Student Response

In the past, I rarely used quotations. For example, I used the famous words of a person to introduce a topic or improve my voice. However, I never used quotations from an interview for a paper. So, using quotations for this purpose was new to me when I started writing the first draft. The expert that I interviewed for my project gave me many helpful opinions, so I used his words in my argumentative essay. The most helpful thing I learned about quotations was the format. The words and phrases given in class, like “in his or her opinion” or “he/she suggested,” were helpful to me. Learning about how to correctly use quotations helped improve my essay, and I hope to use this information in my future papers. I also learned a lot about indirect quotations, and I never heard about them before. But the information in class helped me paraphrase some words of the expert that I interviewed for my project. I didn’t use many paraphrases in my argumentative essay because I think it’s easier for me to use direct quotes than to paraphrase them. So I think I need more practice in paraphrasing, and I hope to feel more comfortable using paraphrasing in my future papers.

You already learned about transition words between sentences and paragraphs. Describe what you did in order to decide where to use transition words and which ones to use in your draft.

I wrote my first draft for this project as an interview report. My topic was about the dining problem faced by international students at our university. For my interview report, I first took the interview of a credible person with their insight into the problem. For my second draft, I made some changes based on the feedback I had received. Out of the changes I made, one of the major revisions included adding transitions to maintain the flow of the report. Transitions are an important and integral part of any paper. Transitions help the reader to continuously read the paper without feeling distracted or going off-topic. They help the writer to make a jump from one topic to another in a smooth way. In order to put transitions in my paper, first I proofread my draft and marked the points where there was a change in topic or an abrupt shift from one main point to another, which disrupted the smooth flow of the paper. This is how I decided on the places where I needed to put transitions. After this, I looked at the feedback I received from my instructor about transitions and added some more places where a transition was required. Finally, based on the conference I had with my teacher, I decided how and which transitions to use. I used simple transitions in areas where there was not a major shift and longer and more complex transitions in areas where there was a complete change of theme.

You just completed the third project of this course. What do you think you have improved the most in your writing up to this point? What helped you improve it? How did you notice your improvement?

I think the most important parts that improved my writing were organization and sentence fluency. In the past, I learned a bit about this, and I always used to place a lot of importance on these aspects. However, I was still able to improve a bit more because I was able to learn more about transitions and styles that I could use in my writing. Learning about quotations was also very important to me because I did not use them that often in the past unless I used a quote from a famous person to introduce my topic. I think having this opportunity to improve my quotation skills will help me in future research proposals and papers. Furthermore, having the chance to practice writing quotations also helped me become more comfortable with using quotations. I was able to see my progress when I looked at my papers. Whenever I proofread, I began to notice that I used different transition words or phrases from what I used in the past. For the quotations, I was also able to see my progress based on my experience editing my papers. Gaining these skills certainly helped me in this project, and hopefully, they would help greatly as I write my papers in the future. It is true that learning or gaining new skills may be a bit difficult because it may take time to learn and to fully integrate them into my work. However, reflecting on what I learn can certainly help me improve my writing in the future.

Reflections on Writing Assignments

In addition to reflective journals, where students reflect on separate drafts of their writing projects, students can also be asked to evaluate and reflect on their overall experience writing a paper, that is, after the final product is completed. Therefore, this approach would work well in classes where students are required to submit only the final draft of their writing assignment. The purpose of these reflections is to give students a chance to reflect on their process of working on the assignment, express their “intellectual and emotional reactions” (Nilson, 2010, p. 169) to it, articulate the strengths and weaknesses of their writing, and formulate goals for future improvement.

Students are assigned to write a short (500 words or so) reflective piece that includes a personal exploration of the work they did while planning, organizing, doing research, and writing their paper. To facilitate this process in my classes, I provide students with a list of guiding questions; however, students are instructed to compose a coherent, essay-like reflective paper rather than simply answer these questions. Here are examples of these questions:

The Assignment

• Briefly describe the assignment or the project you are reflecting on.
• What was your purpose for writing this paper/for completing this project? How did you accomplish this purpose?
• Who was your audience for this paper/this project? How did you adjust your writing to accommodate your audience?

Your Writing Process

• Describe your writing process. If you were not given a specific topic, how did you decide on a topic? How did you find the information? What changes did you make to your paper in each draft? Why did you make those changes? How did you proofread your paper?
• Of what value was an outline for your paper when you were writing?
• Describe the work with your team (if applicable). What was the hardest part of your teamwork? What did you learn from working with your classmates? What was the most rewarding part of working collaboratively?
• While writing this paper, what new things did you learn about the process of writing?
• Describe your research process. How did you decide where to put the researched information into your paper? What was the most difficult part of including research? How can you make it easier?
• What feedback did you receive that you think was helpful? Why was it helpful and how did you go about this feedback?
• In what ways is the final draft of your essay better than your first draft? Study both drafts and list specific ways it is better.

General Questions

• What do you like about this paper? Why?
• What was the most important thing you learned from this assignment?
• What was the hardest/easiest part of this assignment? Why?
• Which ideas in your paper have you found the most exciting to write about? Why?
• What do you wish you could have done differently?
• What would you change if you were asked to complete the same or a similar assignment?
• What skills did you improve the most while working on this assignment?
• What areas of your writing and researching skills do you want to improve based on this assignment?

Below I include two examples of student reflections.

The assignment was to write a research paper. I chose the topic of arguing that using affirmative action in the college application process is wrong and should be banned. My report was geared toward college students. The main purpose was to inform the students about this issue and show my viewpoint. To accommodate the audience, I had to use ethos, pathos, and logos to convince the audience to believe me. I started my writing by outlining to organize my ideas. This helped because if I didn’t start with it, my ideas would be scattered without a direct line of thought. First, I chose my topic and then started gathering information from reliable sources. Then I had to do research more specifically on the use of affirmative action in colleges. During my research, I found most of my sources from the EBSCOhost database. Throughout this assignment, I learned how to use ethos, logos, and pathos to persuasively develop my argument. Along with this, I learned a new style of writing. Writing an argumentative paper is not like a regular report because you have to do a lot of research to know your topic thoroughly. You also have to demonstrate both sides. So, if you are arguing for something, you still have to address the naysayers who disagree with your point of view. The most difficult part of the assignment was trying to find enough useful information. I also had to decide how I wanted to organize my paper, break up the paragraphs, and use transitions between those paragraphs. The easiest part was writing up an outline–I knew the direction I wanted my paper to go. It was just more difficult to get it down on paper. Since I got all my sources from an online database, this made it easier to obtain a great deal of information–I just had to sort through it all to see if I could use any of it in my drafts. There are a few major differences between my first draft and my final draft. One of them is my paragraph style. My first draft was very poorly constructed with only two paragraphs, and they were just extremely long. In the final draft, I made it look professional by using smaller paragraphs with transitions in between. I found that writing this research paper was more difficult than I imagined it would be. If I had to do this assignment again, one thing that I would do differently is change the format of the first draft. If I would have gotten the paragraphs right the first time, I could have had more time to work on other areas of the paper. The skill that I have improved the most during this assignment is writing annotated bibliographies. I never had to make one before, so this was a learning experience for me. I hope that for the next assignment I can improve my writing skills even more.

For this project, I was assigned to a group of five members, and we were instructed to do in-depth research on the various religions practiced amongst the students at our university and the different clubs, organizations, and facilities offered in affiliation to the different religions. I narrowed down my research by looking primarily at the religions that are the most widely practiced on campus and found that they are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. We constructed a research paper and a PowerPoint presentation focusing on these three religions and the involvement of the members of both international and local students. The first draft I made for this project was more rushed and not to the level that I usually do my work. I was at first disappointed in myself and actually had forgotten how time-consuming writing a paper was, but now I know how to better manage my time for it. However, I greatly appreciated our teacher’s helpful suggestions and tried to use them in my final draft. The religious aspect of this assignment made it more difficult to focus on the interaction with international students but the way I went about tying them together was by talking to international students and seeing how they involved themselves in these organizations and what positive experiences they took from them. I found that more international students than I initially thought surprisingly do not strongly affiliate themselves with a specific religious institution, but they find the different clubs, organizations, and institutions educational and helpful to them in achieving a better sense of unity and acceptance on campus. Most students here feel like they need to believe in the religion to attend or participate in the organizations corresponding to that religion which is simply not the case. In fact, all religions have opportunities for prospective members, or simply students who are curious about the religion, to be involved. Considering that the audience for this project was the students at our university, I wanted to make sure I emphasized the copious amounts of opportunities available to everyone regarding the different religions and help them realize that the sole purpose for being involved with them does not have to be because you necessarily believe in that religion. These religions offer opportunities such as retreats, community service, dinners, and other ways to strengthen their religious community and bring about awareness of their faith. This project was both an individual and team effort. It was individual because though I was working with others to find information and discuss our topic, I still did my own research and made my own conclusions based on the information I found. Each member in our group took a different route in conveying the information attained but focused on the same information. I enjoy working with others, but I usually find it difficult working in groups because the work is rarely ever distributed evenly, and some people end up picking up the slack from others. However, I found it very enjoyable working with an international student because it gave me better insight into the project, and I spoke with her a great deal about her personal feelings here on campus and her transition. I have not had that much experience working with international students and have heard that most people found it to be either a good or bad experience because of the language barrier, but I definitely had a great experience and strongly commend my partner for working so diligently despite the challenges. I think this was a beneficial assignment because it allowed me to become more comfortable with researching, writing, and presenting the findings of my research.

Reflections on Teacher and Peer Feedback

Another way of helping students to self-assess their work and make goals for improvement is to have them reflect on the feedback they receive from classmates and the teacher on their performance. I implement this approach for oral presentations in my classes for English language learners. On each presentation given during the course, students receive feedback from their peers and me. Then based on this feedback, students write a short reflection on what they learned from their classmates’ and teacher’s comments and how they can improve their performance in the future.

This approach can easily be implemented in any course where students are expected to give an oral presentation. It can also be adapted for writing assignments if peer feedback is part of the curriculum. Here is an example of the prompt that I use (with slight modifications) in my courses for English language learners:

Instructions: Based on the feedback you received from the teacher and your classmates, write down your thoughts on how you can improve your presentations for the future. Include both your oral performance and your PowerPoint slides. Provide specific examples referring to the feedback (e.g., “I was told my PowerPoint slides need to contain bullet points with key phrases instead of complete sentences. Therefore, for my future presentations, I will…” or “My classmate suggested I start my presentation with an interesting fact or question to catch the audience’s attention. In my subsequent presentations, I will…” ). Remember: This activity will help you analyze your performance, develop critical thinking, and track your growth, which, in turn, will help you become a reflective and autonomous learner.

Below are a few examples of student reflections:

In the feedback I received on my presentation today, I was told that I tend to rush through my slides, so in my future presentations, I will try to slow down and present the information better without skipping important details presented on the slides. Both my teacher and my classmates also told me that I need to cite my sources. Therefore, in my future presentations, I will give credit to the sources where I take information for my presentation. I think it will make my presentations more credible. Another comment that I received and that I will try to improve in the future is providing specific examples to illustrate my points. I will work on all these helpful suggestions in the future and try to improve in any way I can to make my presentations better. Thank you!

My teacher suggested adding some visual elements to my PowerPoint slides; therefore, for my future presentations, I will include pictures and other images. I think if I include pictures in my PowerPoint slides, my presentation will be more exciting for the audience. I was also suggested not to use complete sentences but use bullet points instead, with keywords and phrases. I think it’s an important tool, and I will try to use it for my future presentations. I was also told that I should provide a concluding slide because my today’s presentation ended abruptly. I will make sure to include a conclusion for my audience in the future, so it doesn’t end as a surprise for them. The feedback from my teacher and classmates was very helpful for me.

The comments that I received for this presentation were helpful. For example, I was told that I need to improve my grammar, that I could include a relevant video in my presentation, and that I could add more colors to my slides. I think those were good comments, and I will use them to make my next presentation better. I will pay more attention to my grammar when I practice my presentation. I will also try to find a video and add more colorful slides. I will also keep doing things that my teacher and my classmates said were good, such as good eye contact and body language, clear examples and explanation, and helpful pictures. I understand that pictures can help my classmates follow my presentation more easily and better understand what I am trying to explain. And in my personal opinion, I think I should provide more examples for my audience during my presentation.

Writing-to-Learn Activities

My first experience with writing-to-learn activities was when I was a student in an intensive English program. The teacher in my academic reading class frequently implemented these activities in class to help us reflect on the content of the lesson and the reading materials we were discussing. As a language learner, I found those informal writing tasks engaging and beneficial as they gave me opportunities to express myself in English as well as analyze information presented in the course at a deeper level.

Writing-to-learn activities (WTL) are short and informal writing tasks that engage students in reflective thinking about key concepts, ideas, and material presented in the lesson. These informal writing activities can be implemented at different stages of the lesson and in any situation in which students could benefit from reflecting on what they are doing and learning in class. By encouraging students to actively think about the course material, WTL activities can help students more effectively retain the material (Nilson, 2010). They can also provide the instructor with valuable information about how much and how effectively students are learning. Finally, they can raise students’ awareness of their own learning strategies and approaches and their cognitive processes, thus allowing students to better understand themselves as learners.

WTL activities are versatile and can be used in various instructional settings, including university courses. As mentioned before, teachers can include them at any stage of the lesson to encourage students’ active thinking about the material presented in class. For example, at the beginning of the class, WTL activities can help students review the content of the previous lesson and reflect on what they learned. Some examples of the WTL prompts that can be implemented at the beginning of the class include:

Summarize one strategy you learned last class and explain how you will implement it in your other college classes.

• Write a note to a student (real or fictional) who missed the previous class. In your note, explain how one idea from that class is particularly important to your life/studies (Barton & Heidema, 2002).
• Write down, in one sentence, the importance or relevance of something you learned in the previous lesson (Barton & Heidema, 2002).
• Based on the assigned reading for today’s class, what do you expect to learn during the lesson?
• Write one question that you have about the reading assignment for today’s class. Explain how the answer to this question would help you better understand today’s lesson material.

In the middle of the lesson, WTL activities encourage students to stay focused and promote their active participation. Here are a few examples of how a WTL activity can be incorporated in the middle of the lesson:

• The teacher pauses the lecture or the explanation of the material at the key juncture and asks students to predict in writing what they believe will happen next.
• After presenting the material or explaining a particular concept of the lesson, the teacher can ask students to write a question they may still have about this new material. To expand this activity, students can be asked to exchange papers and either answer the original writer’s question or provide suggestions to the writer on how they can find the answer (Barton & Heidema, 2002).
• After having students complete a problem-solving strategy, the teacher can ask them to describe the strategy they used to complete the activity and explain why they used it.
• After reading a text (in a language class), the teacher can ask students to write the most interesting/important word that they learned from the reading. Students have to explain how and in which situations they will use this word.
• After completing a group activity, students will be asked to reflect on the importance of this activity.

Finally, at the end of the lesson, WTL activities can be implemented to identify what students learned during the lesson, assess their understanding of the discussed material, and encourage students to reflect on the lesson. Examples of the WTL prompts that can be implemented at the end of the class include the following:

Imagine that you have to go home and tell your parents about today’s lesson. What would you tell them?

• Imagine that you have to explain today’s group activity to a little child. How would you do it?
• Tell me about your favorite activity from class today. Explain why you liked it. How can you apply what you learned in this activity in your future studies?
• What is the top single thing (e.g., strategy, concept, theory, principle) that you learned in class today? Explain why it is important/helpful/interesting to you.
• Finish the sentence: “The most difficult concept/topic/theory/strategy for me today was… because…” Explain how the teacher can help you with this difficulty.

A few examples of student responses to WTL prompts are provided below.

One strategy that I learned last class is how to recognize the lecture language for the topic and plan, in other words, what topic the teacher will talk about during the lecture and the plans for the day. I learned that I should do this by listening very carefully for signaling words and phrases and by paying attention to the details at the beginning of the class. This will help me in my college classes because there will be a lot of students in class, so it will be very important for me to pay attention in order to understand the topic and the plan that the professor has for the day.

In today’s class, we learned how to write an effective lecture summary that only focuses on the main ideas and important details, so that not only I but other people will be able to understand what it is about. For example, if I was in class and my classmate didn’t come and she asks me to see my notes/summary of the lecture, she needs to be able to understand the main ideas discussed during the lecture based on my summary.

Students were asked to reflect on the importance of a group activity.

I liked looking at different examples of genres and discussing with my classmates the features of each piece that belong to different genres and also thinking about the audience. This activity helped me realize that each type of writing has individual characteristics, and if we want to think about the effectiveness of each piece, we have to consider the genre and audience. For example, we didn’t think that the journal article was effective, and we thought it was boring, but we didn’t think about the audience! It was a very interesting activity.

Letters to the Reviewer

When it comes to teaching writing, research suggests that students should be actively involved in the revision process by reflecting on and analyzing their writing and meaningfully responding to teacher feedback (e.g., Shvidko, 2015; Goldstein & Conrad, 1990; Haneda, 2004; Hewings & Coffin, 2006; Patthey-Chavez & Ferris, 1997). By being engaged in the systematic analysis of their drafts, students become more attentive and reflective readers. To this end, in my writing courses, I implement a technique called Letter to the Reviewer that facilitates collaboration between the teacher and the student (Shvidko, 2015). A Letter to the Reviewer is a memo that students attach to each draft, in which they provide a short reflective note to their Reviewer (e.g., their teacher or peer) by identifying several strengths and weaknesses of their draft and asking for specific feedback on certain elements of the draft.

Since I follow a multi-draft approach in my writing courses, students are asked to compose a Letter to the Reviewer for each draft they submit. Each letter has a distinct focus. That is, for the first letter (on the first draft), students are encouraged to focus on the “big picture” elements (sometimes called “higher-order concerns”), including development, content, and organization. To help students reflect on their drafts and compose the letters, I provide them with a list of guiding questions:

• What are the strengths of your draft?
• What are the weaknesses of your draft?
• Does the draft have sufficient support or does it lack support?
• Is the organization of the paper effective? Briefly explain.
• What part of the draft is in most need of further work?
• What would you like your reader to pay close attention to while reading your draft?
• Are you expecting feedback on any particular elements of your draft? If so, what are they?

The second Letter to the Reviewer should briefly identify the changes that were made based on the feedback students received on the first draft. Students may also request feedback on lexical and syntactic problems (sometimes called “lower-order concerns”), such as word choice and sentence structure, as well as mechanics and documentation of sources (if applicable). The guiding questions they can use while composing their letters include the following:

• Briefly identify the major revisions that you have made in this draft based on the feedback that you received from your teacher and your classmate.
• What difficulties did you encounter while revising this draft? What was the most challenging part of revising this draft?
• What makes this draft stronger than the first one?
• In what ways does this revised draft better fulfill the purpose of the assignment than the first draft?
• What parts of this revised draft still need further work? Identify specific problems that you feel need to be addressed.
• Are there any particular places in your draft you want your reader to pay close attention to?
• Are there any language concerns (e.g., grammar, word choice) that you would like your reader to help you with?

In their last Letter to the Reviewer , submitted with the final draft, students are encouraged to evaluate the overall effectiveness of their paper and identify the major changes that were made based on the feedback they received both from the teacher and their classmates (if applicable) throughout the process of working on the paper. Students may use the following questions as guidelines:

• Briefly identify the major revisions that you have made while composing this final draft.
• What difficulties did you encounter while working on this paper?
• What makes this final draft stronger than the previous ones?
• What are the major strengths of this final draft?
• Are there any weaknesses in this draft you want your reader to be aware of?

The above questions can be adjusted for courses where students only submit a single (i.e., final) paper of a writing assignment. The main point to keep in mind here is to give students a chance to analyze and reflect on their written product, identify the areas for improvement and, based on that, request feedback from the reader on these areas of their writing.

My observations of student work and students’ self-reports on this technique demonstrated that these letters help students approach their own writing more analytically, ask the teacher and peers for focused feedback, engage in the collaborative revision process, provide more specific feedback on their classmates’ writing during peer review activities, and recognize the connection between classroom instruction and their own writing.

Below are some examples of students’ Letters to the Reviewer :

Dear Reviewer, This is my first draft of Assignment 2. I followed the instructions in the course packet and tried my best to extend the content of each graph, so I think this first draft does not lack information and reasoning. However, my reasoning sometimes could be illogical, for example, the two references in the first two paragraphs. I tried to evaluate the point from the second reference so that the paragraph could be read more logically, but I think I failed. Another problem is the transitional words. I tried some new words and phrases and it was awesome, but there were still many repeatedly used words. I will try to fix it. The last and the biggest problem is my procedure part and the purpose part. The last sentence makes me feel a kind of opposite to my research target, and I think this could cause trouble for my research. I would like to receive feedback on the content of these two sections of my paper: procedure and purpose. I also want to know if I used transitional words effectively. Sincerely, (Student Name)

Dear Reviewer, In this second draft of the interview report, I have added most of the additional information the last draft was missing as this time I actually had the data from the interview. One hard part of this draft was coding. It took me a while but I figured out the coding scheme to organize my findings. This draft is definitely better than the previous draft due to the changes I made to the content. However, even though this draft is better, there is still room for improvement. For example, I would like you to give me feedback on the analysis section. Did I present the procedure correctly? I am also not sure if I used direct quotations effectively. Could you please comment on that as well? Do I need to provide more quotations from the interview? I hope I will get constructive feedback from you so that my next writing will be of better quality. Sincerely, (Student Name)

Dear Reviewer, In this argumentative paper, I wrote my claim about nitrogen fixation fertilizer. I chose to give a counterclaim first, and then use my own claim to counter it. I believe that using this way to present my point is more convincing. My paper has the strength of being convincing, but also, I think it has the weakness of being unorganized. Before I started to write this paper, I was planning to develop two counterclaims. But in the end, I could only develop one. I think I need to have more logical organizing in the next draft. Could you please tell me if my organization is good and if it makes sense to the reader? Do you think I need to find more evidence to support my claim? Finally, I would like to know if I should add another counterclaim. I appreciate your suggestions! Sincerely, (Student Name)

Writing is a powerful tool that can be used in the classroom to facilitate students’ reflection both on the course material (e.g., projects, assignments, and feedback) and their own learning processes. Reflective writing tasks, therefore, can give students the opportunity to think more critically and carefully about the material presented in the course and to learn more about themselves–their learning strengths and weaknesses as well as progress made in the course. Due to their versatility, the reflective writing tasks described above can be implemented in various teaching contexts and adjusted depending on the nature of the course, the material presented in it, and the learner population. Using these examples above, teachers can also design their own reflective writing tasks to create opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and the knowledge they acquire in their courses. It is my hope that the reflective tasks described here will help teachers include more reflective components in their own courses.

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• Metacognitive processes are defined as processes of “reflecting on and directing one ’s own thinking” (National Research Council, 2001, p. 78). ↵
• An interested reader may also want to consider the following literature on reflective journal writing practice: J. Anderson, 2012; Boud, 2001; Boutet, Vandette, & Valiquette-Tessier, 2017; Dyment & O’Connell, 2011; Lew & Schmidt, 2011; Moon, 2006; Thorpe, 2004; Walker, 1985. ↵

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence, Spring 2023 Copyright © 2023 by Elena Taylor, Ph.D. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Reflective Assignment

A reflection by students on their own experiences, views and suggestions for action in relation to their learning and or work/life experiences (in written or multimedia formats).  It can be in the form of a journal, log, blog or diary, and may be incorporated into a collection of evidence in the form of a portfolio .

What can it assess ?

Reflective assignments can assess the extent to which students learn from their experience, as well as the critical thinking and reflective skills that enable them to make sense of information and/or situations that are not straightforward. These tasks can be used to assess students’ ability to reflect on the development of their own learning and self-generate feedback that can be used to improve their performance.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Disadvantages.

• Supports learning that is personally meaningful
• Students develop the ability to reflect on the progress of their learning and/or practice and identify areas for improvement
• Encourages deep learning as students are required to make sense of material as it relates to their own experience
• Students can be encouraged to incorporate reflection on any formative feedback.
• Reflective writing is unfamiliar to many students who will need support and guidance to help with the task of reflection
• Can be challenging to assess and mark; requires the use of clear and transparent assessment criteria, rubrics and assessment guidance for students
• Issues of trust may arise when assessing personal reflections.

Design and Online Assessment Considerations

When designing reflective writing assessments, consider the following questions:

• How will students be prepared to conduct reflective writing exercises?
• Should reflective writing tasks take place throughout the module or only at specific points in the trimester? What’s the rationale for the chosen approach?
• How will reflective writing assignments be assessed? What criteria will be used? 

Be clear about the reasons that reflection is embedded into the module and how it supports learning. Students may be instructed to use specific Reflective Practice Models which can offer guidance on how to structure reflective writing and also support the development of clear assessment criteria for the assignment.  Consider using a rubric, or similar, to help clarify your expectations and to support student feedback and/or opportunity for self/ peer review before submission of their work. 

Journals and reflective assignments often start off as purely descriptive, however with support students can develop their writing to be more dialogic and critical (Rivera, 2017). It is important that students demonstrate reflective thinking on the development of their learning and/or practice. Sensitive issues related to student trust may arise when writing about personal and/or difficult encounters or situations, as well as issues around privacy and confidentiality if any of the work is shared.

Online Assessment

Although Brightspace does not include a specific journaling tool, lecturers can use the VLE to provide students with the opportunity to keep a reflective journal. For example, s tudents could do this very simply online by keeping a word document that they build up over time and then submit at the end. Alternatively, by setting up private groups with restricted discussions using Brightspace’s Groups and discussion forum in Brightspace, students can keep a private journal which may be shared with the lecturer. You can view step-by-step instructions on how to set up reflective journals for students using Private Discussions in Brightspace . Please note that there is an upper limit of 200 groups per group set.   

Other tools and technologies to support this assessment type  include;

• Video assignment ( supported by Bongo integrated in Brightspace )
• File/text assignment submission in Brightspace .
• Creating a Discussion Forum in Brightspace  

Preparing Students

It is important to start out with a clear understanding of what you mean by reflection as well as the process involved. Be able to clearly articulate the key elements of a reflective assignment, providing guidance on how students can engage in the reflective process, and set out clear criteria used to assess performance. Keep in mind that reflective writing will be unfamiliar to most students, and it can be helpful to set aside time in a class to enable students to discuss their understanding of reflection as well as the requirements for the assessment. Initially, short and structured reflective activities might help students to become more familiar with the idea of reflection. As students become accustomed to reflective approaches to learning, more complex assignments can be used to deepen their reflective practice. 

Clarify your expectations in terms of indicative word count for reflective pieces -this will also be important in terms of lecturer’s grading workload.

Learn More  

The following are some key resources that are currently available if you would like to learn more about this key assessment type.

• Learning Journals and Logs
• Reflective practice models
• UCD IT Services Bongo Video Assignment Setup
• University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit
• Bracken, R. C., A. Major, A. Paul and K. Ostherr (2021). " Reflective Writing about Near-Peer Blogs: A Novel Method for Introducing the Medical Humanities in Premedical Education. " Journal of Medical Humanities : 1-35 .
• Moon, J (1999) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development, Kogan Page, London
• Rivera, Roja  (2017) The reflective writing continuum: Re-conceptualizing Hatton & Smith’s types of reflective writing  International Journal of Research Studies in Education , Volume 6 Number 2, 49-67

Reflective Learning, Reflective Teaching

• First Online: 10 October 2018

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• Yasser El Miedany 2 , 3  

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Reflection is an active and aware process that can occur anytime and anywhere. It functions to help us, or our students, to recapture, relive, make sense of, think about, contextualize and evaluate an experience in order to make decisions and choices about what we have experienced, how we have experienced and what we will or will not do next. Engaging in self-reflection should involve a move from this semiconscious, informal approach to a more explicit, intentional formal approach. At the educational level, formal reflection draws on research and theory and provides guidance as well as frameworks for practice, which enables the teacher to learn from and potentially enhance their career (and consequently their awareness of the reflection process) which can be applied to any aspect of teaching. This chapter will discuss the art and science of reflection, characters of reflective learning, reflecting on one’s own practice, reflective teaching and how to become a reflective learner.

• Science of reflection
• Art of reflection
• Reflection types
• Reflection framework
• Reflection methods
• Learning needs

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Reflective Teaching

Reflecting on our teaching experiences, from the effectiveness of assignments to the opportunities for student interaction, is key to refining our courses and overall teaching practice. Reflective teaching can also help us gain closure on what may have felt like an especially long and challenging semester.

Four Approaches to Reflective Teaching

The goal of critical self-reflection is to gain an increased awareness of our teaching from different vantage points (Brookfield 1995). Collecting multiple and varied perspectives on our teaching can help inform our intuitions about teaching through an evidence-based understanding of whether students are learning effectively. Stephen Brookfield, in  Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher , proposes four lenses to use when examining and assessing our teaching:

• The autobiographical.  What do I see as the successes and challenges of the course? What went well, and what could be improved for next time? If I could do X again, how might I do it differently?
• The students’ eyes.  What do students have to say about what enhanced their learning and what hindered their learning? What recommendations do students have to help improve the course for next time?
• Our colleagues’ experiences.  What do my colleagues have to say about what went well for them this semester? What was challenging? If my colleagues are teaching similar courses and/or student populations, what are similarities or differences in our experiences? In our assignments?
• Theoretical literature  What are evidence-based strategies for supporting student learning? What does the research have to say about how students learn best in similar courses? What does the research say about how students are experiencing higher education at this moment in time?

Collectively, these four lenses foster repeat engagement with members of our teaching and learning community, both on campus and the broader scholarly community. For Brookfield, however, the most important step to reflective teaching is to go beyond the collection of feedback (i.e., from self, student, peer, and scholarly work) by strategically adjusting our teaching methods and goals. By habitually reflecting on our practice, documenting changes and noting our progress, then making efforts to iterate again, we become student-centered, flexible, and innovative educators.

Selected Examples of Reflective Teaching Strategies

Reflecting on our teaching, or a colleague’s teaching, inherently starts from a place of subjectivity and self-reported experiences -- How do I, as the instructor, feel class went? What do students think about their learning environment? How do I think my assessments compare to a colleague’s in a similar course? Self-reflection, after all, is foundational to recognizing assumptions and biases in how we design and teach our courses. However, we can adjust our approach to reflection by grounding our thinking and feeling to a concrete classroom artifact or objective observation. The following examples for reflective teaching highlight different ways we can start with evidence.

Teaching Journal.  Teaching journals are a way to document your teaching experience on a daily or weekly basis. After each class, spend about five minutes recording your thoughts on the day’s lesson and interactions with students. What went well? What was challenging? If I could redo something, what would it be and what would I do differently? At the end of the semester, use your reflections to assess your experience as a whole and make informed decisions regarding future instructional changes. Consider these questions from a  2018 CTL Article .

Were your stated learning outcomes well aligned with class activities and assignments? Did student learning and engagement meet your expectations? Any surprises?

Were there course concepts and materials that students struggled with? Are there opportunities to approach teaching these concepts in a new way?

Are there course policies or other campus resources you can add to your syllabus or bCourses site so students have the information from the start?

Did you encounter any new approaches or practices during the semester, perhaps from a colleague or CTL workshop, that can help you save time and energy?

Assignment Wrapper.  The goal of  exam wrappers (link is external)  is to guide students through a review of their learning and testing experience to inform future adjustments to their learning process. Adapt this exercise to structure your review of an assignment or activity.

Reflect on the design of the assignment. How is this assignment designed to help prepare students to achieve one or more stated learning objectives?

Reflect on the implementation of the assignment. Did student learning and engagement meet your expectations? Were there any surprises?

Reflect on how you communicated your expectations to students. Did you explain how this assignment connects to the broader picture of learning in the course? Did you describe what an exemplary submission or deliverable looks like?

Reflection on the experience as a whole. What adjustments might you make to set students up for success or enhance their learning?

Peer Review of Materials.  Find a trusted colleague who teaches a similar course -- similarities may include disciplinary content, course structure, enrollment size, course placement in a curriculum (e.g., introductory or advanced course), and student demographics. Select one assignment, activity, or lecture material (e.g., presentation slides, handouts) to review and gather feedback on. Use this opportunity to discuss the strengths and challenges of designing and using this teaching artifact in the context of what is similar between your courses.

Literature Scan of a Similar Assignment, Activity, or Digital Tool.  Select one assignment, activity, or educational technology tool you use in your course. Then, search the literature on education research for articles describing how other instructors use the same teaching method in their courses. Education research explores the conditions under which teaching strategies, such as  active learning techniques ,  values affirmations and social belonging interventions , and  inclusive teaching techniques , impact student learning. Scholars consider both lab and authentic classroom contexts, and explore disciplinary-based teaching strategies. When comparing teaching methods, consider the following questions.

What is similar or different to the design or implementation described in the study and my teaching method?

What findings and takeaways can I generalize, adjust, and apply to my teaching context? 

How might my teaching method build on the author’s findings?

New to education research? Consider starting with CBE-Life Sciences Education’s  repository (link is external)  of annotated peer-reviewed articles to unpack various aspects of an education study.

References and Resources For Further Reading

Bailey, K. M., Curtis, A., and Nunan, D. (2001). Pursuing Professional Development: The Self as Source. Boston: Heinle, Cengage Learning.

Brookfield, Stephen. (1995). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

“ End-of-the-Semester Reflection from the Teachers Point of View (link is external) ”. Faculty Evaluation and Coaching Department, Academy of Art University.

Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

“ Reflective Teaching (link is external) ”. Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale.

Toven-Lindsday, Brit. (2018). “ No Time Like the Present ”. Center for Teaching and Learning, UC Berkeley.

Weimer, Maryellen. (2002). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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80 Learning Reflection Questions for Students

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: March 23, 2024

Reflection questions are an important way to boost students’ engagement and enhance their learning. By encouraging learners to ponder their experiences, understandings, and feelings about what they’ve learned, we open a gateway to deeper comprehension and personal growth.

This process not only solidifies their grasp on the material but also cultivates critical thinking and self-awareness. Throughout this post, I’ll share the insights and techniques I’ve gained from my years in the classroom, with a focus on the power and purpose of reflection questions in fostering deep learning.

5. Facilitates Continuous Improvement

What are reflection questions.

Before we define reflective questions, let’s first discuss what reflection is. Citing ASCD, Purdue defines reflection as “a process where students describe their learning, how it changed, and how it might relate to future learning experiences”.

Based on this definition, reflection questions, are tools that prompt introspection and critical thinking. They empower students to questions their acquired knowledge and transform their experiences into meaningful understandings and personal growth. But this isn’t just based on my personal experience – research supports the idea that reflection plays a critical role in the learning process.

Studies show that when students pause to reflect on their learning journey—assessing their understanding, evaluating their performance, setting future goals, and analyzing their group work—it leads to increased self-awareness , responsibility for learning, and improved academic performance.

Over the years, I’ve integrated these reflection techniques into my teaching practice and have witnessed first-hand the profound impact they can have. It’s always a joy to see my students evolve from passive recipients of information to active, engaged learners who take ownership of their educational journey.

In this post, we’ll dive deeper into how teachers can incorporate reflection questions into their teaching strategies , the best times to use these questions, and a list of reflection question examples for different scenarios. So whether you’re a fellow teacher looking for inspiration or an interested parent wanting to support your child’s learning, read on.

To provide even more value, we’ve taken the time to create a highly-engaging, visually-appealing PDF version of this blog post. This PDF not only includes the original material, but it also features informative visuals to illustrate the concepts better, making it a more comprehensive resource.

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Importance of Reflection Questions in Learning

Reflection is an integral part of the learning process, and its importance for students cannot be overstated. It acts as a bridge between experiences and learning, transforming information into meaningful knowledge.

However, as Bailey and Rehman reported in the Harvard Business Review, to reap the benefits of reflection, one needs to make the act of reflecting a habit. You need to incorporate it in your daily practice and use both forms reflection in action (while being engaged in doing the action) and reflection on action (after the action has taken place).

The following are some of the benefits of integrating reflection questions in learning:

1. Boosts Self-Awareness

Reflection encourages students to think deeply about their own learning process. It prompts them to ask themselves questions about what they’ve learned, how they’ve learned it, and what it means to them.

This practice cultivates self-awareness, making students more conscious of their learning strengths, weaknesses, styles, and preferences. As students better understand their unique learning journey, they become more equipped to tailor their learning strategies in ways that work best for them.

2. Fosters Responsibility for Learning

When students reflect on their learning, they are actively involved in the process of their own education. This involvement fosters a sense of ownership and r esponsibility . It transforms students from passive recipients of knowledge to active participants in their learning journey. They start to recognize that the onus of learning lies with them, making them more committed and proactive learners.

3. Promotes Personal Growth

Reflection is not only about academic growth; it’s also about personal and professional development . When students reflect, they evaluate their actions, decisions, and behaviors, along with their learning.

This helps them identify not only what they need to learn but also what they need to do differently. They gain insights into their personal growth, such as improving their time management, being more collaborative, or handling stress better. This promotes the development of life skills that are crucial for their future.

4. Enhances Critical Thinking

Reflection also enhances critical thinking skills. When students reflect, they analyze their learning experiences, break them down, compare them, and draw conclusions. This practice of critical analysis helps them embrace a questioning attitude and therefore fosters the development of their critical thinking abilities.

Reflection is a self-regulatory practice that helps students identify areas of improvement. By reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and why, students can pinpoint the areas they need to focus on. This paves the way for continuous improvement , helping them to become lifelong learners.

Tips to Incorporate reflection questions in your teaching

As teachers and educators, you can use reflection questions to deepen student understanding and promote active engagement with the learning material. Here are few tips to help you integrate reflection questions in your teaching:

1. Incorporating Reflection Questions into Lessons

• Introduce at the End of a Lesson: One of the most common times to use reflection questions is at the end of a lesson. This helps students to review and consolidate the key concepts they have just learned. For example, you might ask, “What was the most important thing you learned today?” or “What questions do you still have about the topic?”
• Use in Class Discussions: You can also incorporate reflection questions into your classroom discussions to foster a deeper understanding of the topics at hand. These questions can push students to think beyond the surface level and engage with the material in a more meaningful way.
• Incorporate in Assignments: Reflection questions can be included as part of homework assignments or projects. For instance, after a group project, you could ask, “How did your team work together?” or “What role did you play in the group, and how did it contribute to the final outcome?”

2. Choosing the Right Time to Use Reflection Questions

• After Lessons: As mentioned above, reflection questions can be highly effective when used immediately after a lesson. This is when the information is still fresh in students’ minds, and they can easily connect the concepts they’ve learned.
• End of the School Day: At the end of the school day, reflection questions can help students recall what they’ve learned across different subjects. This can help in connecting concepts across disciplines and promote broader understanding.
• After a Project or Unit: When a project, assignment, or unit is completed, reflection questions can help students consider their performance, what they learned, what challenges they faced, and how they overcame those challenges. It’s an opportunity for them to recognize their growth over time and understand how they can improve in the future.
• During Parent-Teacher Conferences: Reflection questions can also be useful during parent-teacher conferences. Teachers can share these reflections with parents to provide them with insights into their child’s learning process, strengths, and areas of improvement.

Keep in mind that the goal of these questions is not to judge or grade students but to promote introspection, self-awareness, and active participation in their own learning journey. The responses to reflection questions should be valued for the thought process they reveal and the learning they represent, not just the final answer.

Reflection Questions for Understanding Concepts

These reflection questions aim to prompt students to think deeply about the content of the lesson, ensuring they truly grasp the material rather than just memorizing facts. Effective reflection requires an environment where students feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, doubts, and feelings, so it’s important to create a supportive and non-judgmental classroom culture.

Below are ten examples of reflection questions that can help students evaluate their understanding of key concepts or lessons:

• What was the most important thing you learned in today’s lesson?
• Can you summarize the main idea or theme of the lesson in your own words?
• Was there anything you found confusing or difficult to understand? If so, what?
• How does this concept relate to what we learned previously? Can you draw connections?
• How would you explain this concept to a friend who missed the lesson?
• What were the key points or steps in today’s lesson that helped you understand the concept?
• If you could ask the teacher one question about today’s lesson, what would it be?
• Can you provide an example of how this concept applies in real life?
• Did today’s lesson change your perspective or understanding about the topic? If so, how?
• What strategies or methods did you find helpful in understanding today’s lesson?

Reflection Questions for Self-Assessment

These questions encourage students to look inward and evaluate their performance, behaviors, and strategies. They provide valuable insights that can guide students in setting goals for improvement and taking responsibility for their learning. The goal of these questions is not to make students feel criticized, but to empower them to become more proactive, effective learners.

Here are ten examples of self-assessment reflection questions:

• What was the most challenging part of the lesson/project for you, and how did you overcome that challenge?
• What are some strengths you utilized in today’s lesson/project?
• Are there any areas you think you could have done better in? What are they?
• Did you meet your learning goals for today’s lesson/project? Why or why not?
• What is something you’re proud of in your work today?
• What learning strategies did you use today, and how effective were they?
• If you were to do this lesson/project again, what would you do differently?
• What steps did you take to stay organized and manage your time effectively during the lesson/project?
• How well did you collaborate with others (if applicable) in today’s lesson/project?
• On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your effort on this lesson/project, and why?

Reflection Questions for Group Work and Collaboration

These questions prompt students to reflect on their collaborative skills, from communication and decision-making to conflict resolution and leadership. The insights gained can guide students to improve their future collaborative efforts, enhancing not only their learning but also their teamwork skills, which are vital for their future careers.

Here are ten reflection questions designed to help students evaluate their performance and experience within a group setting:

• What role did you play in your group, and how did it contribute to the project’s outcome?
• What were the strengths of your group? How did these strengths contribute to the completion of the project?
• Were there any challenges your group faced? How were they resolved?
• What did you learn from your group members during this project?
• If you could change one thing about the way your group worked together, what would it be and why?
• How did your group make decisions? Was this method effective?
• What was the most valuable contribution you made to the group project?
• What is one thing you would do differently in future group work?
• Did everyone in your group contribute equally? If not, how did this impact the group dynamics and the final product?
• What skills did you use during group work, and how can you further improve these skills for future collaboration?

Reflection Questions for Goal Setting

• Based on your recent performance, what is one learning goal you would like to set for the next lesson/unit/project?
• What specific steps will you take to achieve this goal?
• What resources or support do you think you will need to reach your goal?
• How will you know when you have achieved this goal? What will success look like?
• What is one thing you could improve in the next lesson/unit/project?
• What skills would you like to improve or develop in the next term?
• What learning strategies do you plan to use in future lessons to help you understand the material better?
• How do you plan to improve your collaboration with others (if applicable) in future projects or group tasks?
• How can you better manage your time or stay organized in future lessons/projects?
• How can you apply what you’ve learned in this lesson/unit/project to future lessons or real-world situations?

Reflection Questions for Students After a Project

• What part of this project did you enjoy the most, and why?
• What challenges did you face during this project, and how did you overcome them?
• If you were to do this project again, what would you do differently?
• What skills did you utilize for this project?
• How does this project connect to what you’ve previously learned?

Reflection Questions for Students About Behavior

• How do you feel your behavior affects your learning?
• Can you identify a time when your behavior positively impacted others?
• How can you improve your behavior in the next term?
• What triggers certain behaviors, and how can you manage these triggers?
• How do you plan to exhibit positive behavior in the future?

Reflection Questions for Students After Watching a Video

• What is the main message or idea of the video?
• How does the content of the video relate to what we’re learning?
• What part of the video stood out to you the most, and why?
• What questions do you have after watching the video?
• Can you apply the lessons from the video to real-world scenarios?

Reflection Questions for Students at the End of the Year

• What is the most significant thing you’ve learned this year?
• Which areas have you seen the most growth in?
• What was the most challenging part of the year for you, and how did you overcome it?
• What are your learning goals for the next school year?
• How have you changed as a learner over this school year?

Reflection Questions for Students After a Test

• How well do you feel you prepared for the test?
• What part of the test did you find most challenging and why?
• Based on your performance, what areas do you need to focus on for future tests?
• How did you handle the stress or pressure of the test?
• What will you do differently to prepare for the next test?

Reflection Questions for Students After a Unit

• What was the most important concept you learned in this unit?
• How can you apply the knowledge from this unit to other subjects or real-life situations?
• Were there any concepts in this unit you found confusing or difficult?
• How does this unit connect to the overall course objectives?
• What strategies helped you learn the material in this unit?

Reflection Questions for Students After Reading

• What is the main idea or theme of the text?
• How do the characters or events in the text relate to your own experiences?
• What questions do you have after reading the text?
• How has this reading changed your perspective on the topic?
• What part of the text resonated with you the most, and why?

Reflection Questions for Students After a Semester

• What are three significant things you’ve learned this semester?
• What strategies did you use to stay organized and manage your time effectively?
• How have you grown personally and academically this semester?
• What challenges did you face this semester, and how did you overcome them?
• What are your goals for the next semester?

Final thoughts

Circling back to the heart of this post, reflection questions are undeniably a potent catalyst for meaningful learning. They are more than just queries thrown at the end of a lesson; they are introspective prompts that nudge learners to weave together the tapestry of their educational journey with threads of self-awareness, critical analysis, and personal growth. It’s through these questions that students can reflect on their academic canvas and begin to paint a picture of who they are and who they aspire to be in this ever-evolving world of knowledge.

References and Further Readings

Sources cited in the post:

• Driving Continuous Improvement through Reflective Practice, stireducation.org
• Practice-based and Reflective Learning, https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/
• Don’t underestimate the Power of Self-reflection, https://hbr.org/
• Reflective Practice, https://le.unimelb.edu.au/
• Reflection in Learning, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1210944.pdf
• The purpose of Reflection, https://www.cla.purdue.edu/
• Self-reflection and Academic Performance: Is There A Relationship, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
• Reflection and Self-awareness, https://academic.oup.com/

Further Readings

A. Books on reflective learning

• Brockbank, A., & McGill, I. (2007). “ Facilitating Reflective Learning in Higher Education “. McGraw-Hill Education.
• Dewey, J. (1933). “ How We Think “.
• Moon, J. A. (2013). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development .
• Schön, D. A. (1983). “ The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action “. Basic Books.
• Gibbs, G. (1988). “ Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods “. FEU.
• Boud, D., Keogh, R., & Walker, D. (1985). “Promoting Reflection in Learning: A Model”. In Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning . Kogan Page.
• Kolb, D. A. (1984). “ Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development “. Prentice-Hall.
• Rolheiser, C., Bower, B., & Stevahn, L. (2000). “ The Portfolio Organizer: Succeeding with Portfolios in Your Classroom “. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

B. Peer-reviewed journal articles

• Rusche, S. N., & Jason, K. (2011). “You Have to Absorb Yourself in It”: Using Inquiry and Reflection to Promote Student Learning and Self-knowledge. Teaching Sociology, 39(4), 338–353. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41308965
• Ciardiello, A. V. (1993). Training Students to Ask Reflective Questions. The Clearing House, 66(5), 312–314. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30188906
• Lee, Y., & Kinzie, M. B. (2012). Teacher question and student response with regard to cognition and language use. Instructional Science, 40(6), 857–874. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43575388
• Gunderson, A. (2017). The Well-Crafted Question: Inspiring Students To Connect, Create And Think Critically. American Music Teacher, 66(5), 14–18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26387562
• Grossman, R. (2009). STRUCTURES FOR FACILITATING STUDENT REFLECTION. College Teaching, 57(1), 15–22. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25763356
• Holden, R., Lawless, A., & Rae, J. (2016). From reflective learning to reflective practice: assessing transfer. Studies in Higher Education, 43(7), pages 1172-1183. Jacobs, Steven MN, MA Ed, RN. Reflective learning, reflective practice. Nursing 46(5):p 62-64, May 2016. | DOI: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000482278.79660.f2
• Thompson, G, Pilgrim, A., Oliver, K. (2006). Self-assessment and Reflective Learning for First-year University Geography Students: A Simple Guide or Simply Misguided?. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Pages 403-420. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098260500290959
• Kember, D., McKay, J., Sinclair, K., & Kam, F. Y. (2008). “A Four-Category Scheme for Coding and Assessing the Level of Reflection in Written Work”. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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