1. 
C2L Jam on
Reflective Practice
Webinar 2.28.11

2. Why Reflection?
 “The function of reflection is to make meaning, to
formulate the relationships and continuities among the
elements of an experience, between that experience and
other experiences, between that experience and the
knowledge that one carries, and between that knowledge
and the knowledge produced by thinkers other than
oneself…. The creation of meaning out of experience is
at the very heart of what it means to be human. It is
what enables us to make sense of and attribute value to
the events of our lives.”
Carol Rodgers
“Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking,”

3. Reflection & Cognition
 “Perhaps the most significant message [of the new
cognitive research on learning] is the role of reflection
in learning. Learning occurs, not necessarily as a result
of the experience itself, but as a result of reflecting on
the experience and testing it against further experience
and the experience of others.”
Patricia K. Cross
Learning Is About Making Connections

7. Reflective Praxis
 Examining our
practices to generate
theory
 Considering theory
to strengthen our
practices

8. Reflective Praxis
1.Posting practice
to our portfolios
2.Webinar
3.Examine portfolios;
use theory to analyze
& discuss
4.Implications for
practice – reflecting in
our portfolios

9. A Doorway into the
Literature on Reflection
 Dimock, V., Martinez, D., & Burns, M. (2000,
Winter). Learning is an Active and Reflective Process.
TAP into Learning , 1-12.
 Eynon, B. (2009). Introduction. In Transit, The
LaGuardia Journal on Teaching and Learning , v-xvi.
 Rodgers, C. (2002). “Defining Reflection: Another
Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking.”
Teachers College Record , 842-866.
 Rodgers, C. (2002). “Seeing Student Learning:
Teacher Change and the Role of Reflection.”
Harvard Educational Review, 230-254.

10. Dewey’s Criteria for Reflection
 Carol Rogers has summarized Dewey’s
criteria for effective reflection into these
four statements:
 A. Reflection as connection
 B. Reflection as systematic and
disciplined
 C. Reflection as social pedagogy
 D. Reflection and personal growth

11. Reflection as Connection
 Reflection is a meaning-making process
that moves a learner from one experience
into the next with a deeper understanding
of its relationship with and connections to
other experiences and ideas. It is the
thread that makes continuity of learning
possible.

12. Exp Exp Exp Exp

13. Exp Exp Exp Exp
Reflection

14. Exp Exp Exp Exp
Reflection Reflection

15. Exp Exp Exp Exp
Reflection ReflectionReflection

16. Exp Exp Exp Exp
Reflection ReflectionReflection
Prior Learning

17. Exp Exp Exp Exp
Reflection ReflectionReflection
Prior Learning
Making Meaning
Integration

18. Reflection as
Systematic & Disciplined

19. Reflection as Social Pedagogy
 Reflection needs to
happen in community,
in interaction with
others.
“The experience has to be formulated in order to be
communicated. To formulate requires getting outsider of [the
experience], seeing it as another would see it, considering what
points of contact it has with the life of another, so that it may be
got into such form as he can appreciate its meaning.”
John Dewey, Democracy and Education

20. Reflection and Personal Growth
 Reflection requires attitudes that value
the personal and intellectual growth of
oneself and others

21. Dewey’s Criteria for Reflection
 Carol Rogers has summarized Dewey’s
criteria for effective reflection into these
four statements:
 A. Reflection as connection
 B. Reflection as systematic and
disciplined
 C. Reflection as social pedagogy
 D. Reflection and personal growth

22.  Your task in this step of the Online Jam is to visit each
other’s Campus Portfolios to examine, learn from, and
comment on each other’s reflective practices. As you
do so, please consider and utilize Dewey’s criteria.
 What do you observe about this practice? What connections does
it help students make? What’s most interesting about it?
 Based on what you know & what you see, what are the strengths
of this practice? Can you identify & highlight some elements of
the practice that make it particularly effective? What leads you
to believe that it’s effective?
 Does this practice demonstrate any of Dewey’s criteria, as
outlined by Rodgers? Which one(s)? Do these criteria help us
understand or highlight the strengths of the practice? Do they
suggest ways it could be strengthened?
 What are some similarities or differences between this practice
and something you do in your class, or in your project? Does it
confirm your thinking or push you to think in new ways?

23. Case Studies of Reflective Practice
 Randy Bass discussing
Pace University & Three
Rivers CC
 Trent Batson discussing
Tunxis CC
 Judit Torok discussing
Virginia Tech
 C2L discussing C2L

24. 
Pace University
Three Rivers CC
Randy Bass

25. What make a reflective practice
an effective practice?
 Reading campus portfolios:
 What kinds of questions should we be
asking each other (and ourselves) about
effective reflection practices?
 What should we be identifying as the
possible portable elements of practices
(e.g. iteration, sequencing, scaffolding,
social feedback, etc.)

26. Pace University:
Single Course Writing Portfolio
 Reflective Blogs in LIT 132 and ENG 201
 Four Blog posts required as part of ePortfolio
 (3 “postwrites” and a final reflection)
 Focus on accomplishments as a critical reader and
writer, writing process, learning gains

27. Pace University:
Single Course Writing
Portfolio
Iterative
reflection
on writing
practice
culminates
in a final
reflection

28. Pace University:
Single Course Writing Portfolio
Connections

29. Pace University:
Single Course Writing Portfolio
How do prompts lead to
connections?
What kind of scaffolds
are necessary to
facilitate the kinds of
connections we are
hoping to see?

30. Pace University:
Single Course Writing Portfolio
Faculty Reflection
“I think having students
develop the ‘habit’ of
reflecting on their writing
and reading throughout
the semester enables
them to practices
reflective thinking, and
deepen their learning.”
“Certainly, reading these
reflections enables me to
appreciate students’
concerns and challenges,
and often the authentic
voice that comes through in
the blogs is quite strong.”

31. Pace University:
Single Course Writing Portfolio
what makes effective practice?
Intuitively, there seems to
be a correlation between
strong reflections and
more effective essays…
but there is need for
further research.
For example, how much
does becoming more a
reflective learner
influence students to
revise more carefully?

32. In search of effective practices of reflection…
Reflection as professional development: iterative
program-level design
N101 N102 N201 N203 N205
•Description of experience
•Focus on goals & outcomes
•Self-evaluation
•Increasingly comparative
•Social at all stages
Three Rivers
Community College

33. Three Rivers CC (Nursing)
Foundational

34. Foundational
Description of
experience setting
up comparison with
other work
“Backward design” of reflective practice implies that faculty think forward and
together: “All clinical faculty promote development of reflective skills.”
Three Rivers CC (Nursing)

35. Three Rivers CC: Iterative design

36. Three Rivers CC: Making reflection “social”
and public

37. Three Rivers CC: Making reflection “social”
from the beginning
Reflection as social
pedagogy begins with
entry level courses

38. Three Rivers CC: Questions that emerge from
reading
Questions:
What are the markers of increasingly authentic voice in reflection?
(Especially in light of program goals and outcomes)?
What are the mechanisms whereby faculty get on the same page?
This is an inspiring example, which is rooted in practice. Are there
portable practices here that could work in other kinds of disciplinary
development?

39. 
Response & Analysis of
a Reflective Practice at Tunxis
Trent Batson
Connect to Learning Project

40. My Analysis
 What this instructor did to elicit reflective and integrative
thinking: Reflection not revision
 Re-casting of this practice: Recursion
 Analysis: Importance of time to deep reflection
 Conclusion: Using reflection as “field notes” to your self 11
weeks later: Reflection on Reflection.

41. Where does this fit in the C2L
“Possible Prompts”?
 A. Reflection as connections.
 B. Reflection as systematic and disciplined: Reflection is
a systematic, rigorous, disciplined way of thinking, with
its roots in scientific inquiry
 Use field notes (reflections) as a scientist would: a process
of data collection, field notes, analysis over time.

42. 
Virginia Tech’s
SERVE Living Community
Judit Torok

43. Comments on Campus
Practices
What do you observe about this presentation? What kinds
of connections does it seek to help students make? What’s
most interesting to you about it?
Based on what you know and what you can see, what are
the strengths of this practice? Can you identify and
highlight some elements of the practice that you think
make it particularly effective? What would lead you to
believe that it’s effective?
Does this practice demonstrate any of Dewey’s criteria, as
outlined by Rogers? Which one(s)? Do these criteria help
us understand or highlight the strengths of the practice?
Do they suggest ways it could be strengthened?
What are some of the similarities or differences between
this practice and something you are doing on your
campus, in your class, or in your project? Does it confirm
your thinking, or push you to think in new ways?

44. Observations, Strengths,
Connections
 Well structured, scaffolded prompts, clear instructions;
 Reflection encourages synthesis.
 Connections:
 Students to community
 Students to each other
 Students to course content
 Students to themselves as first year college students and service
oriented individuals
SERVE
“These SERVE ePortfolios
represent the Co-Curricular
Engagement portfolio”
“SERVE community members are encouraged to
be active through both service and
reflection. In their portfolios, you will find
detailed experiences of their engagement as well
as reflective pieces synthesizing their

45. Comprehensive
Reflection
Assignment
Comprehensive
Reflection
Assignment

46. Strengths & effective elements
 Final Reflection Assignment: detailed, well articulated, clear,
completes a cycle
 eP structure is conducive to reflection
 Step One: upload everything on the eP - review, reflection (past)
 Step Two - description of the comprehensive reflection points to
course objectives, other specific assignments (present)
 Summary – How has your understanding of definitions and
theories discussed in class changed? Give concrete examples.
 Step Three – Write a letter to your future self (future)
 Prompt to think about the learning process

47. “Final Exam Replacement” – ePortfolio Assembly,
Comprehensive Reflection, and Letter to Self
(200/1000 total points)
 Step II - Comprehensive Reflection (150 points)
Your comprehensive reflection entry will be the home page for the “Synthesis and Reflection” tab. This final paper should demonstrate your
ability to reflect critically on the whole of the class (readings, discussions, projects, experiences) and articulate how your views and
understanding has progressed. This comprehensive paper is a synthesis of both the theoretical and practical constructs of reflection,
dialogue, group process, service, and leadership. Look to the “course objectives” outlined in the syllabus as one possible checklist of
tracking potential learning and reflecting on the course. More specifically, the paper should include exploration of some of the following
questions:
 What are some critical components of community building?
 How has your understanding of “the call to service,” “citizenship,” and/or “democracy” evolved over the course. Include relevant and
updated pieces from your “My ‘why’” assignment
 Provide concrete examples of particular experiences, discussions, or readings that illustrate areas of learning or personal growth
 How has your service personally impacted you? What did you learn about the social issues being addressed at your site?
 How has the study of social change and the change lab activity shaped you? How might you consider using some of these
experiences/studies to help you in future pursuits?
 Step III – Letter to Self (25 points)
It is the end of the semester, and you have just finished your comprehensive reflection. This is your last bit of work before you can close the
book on this class and your first semester here at VT. Write a letter to your future self (the one who, presumably, will spend the winter
break enjoying some much deserved relaxation. Catch this future self up on all you’ve accomplished and give him/her some direction into
your favorite parts of your ePortfolio, some learning points / experiences / reflections you want to highlight. Then take a minute to give
some direction on where you would like to go for your second semester here at VT. Is there some new project you would like to
initiate to address some social issue or meet some student need? Is there someone you met this semester whom you need to get to
know better or want to learn more from? Whatever it may be, big or small, take this opportunity to jump-start yourself into action.
Reflect critically on the whole class
(readings, discussions, projects,
experiences) and articulate how your
views and understanding has
progressed.
This paper is a synthesis of
both theoretical and practical
constructs of reflection,
dialogue, group process,
service, and leadership
How has your understanding … evolved? How has… it impacted you?
What did you learn? How has it…shaped you?
Write a letter to your future self: catch yourself up on all you’ve accomplished…
give yourself some direction into your favorite parts, some learning points and
experiences, reflections you want to highlight.

48. Dewey’s criteria for Reflection
 Dewey's theory: Meaning making out of experience. Common,
shared experiences: volunteering, community service, classroom,
living experience.
 Interaction and continuity. Students interact with their environment,
with theory, with other people in their community and other students.
Students make sense of the new experiences based on prior
knowledge, their own experiences and other students experiences –
through ePortfolio.
 Educative experience. Broadens the field of experience (connecting
service learning and classroom); leads to intelligent action (reinforced
by final reflection). Direct the course of future experiences,
envisioning possibilities; Step Three: Writing a letter to future self
 Reflection as set of attitudes. Taking responsibility, recognizing real-
life implication of student’s own thinking and actions; meaning
doesn't stand alone.

49. Every single reflection forced you to question your thoughts
and actions, and to find meaning to even to the most
seemingly insignificant things.
You gained knowledge
about yourself, like your
strengths, which you were
previously clueless about.
You have already started
to learn and come up with
ideas on your own.
There were many great experiences
you acquired, like community
service projects and bonding with
other SERVE members… but when
you look back you will realize that
the highlights during your time in
this program were all those small
steps you took in an effort to
develop a well-rounded person.
Next semester you will
continue to learn… be
sure to apply everything
you have learned… to
your leadership
involvement in the
Spring.

50. Similarities and Differences
to our project
 Similarities to LaGuardia's Internship page
 Internship page is connected to a course
 Internship page is a scaffolded set of reflective prompts
 Based on real-life student experiences while they are completing their
internships
 Differences
 VT assignment connects student reflections on their changing identities as first
year students to seeing themselves as active members of their community.
 VT assignments pushes the reflection cycle deeper, encourages meaning-making
out of their past experiences, current learning (in classroom and outside) and
their visions for themselves in the future.
http://eportfolio.vt.edu/servegallery.html

51. 
Next Steps
Instructions, Guide Questions & Tutorials

52. 
Collective Research & Analysis
Tues., March 1 – Mon., March 7
Participants: at least 2 members from each team. More welcome.
Part A. Review & Comment, in Digication Portfolios.
Part B. Asynchronous Discussion Board Exchange.
Next Steps
Post-Jam Reflective Post to Campus Portfolio
Mon-Fri, March 7-11
Participants: at least 1 portfolio post per team. More welcome.
Team (as a team or as individuals) posts a reflection in your
portfolios

53. Group A
•Manhattanville
•University of Delaware
•Long Island University
•Johnson & Wales
•IUPUI
•Tunxis CC.
Group B
•Norwalk CC.
•Pace University
•Virginia Tech
•Boston University
Queensborough CC.
Group C.
•St. John’s University
•Rutgers University
•LaGuardia CC
•Salt Lake CC.
•Lehman C.
•Hunter C.
Group D.
•Empire State C.
•Three Rivers CC.
•San Francisco State U.
•Norwalk CC
•School of Professional Studies
Groups for Portfolio
Review

54. As you review and comment on specific campus practices, via the
portfolio, please keep these questions in mind:
•What do you observe about this practice? What kinds of connections does
it seek to help students make? What’s most interesting to you about it?
• Based on what you know and what you can see, what are the strengths of
this practice? Can you identify and highlight some elements of the practice
that you think make it particularly effective? What would lead you to
believe that it is effective?
•Does this practice demonstrate any of Dewey’s criteria, as outlined by
Rogers? Which one(s)? Do these criteria help us understand or highlight
the strengths of the practice? Do they suggest ways it could be
strengthened?
•What are some of the similarities or differences between this practice and
something you are doing on your campus, in your class, or in your project?
Does it confirm your thinking, or push you to think in new ways?
Case Review & Commenting – Guide Questions

55. Engagement and Integrative Learning >> Student and Faculty Practice >>
Reflection Practice
On the ‘Reflection Practice’ page, click ‘Show Comments and
Tags’
http://c2l.digication.com
Case Review & Commenting – How to Comment

56. Engagement and Integrative Learning >> Student and Faculty Practice >> Reflection Practice
•What do you observe about this practice? What
kinds of connections does it seek to help
students make? What’s most interesting to you
about it?
• Based on what you know and what you can
see, what are the strengths of this practice? Can
you identify and highlight some elements of the
practice that you think make it particularly
effective? What would lead you to believe that
it is effective?
•Does this practice demonstrate any of Dewey’s
criteria, as outlined by Rogers? Which one(s)?
Do these criteria help us understand or highlight
the strengths of the practice? Do they suggest
ways it could be strengthened?
•What are some of the similarities or differences
between this practice and something you are
doing on your campus, in your class, or in your
project? Does it confirm your thinking, or push
you to think in new ways?
•What do you observe about this practice? What
kinds of connections does it seek to help
students make? What’s most interesting to you
about it?
• Based on what you know and what you can
see, what are the strengths of this practice? Can
you identify and highlight some elements of the
practice that you think make it particularly
effective? What would lead you to believe that
it is effective?
•Does this practice demonstrate any of Dewey’s
criteria, as outlined by Rogers? Which one(s)?
Do these criteria help us understand or highlight
the strengths of the practice? Do they suggest
ways it could be strengthened?
•What are some of the similarities or differences
between this practice and something you are
doing on your campus, in your class, or in your
project? Does it confirm your thinking, or push
you to think in new ways?
Case Review & Commenting – How to Comment

57. Next Steps:
3B – Asynchronous Discussion
Board Exchange
Participants report to the large group
on one of the practices they reviewed
and the patterns they observed.
Give and take.

58. •What was the most interesting thing you learned from looking at others
practices? What seemed most promising or intriguing? Why?
•What did the homework readings and the campus review reveal about the
meaning of effective reflective practice? What patterns emerged for you?
What did you observe, for example, in terms of variations of effective
reflection according to context -- or the type of connection reflection helps
make?
•Using Dewey’s criteria (eg reflection as connection, or reflection as
systemic and disciplined), what type of reflective practice seemed most
common? Least common? Why might this be? What does this suggest
about the strengths and weaknesses of our practice? About the strengths
and weaknesses of Dewey’s 4 part framework?
•How might you define reflection at this point? Based on readings and the
examples from the C2L Campus Portfolios, how is your definition of
reflection changing?
•What questions did these examples of effective practice raise for you?
Discussion Board Exchange – Guide Questions

59. Log in to the Connections blog, then in the Connect to Learning main tab.
Click ‘Enter Forum Here’.
http://connections-community.org/c2l
Discussion Board Exchange – Getting Started

60. Click ‘C2L Spring 2011’
Then Click
‘Reflection Forum’
1
2
Discussion Board Exchange – Getting Started

61. 
Post-Jam Reflective Post to Campus Portfolio
Mon-Fri, March 7-11
Reflect on your learning. We ask at least one portfolio post per
team, (more welcome) that answers the guide questions below.
•What did you take away from this Online Jam about reflection?
What are the 2-3 most important things you learned from the
conversations and comments?
•What are some of the crucial issues it raised for you? What did it
make you want to learn more about?
•How might you apply what you’ve learned to your campus plans
for next year? What could you do differently in terms of your
campus’ reflective practices? How could strengthening reflection fit
into your project as a whole?
Next Steps: 4 Guide Questions

62. Engagement and Integrative Learning >> Student and Faculty Practice >> Reflection Practice
http://c2l.digication.com
Post your reflection under:
Next Steps: 4 Guide Questions

63. Collaborative Learning
 Everyone is a learner. We’re all trying to
figure it out. No one has all of the
answers
 The more energy and attention we put
into this, the more we’ll learn.
 Enjoy the community dialogue
 Thank you for your thoughtful practice
and commentary!!!!

64. 
Thank You!!!