Student+Reflection


 * “Reflection and self-assessment are important components for empowerment in any learner-focused environment” (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). **

** “Reflection is a form of mental processing – like a form of thinking – that we use to fulfill a purpose or to achieve some anticipated outcome. It is applied to relatively complicated or unstructured ideas for which there is not an obvious solution and is largely based on the further processing of knowledge and understanding and possibly emotions that we already possess (Moon, 1999, p. 123). **

Student Reflection and The Impact on Learning in an Online Course

Becoming a reflective practitioner is one of the key components that all Marian University School of Education classes are required to follow as part of the conceptual framework for professional preparation programs. All coursework is oriented toward the development of learning-centered educators. The conceptual framework is organized around five interconnected themes: //Values and Ethics, Knowledge, Reflection, Collaboration//, and //Accountability// (Marian University, 2011). To become a reflective practitioner, students must transform from being the student, applying what they are learning to where they working. Palloff and Pratt (2001, 2007) describe the process of transformative learning and its importance to online learning as being the result of a learning community and not an expected outcome. While online students anticipate academic and intellectual growth, the online community promotes a different learning environment in which students are expected to engage with each other, with the course materials, and with the instructor which results in an unexpected learning outcome, that of personal growth. During the transformative learning process the instructor slowly brings awareness to the students as the course progresses. By doing this, “personal growth becomes a companion to intellectual growth as the student assumes greater responsibility for the learning process, competence, authority, and self-confidence” (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 187). Palloff and Pratt (2001) stress that all students have different learning styles and the idea of the transformative learning process accommodates for the learning differences. “Creating learning experiences that allow students to experience all portions of the learning cycle enables them to develop more fully in areas where they might be weak, and thus develop a new learning style” (p. 111). Through the knowledge gained through collaborating with others and the reflection of the learner, the “transformative nature of online learning has taken hold” (Palloff & Pratt, 2001, p. 111). Eventually, the transformative learning process will allow the learner to move from student to a reflective practitioner, with a goal for life-long learning.

Palloff and Pratt (2007) describe how in order for a student to be able to question personal assumptions and for self-reflection to effectively occur, “the environment must provide the support and the ability to dialogue and critically reflect on the material presented, as well as on the self” (p. 185). Moon (1999) describes the ideal conditions for reflection as time and space, a good facilitator, a supportive curricular or institutional environment, and an emotionally supportive environment. Asynchronous discussion forums allow students to think and reflect on their learning and on their assumptions. Lowes (2008) stresses that well-constructed questions and appropriate allotments for time encourage students to think before they write and lead to more reflective answers. Additionally, online discussion forums need thoughtful facilitation, including careful attention to how questions are asked and should promote reflection. Although Palloff and Pratt (2007) describe the reflective learning process as a key component to learner-centered instruction, they stress that self-reflection is a process that must be nurtured and supported by the instructor along the way. Students in an online course need to be encouraged to engage and reflect on the course content. Students should be able to ask themselves, “How am I growing and changing as a learner and as a person” (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 186)?

Arend (2009) wrote an article that focused on the critical thinking abilities of higher education students and the development of those abilities in an online discussion forum. In her article she stresses the importance of “creating the habit of reflection and questioning in every aspect of life” (p. 2). Arend (2009) describes the online threaded discussion area as an effective place for instructors to coach their students and help them develop deeper and more reflective learning because online discussions “put the emphasis on the elements of an argument and the exchange of ideas” (p. 2). The idea of online asynchronous discussions allows students to develop critical thinking skills as they allow for “more reflective and less spontaneous discourse” (p. 2) between students and between the students and instructor. The difficulty that Arend (2009) discovered in her research was that some instructors used the online discussion forum as a place to get to know each other and spent less time on encouraging students to “defend, justify, debate, and argue” (p. 9). She recommends that when instructors build online discussions into their learning environment that the students are encouraged to share their views, recognize the value of others, as well as challenge each other which ultimately should lead to critical thinking and a development of a new understanding of course materials (Arend, 2009).

Palloff and Pratt (2007) recommend the use of the Critical Incident Questionnaire that asks five questions promoting students to look at specific points in a discussion when they were either the most, or the least, engaged. This questionnaire also direct the students to reflect on the weekly contributions by other students and if there were any “aha” moments as a result of others’ responses. This type of learning, an activity that is directed by the student, allows students to reflect and then further inquire on topics brought out in the discussions throughout the week. Palloff and Pratt (2007) describe this as the double or triple loop learning process. Students are encouraged to continuously reflect, moving from one level of learning to the next, while always returning back to their previous reflections and building on their learning. Ideally, this type of learning and self-reflection will encourage the students to become lifelong and reflective learners as well as practitioners. Students that participate in this “aha” learning develop new ways of expressing themselves and their ideas, while the feedback from others challenges them to examine their assumptions and begin looking deeper into the material. Barrett (2007) provides an illustration that demonstrates how reflective learning is a process that loops over and over again (Figure 1). As the student reflects, they create a plan that will be acted on, they observe the outcome, reflect and plan again. The cycle continues on, allowing the transformation of learning to occur. Just as an educator puts together a lesson plan (Plan) and then delivers the lesson to the students (Act), upon assessing student learning (Observe) the teacher is able to Reflect on the lesson and modify the lesson plan accordingly.

Figure 1:



From the readings, it is important to understand that as an instructor of online learning one can develop asynchronous online discussion forums that promote reflection, but there are alternative, technology tools that also promote reflection and life-long learning. In order to promote constant reflection in an online course, instructors can include journal assignments as means of assessing students’ academic growth and development. Draves (2007) suggests the use of reflective journals because they offer “a more personal, sometimes chronological, analysis, often involving the learner’s own growth and development, attitudes and beliefs, or changes in behavior” (p. 123). Barrett (2007) suggests the use of web logs (blogs) as a place to publish reflective journals. Additionally, wikis, or collaborative websites, digital storytelling, podcasting, and social media networks like Twitter support reflection (Barrett, 2007). An example of a social media network for reflection and learning is the use of Edmodo during the Florida Educational Technology Conference, held in Orlando, Florida every January. For the past two years each presenter has been required to post presentation materials to a discussion group specifically created for the session. Attendees are encouraged to “join the group” where they can access the presentation materials, converse with others and ask questions.

Social networking tools are a digital way to support reflection through collaboration, dialogue, and feedback. One popular social network is Twitter. Twitter has also been promoted throughout the Florida Educational Technology conference, as well as at many other major educational technology conferences. Organizers often times promote using a hash tag specific to the conference, such as #FETC2012, #CT2011, #TCEA and #ISTE. By using hash tags, attendees, or those interested in the learning can quickly locate information, seek out additional information and share ideas with others. One popular hash tag in the educational technology community on Twitter is #edchat where educators from around the globe can participate in the learning community in either a synchronous or asynchronous manner. Barrett (2007) stresses that although Twitter has a 140-character limit, instructors can encourage reflection using simple statement with ellipses, and match them to a specific number for example: 1. Something I noticed was… 2. What was interesting was… 3. I was confused when... Just as conference attendees can reflect through the use of Twitter, Barrett (2007) states “by having the student use hash tags and denoting the number of the Ellipses Recipe (e.g. No. 2) in their Tweets, a teacher can gather all of their student’s impressions and be efficient in framing what their students are reflecting about” (para. 8). While social networks like Twitter and Edmodo, as well as the use of Blogs and Wikis, are popular places for reflective learning to occur, another option is the use of Google Docs. Students can create a shared document and work together, adding information, challenging the assumptions of others and using critical thinking skills to become more reflective practitioners.

Why don’t all educators and institutions use these more innovative uses of technology to promote reflective learning? Why don’t all educators encourage reflections? I have had points deducted and negative comments made within some of my graduate work because I was reflective, while one course encouraged a reflection statement in every assignment. Now, I seem to have points deducted if I don’t use enough reflection in my assignments. I would say that although every course in the program is designed exactly the same and delivered in the exact same way, and uses the exact same rubric for every single assignment, that this is the most inconsistent program I have ever experienced. One instructor wants the APA Title page and the NCU cover page, another only wants the NCU cover page. I have to email the instructor to every course I take to find out exactly what they expect. For me, reflection is the most meaningful part of any learning experience. Did you see my latest article? Check it out here at [|T.H.E. Journal]. You’ll see that I tend to do a lot of reflecting, and can write about it too. It is important to “do the research” and see what the “experts” are saying about online learning and the use of technology in the classroom, however, I tend to argue that unless you are still living in that environment, even the most “researched” article does not always give you the whole picture, nor the complete understanding of what it means to be in the field and the impact that technology truly has on the classroom. If I were given the choice between reading articles on theory and then summarizing them or spending a week on Twitter gathering information from a community and then writing a reflective article, I would choose Twitter every time. So here is my final recommendation for those designing (or redesigning) courses in this or any graduate program, add in a little bit of community. Even if you are not going to create “cohorts” of students that follow the same academic schedule, you can encourage the students to seek out their own academic community through the use of social media. The use of Wikis and Blogs are great places to encourage collaborative learning, however driving traffic there can be a bit difficult, that’s why I personally prefer Twitter to share, collaborate, and learn.

Reference:

Arend, B. (2009, January). Encouraging critical thinking in online threaded discussions. //The Journal of Educators Online// 6 (1).

Barrett, H. (2007, March). White paper: Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement. //Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.// Retrieved from http://sites.google.com/site/reflection4learning/Home

Conrad, R.M. & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). //Engaging the Online Learner//. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Draves, W. A. (Ed). (2007). //Advanced teaching online//. River Falls, WI: LERN Books.

Lowes, S. (2008, April, 24). Online teaching and classroom change: The trans-classroom teacher in the age of the internet. //Innovate 4 (3).// Retrieved from http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=446

Marian University. (2011). //School of education: Welcome.// Retrieved from http://soe.marianuniversity.edu/

Moon, J. (1999). //Reflection in Learning and Professional Development//. London: Kogan Page.

Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (2001). //Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching//. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (2005). //Collaborating online: Learning together in community.// San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (Ed.) (2007). //Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom.// San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.