Facilitating Reflection

The following tips for facilitating reflection are adapted from Colorado State University's Office for Service-Learning and Volunteer Programs:

Schedule regular opportunities for guided and purposeful reflection.
Communicate in writing students' responsibilities for reflection and provide well-defined criteria for evaluating their participation.
Seek to engage each student in both group and individual reflection activities.
Challenge each student to assess the knowledge, values, and skills he or she brings to the project.
Establish norms of behavior and a framework for reflection that guides students from objective observations and subjective responses to interpretation, awareness, and action.
Devote some reflection time to orienting students to people and problems they will encounter and allowing students to practice skills that will be required, such as active listening and observing.
Seek closure on emotional issues by the end of each reflective session.
Leave some cognitive and topical issues open for ongoing discussion to encourage reflection between class sessions.