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ERIC Number: ED624988
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 233
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-4387-4792-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Instructors' Strategies to Support Student Reflection in Service-Learning
Jia, Xiaokai
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University
Student reflection plays an essential role in service-learning projects to help students prepare for their service, process their experience, and reevaluate their experience to gain new understanding and appreciation. However, instructors encounter various challenges when integrating reflections into service-learning. Given the wide variety of student reflection activities available, it is necessary to investigate how experienced service-learning instructors design and facilitate student reflections in service-learning. This multiple-case study investigated how service-learning instructors integrated reflections into their service-learning projects. Three research questions were answered by analyzing multiple data sources, including instructor interviews, instructional materials, class observation notes, and student focus group discussions. The first question focused on the instructors' perceptions of the roles of reflection activities for service-learning projects. The second question investigated how instructors designed and facilitated student reflections throughout service-learning. The third question captured the students' perception of the effectiveness of their instructors' strategies to support their reflections. This study shows that the four instructors considered reflection a critical component in service-learning. They all used reflections to assess whether students met the course learning outcomes through their service experiences. As a result of different intended learning outcomes, the focus of student reflections differed across the four cases. In addition to the cognitive process of student reflection, instructors should also attend to the affective domain in the service-learning context, especially for challenging projects. The reciprocity and academic credit-bearing nature of service-learning indicate that instructors might need to (1) expand the focus of reflection to cover both task-oriented and person-oriented characteristics and (2) use reflections for learning and assessment purposes. This study identified three areas of consideration to integrate reflections in service-learning, including "reflection content," "reflection methods," and "reflection support." These three areas were influenced by six factors: intended learning outcomes, departmental or disciplinary requirements, project design, students' prior knowledge and skills, available resources and support, and service-learning project challenges. The dynamic relationship among these six factors indicates service-learning instructors should consider all the relevant factors holistically to make decisions on student reflection content, methods, and support. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A