PowerPoint Presentation
Improving Reflection for Effective Eportfolios
Karen Ramsay Johnson and Susan KahnIUPUI1What is reflection?MetacognitionSelf-examination/self-assessmentRe-processing ideas to support understandingIntegrationQuestioning assumptionsPerceiving multiple contexts or perspectives
2Forms of ReflectionAccount/analysis of a processReview of progressGoal-settingSynthesisAnalysis of an experienceAnalysis that connects a series of experiences Analysis of an artifactAnalysis that connects a series of artifacts3Claims About Value of ReflectionReflection helps students make knowledge by articulating connectionsReflection introduces students to new kinds of self-assessment that they carry into the rest of their livesReflection helps develop habits of reflective practiceReflection supports deeper engagement in learningReflection provides evidence of learning not available by other means4ChallengesHow do we teach students to reflect? (Some students lack experience with reflection)Design and scaffoldingWhen and how often?(Some) students view of their education as a series of discrete, unrelated courses (vs. folio thinking)Balancing needs of stronger and weaker students
5First-Generation ChallengesFostering students ability to question preconceptions about the value of reflectionModifying concepts appropriate for traditional students so that non-traditional students see the value of their non-academic experienceMaintaining first-generation students pride in their educational achievements while helping them form realistic expectations for the job market
6Two Components (incorporated into webfolio):Career/Professional DevelopmentEnglish in the World/Global Citizenship
E450: The Capstone Seminar
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9E450: The Capstone SeminarDesired OutcomesIntegrate learningArticulate learning in terms meaningful to employers and other audiencesUse evidence to substantiate claims about abilities and skillsFoster metacognition and empowerment for learningBuild confidence in value of degree10
Strategies: A multi-faceted approach to reflection
Three Short reflections, peer-reviewed and revised:Personal: an experience that is understood differently in the presentTextual Reflection: a transformative encounter with a text (loosely defined)Career: Use of two or more artifacts to demonstrate skills relevant to job or further educationCulminating reflection on English in the World An extended reflection on students long term goals both professional and civic
11Write short reflections before writing final component reflection essayGuided peer reviewRubric with discussionIncorporate readings about metacognition andreflectionIndividual conferencesOur strategiesLessons LearnedSuccessful reflective practice requires more than one courses exposureSome students are sincerely baffled by the whole concept of reflectionStudents who are most challenged by reflection are usually those who also find it hard to question preconceptionsStudents with double majors or minors are usually the most skilled at reflectionStudents who take reflection most seriously emerge with greater confidence in the validity of their learning and in the value of their college degrees13 I never thought there would be an overarching theme to my college career . . . . Through my work as an English major, which has included taking classes in literature and writing and linguistics and editing, I have realized that the one overarching theme is the power that words have to change the world; and as a Political Science major I have been blessed and cursed with the ability to see and understand those changes in a way that is sometimes heartbreakingly real . . . . There is a gift that English majors are given that we sometimes forget about and take for granted . . . it is our desire and ability to see everyone in the world as people with stories that can turn on a dime when one simple word is spoken to them or about them.14Everybody has a storyWriting Invisible Indians created awareness in myself. Being an open-minded individual does not mean absence of judgment, moral perfection or color blindness. It is about being aware of other people. Its about being honest with yourself about your own thoughts and being inquisitive about the viewpoints of others. It is easy to get caught up in ourselves and not realize that everybody has a different history and a different story. I think that is where English and literature are so powerful in the world. Everybody has a story to tell.15Will This Thing Float?If geography is the study of the world and its people, English is the study of people and their world.Part of the beauty of my Liberal Arts education is adaptability. Obviously, there is more than one way in which my ideas can be packaged.My message in Justice is Blind is one that I could develop through writing a journalistic pieceWhat I am most grateful for, in my Liberal Arts education, is that I have not been armed with only a specific set of skills or molded and formed for one particular occupationI may still be adrift at sea, but I have a damn good piece of wood to float on. 16Practice makes perfect?People always say practice makes perfect, but the truth is, it doesnt. Practice only makes you a little better than you were previously. That is a distinction that I have had to come to terms with as a writer, and it is the hardest lesson that I have had to learn as a student of English.17Contact UsSusan Kahn: [email protected]
Karen Johnson: [email protected]
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