reflecting on service national service resource center national service-learning clearinghouse
TRANSCRIPT
Reflecting on Service
National Service Resource Center
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
A few words to reflect on
• Experience is not what happens to people; it is what people do with what happened to them.
- Aldous Huxley (with liberties)
• We do not learn from doing, we learn from thinking about what we do.- Northwest Service Academy
Why reflect?
• Gives meaning to the experience
• Relieves tension and re-energizes participants
• Sense of accomplishment
• Integrates service into one's life
• Reality Check
• Acknowledges gained skills
Research shows
• Reflection has some positive impact on the attitudes of the volunteers regarding service
• The lack of reflection has a STRONG NEGATIVE impact
Three stages of reflection
• pre-service: examine own beliefs, assumptions and attitudes
• during service: learn from peers, share observations; ask for and receive feedback; ask questions; and solve problems
• post-service: evaluate impact of service; acknowledge personal growth
Reflection may include
• Reactions
• Feelings
• Observations
• Ideas
Reflection can happen through
• Writing
• Speaking
• Listening
• Reading
• Drawing
• Acting
Reflection should:
• Have an outcome in mind
• Be appropriate for the group
• Happen before, during, and soon after service
• Be directly linked to the project experience
• Dispel stereotypes
• Address negative experiences
Reflection should:
• Increase appreciation for community needs
• Increase commitment to service
• Be varied for different learning styles
• Actively involve the service recipients
• Be facilitated well for maximum participation, creativity, and learning
Resources
• Service Reflection ToolkitNorthwest Service Academyhttp://www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org/tools_resources/docs/nwtoolkit.pdf (490Kb PDF)
• Connecting Thinking and Action: Ideas for Service-Learning ReflectionRMC Research Corporationhttp://servicelearning.org/filemanager/download/132 (1.1Mb PDF)
Feedback
Share your ideas with us!
• National Service-Learning ClearinghouseE-mail: [email protected]: 1-866-245-SERV (7378)Website: www.servicelearning.org
• National Service Resource CenterE-mail: [email protected]: 1-800-860-2684 x100Website: http://nationalserviceresources.org