Keeping reflection separate from feedback is difficult
I first heard of reflection when I was a student several years ago but never really know what it was until the ITS taught me, and I have adopted it religiously ever since. I usually have a reflection prompt at the end of every class and allow some time for students to write out their thoughts individually. So for the reflection experiment I changed things up a bit and tried the learning journey map.
It was the last week of the semester. Four Master’s students in my class have been learning mostly online and completing tons of assignments in lieu of exams due to the safety-first policy of many instructors during Covid-19. The poor students have also been preparing their thesis proposals, and I often asked if they were ok. In one class, they admitted that they did not sleep the night before or only slept for a few hours. So, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to take them out for coffee and have them reflect on what they had been through during the semester.
After students ordered drinks and desserts, I handed out the learning journey map. The students were confused at first on what they were supposed to do. Then it took a while for them to recall what had happened during the course and individually completed their maps. It was long enough for the food to get cold. Below are the students’ learning journey maps.
After everyone finished, I showed each map to the group and asked the owner to explain his/her graph. Prior to this experiment I discussed with my small group and Meenu about whether I should ask students to share their reflection with the group or not, and the opinions were mixed. Since (I believe) the students were familiar with one another, I decided to do a group discussion. I noticed that the students, especially the more reserved ones, were a little uncomfortable to talk about their emotions with peers (and me). Also, I was struggled as a facilitator to prevent the reflection session from turning into a feedback session (which I failed). In the end we left the cafe with a full stomach, and I got some great feedback not only on the course, but on the Master’s program as a whole. What was the purpose of the meeting again?
So my takeaway is that reflection is useful and is a must for one’s learning, but when done in a group setting like this, it could quickly turn into a feedback session. I think that I was struggled because reflection and feedback are intertwined. When students were asked how they felt about their learning, they would say they did/did not learn well during a particular time because the instructors did/did not do certain things. After all, students’ learning is, at least partly, a result of our teaching. How do we untangle this mess?
