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English 1002-118

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REFLECTING ON YOUR SERVICE

To download a copy of this assignment in Word, click here.

JOURNAL REFLECTION

Your task:

Simply put, you are to keep a journal of your tutoring experiences. You should record what happens and what you think about what happens. Use this space to:

·          Start to formulate some of your ideas about education and about service-learning.

·          Explore possible questions that might come up in oral reflection, in preparation for class discussion.

·          Respond to reading and specific prompts, as assigned

·          Gather material for the reflective essay you’ll write at the end of the semester: the more specifically you describe now, the less you’ll have to remember later.

·          Reflect on questions that come up in class 

To receive full credit, your journal should include 10 entries on your tutoring by the last day of service, in addition to the separate entries I assign (reading responses, etc.); each entry should last about a page. Of course, these are only minimum guidelines; I’d rather you focus on what you have to say than on how many pages it takes you to say it. This is free-writing space, also, so no worries about spelling, complete sentences, etc. Thoughts are what I want, in whatever form they come. I do want thorough reflection—remember, together, this journal and your oral reflection counts 20% of your grade. Make sure you’re putting time and effort into both. 

* Since I have decided to eliminate the separate reflective reports, I will ask you to turn in your journals periodically, but always on days we do Oral Reflection. Your journal is due for the first time on February 21. 

ORAL REFLECTION: GROUP ASSIGNMENT

Your task:

For this part of your reflection assignment, you and 4 or 5 of your classmates will lead class discussion about your service. Your responsibilities:

• Each of you will lead discussion for about 10-15 minutes. You should meet together to organize what questions you will ask, to make sure the questions fit together and that there’s no overlap.
• Your job, as the discussion facilitator, is not to lecture or talk the whole time, but to create an atmosphere for discussion. Think of thoughtful questions to pose, ways to get your classmates involved, how to encourage everyone’s participation. Open-ended questions (not yes or no or one-word answers) are always helpful.
• You may, if you’d like, have the questions posted on the blog before class, so that your classmates have a chance to think about the issues you’ll raise before coming to class.
• You may also plan activities to get us thinking if you’d like.
• Feel free to be creative: think about the best ways to engage us, how to get us interested, and how to involve the most people.
• I will be happy to meet with your group before your presentation if you want my feedback or to talk through your ideas.
• The class is yours for about an hour: use it well!
• You will be evaluated on:
  • Preparation and time management: it should be clear that you have carefully planned and thought through your hour of time.
  • The class’s involvement: does everyone participate?
  • Your group’s involvement: has everyone pulled his weight?
  • The level of reflection: take a look at the guide to reflection in your course manual. We want to begin to think critically about what’s happening in our tutoring sessions and about how those sessions are affecting us and the kids.

Here’s an online resource for reflection that you might find helpful too.