Overview
Reflection is a process of careful thought or deliberation. When we reflect, we think about something that has happened in the past and examine its significance and meaning. In this module, reflect on your work in this course to understand and articulate what you have achieved and where you will go from here.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After successfully completing this module, you should be able to:
- Produce a reflective paper on individual growth in the course.
- Revisit and revise selected work.
Attribution: “Introduction to Reflection and Portfolio,” by Elisabeth Ellington and Ronda Dorsey Neugebauer, Chadron State College, Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License: CC BY.
For this section of the portfolio, think about the following:
- How have you changed and grown as a college student?
- How have you changed and grown as a writer?
- How have you changed and grown as a reader?
- How have you changed and grown with technology skills?
- What skills or strategies do you now use that you didn’t before this class?
- How do you struggle successfully with academic assignments?
- How do you feel about academic expectations now compared to the beginning of the course?
Then, in a Google Doc, create a reflective writing.
A suggested format is as follows:
Introduction
A few sentences about where you came from, why you chose this institution, and how you feel now about college and academic writing.
Body
Reflect about the first day of this class. What were your impressions of the course, your instructor, the institution? Were you excited to begin your studies? How did you feel about the expectations set forth by your friends/parents/instructors/yourself?
Reflect about a few weeks ago at midterm. How did you feel about your progress? Were you able to keep up with the pace of the course and the assignments or did you fall behind? If you had difficulty keeping up in class, was there a reason you can pinpoint that may have contributed to not keeping up with class? How did you feel about your writing skills at midterm?
Reflect about what activities and assignments you found most useful and write about how these activities/assignments helped you grow as a student.
Conclusion
Now that you are at the end of the course, do you feel more prepared now to meet the challenges of college and life beyond? What recommendations do you have for new college students beginning this course? What is your definition of success for yourself in this course? What is your definition of success beyond this course? How will you know you’ve achieved success?
This section of the portfolio includes a short reflection as well as a final revision of your work (hence the Best Work title!) as evidence of your most polished pieces created in class.
READING RESPONSE
- Revisit Reading Response Assignment
- Revise, aiming for perfection.
- Write a 25 word reflection on the following:
- What revision(s) did you make?
- What did you learn?
- How will what you learned assist you in the future?
CRITICAL READING
- Revisit Critical Reading of an Essay/Article Assignment
- Revise, aiming for perfection.
- Write a 25 word reflection on the following:
- What revision(s) did you make?
- What did you learn?
- How will what you learned assist you in the future?
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
- Revisit Rhetorical Analysis Assignment
- Revise, aiming for perfection.
- Write a 25 word reflection on the following:
- What revision(s) did you make?
- What did you learn?
- How will what you learned assist you in the future?
Attribution: “Reflection and Portfolio,” by Elisabeth Ellington and Ronda Dorsey Neugebauer, Chadron State College, Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License: CC BY.
