What is Critical Reflection?

Reflection activities provide the bridge between community service activities and the educational content of the
course. Reflection activities direct the students attention to new interpretations of events and provide a means
through which the community service can be studied and interpreted, much as a text is read and studied for deeper
understanding.
(from R. Bringle !. "atcher (#$$$% Reflection in &ervice 'earning( )a*ing )eaning of +xperience
Critical Reflection Goal = Thinking Critically
Critical Thinking
Standard
Description Associated questions to ask to
check your thinking
Integration Service experience clearly related to the
learning
Have I clearly shown the
connection between my experience
and my learning?
Clarity Expands on ideas, express ideas in another
way, provides examples or illustrations where
appropriate.
Did I give an example?
Is it clear what I mean by this?
Could I elaborate further?
Accuracy All statements are factually correct and/or
supported with evidence.
How do I now this?
Is this true?
How could I chec on this or verify it?
Precision Statements contain specific information Can I be more specific?
Have I provided sufficient detail?
Relevance All statements are relevant to the !uestion at
hand; all statements connect to the central
point.
How does this relate to the issue
being discussed?
How does this help us"me deal with
the issue being discussed?
epth Explains the reasons behind conclusions and
anticipates and answers the !uestions that the
reasoning raises and/or acnowledges the
complexity o! the issue.
#hy is this so?
#hat are some of the complexities
here?
o #hat would it tae for this to
happen?
o #ould this be easy to do?
"readth Considers alternative points of view or how
someone else might have interpreted the
situation.
#ould this loo the same from the
perspective of$.?
Is there another way to interpret what
this means?
#ogic $he line of reasoning maes sense and !ollows
!rom the !acts and/or what has %een said.
Does what I said at the beginning fit
with what I concluded at the end?
Do my conclusions match the
evidence that I have presented?%
Signi!icance $he conclusions or goals represent a &the'
ma&or issue raised %y the re!lection on
experience.
Is this the most important issue to
focus on?
Is this most significant problem to
consider?
(airness 'ther points of view are represented with
integrity (without bias or distortion)
Have I represented this viewpoint in
such a way that the person who
holds it would agree with my
characteri*ation?
)odi!ied source* Paul, R + ,lder, #. -../. $he )iniature 0uide to Critical $hin1ing. $he (oundation !or Critical $hin1ing.
Un-critical Thinking: An !a"ple
Everybody knows that smoking is bad, so parents shouldnt smoke when they have children;
those parents who do smoke obviously just dont care about their kids.
[!moking is bad.
,hat do you mean by -bad.- Bad for the children/s health right now because they are inhaling second0hand
smo*e. Bad because the parents are modeling behavior that, if imitated by the children later on in life, could
harm their children/s health. Bad because the parents are modeling an unhealthy behavior that could send a
message to their children that its o*ay to engage in ris*y activities more generally.
1ailure to provide that clarity ma*es it hard to develop the learning much further. 2larity, therefore, can
be an important -gate *eeper- to learning.
Everybody knows...
"ow do you *now this. ,hat is your evidence.
3 failure to provide evidence to support the accuracy of a claim can undermine the claim itself and any
conclusions that are drawn from it. 4he student could have cited the &urgeon 5eneral/s warnings that have
been on cigarette pac*ages for years, along with hundreds of public service announcements on 46, articles
in the mass media, etc. ,hile this is not li*ely to be a debatable statement (except to some plaintiffs/
lawyers7% it still needs documentation so that its accuracy can be confirmed.
["!hose parents who do smoke obviously just dont care about their kids.
8s it really that simple. ,hat are some of the complexities here. 1or example, nicotine is addictive so it can be
very hard to 9uit. &mo*ing cessation medications, such as nicotine patches, are very expensive and the parents in
9uestion may not be able to afford it. 8s it fair to single out this one behavior as evidence of a parents attitudes. 8s
this the only or most important criterion against which to :udge parental concern.
&uggesting that all people who smo*e around their children do not care about their children is the *ind of
oversimplification that should raise a red flag about the depth of someones thin*ing.
1rom 3sh, 2layton, and )oses (;<<=%. 'earning through 2ritical Reflection( 3 4utorial 1or &ervice0'earning &tudents
#o$ do % get there?
#o$ can % Structure "y Reflection?
#o$ $ill "y reflection &e assessed?
REFLECTI
ON
RUBRIC
N/A
1
NOVICE
2
PROFICIENT
3
ADVANCED
4
DISTIN!IS"ED
#
Acade$ic
C%&cept'/C%&t
e&t/(ear&i&)
O*+ecti,e'
'ittle to no
evidence.
6ague
allusion to
concepts.
3ccurate
*nowledge
of concepts.
+xplores
concepts in
depth.
+stablishes
original
thoughts in
content>
concepts.
E-perie&ce
'ittle to no
evidence.
6ague
description
of
experience(s
%.
3ccurate
description
of
experience(s
%.
+xplores
experiences
in depth.
+stablishes
original
thoughts and
insights about
the
experience(s%.
C%&&ecti%&'
.
Sy&the'i' %/
C%&cept'
a&d
E-perie&ce
'ittle to no
evidence.
6aguely
lin*ed
concepts to
experiences.
2larity in
ma*ing
connections
between
concepts and
experiences.
+xplores
connections
in depth.
+stablishes
original
thoughts and
insights about
the
connections.
C%$$u&ica
te 0ith
Audie&ce
'ittle to no
evidence.
6ague
awareness of
audience.
'ac*s clarity
of
presentation.
2lear
awareness of
audience.
?resentation
is direct and
to the point.
+ngages
audience in
sub:ect
matter.
8nfluences and
inspires
audience
thin*ing about
sub:ect matter.
Ver,e.
E&er)y a&d
E&thu'ia'$
i& the
E-pre''i%&
%/ Idea'
'ittle to no
evidence.
&ome effort
to pro:ect
energy and
enthusiasm.
2lear efforts
to pro:ect
energy and
enthusiasm.
+ffort to
pro:ect
energy and
enthusiasm
sustained
throughout.
+nergy and
enthusiasm
expressed with
elo9uence,
creativity and
originality.
@oliba, 2. ;<<A. 3ssessing Reflection 3ssignments for ?ublic 3ffairs 2ourses(
8mplications for +ducating Reflective ?ractitioners. Journal of Public Affairs Education.
4his rubric was co0created by !ean Berthiaume, 4om 1luery, )ary 4own,
)ary ,halen, and 2hristopher @oliba.