Service-Learning Australia

In service-learning, no activity is more central to understanding than cognitively-challenging reflection, which clearly links the service experience to the learning objectives - both academic and affective learning.  In such reflection, students integrate prior knowledge and experiences with new experiences to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.  They can be encouraged to place their service in a wider context – to analyse how the need they are addressing is a small part of a local, national and global problem.

Common types of reflective activities require students to simply write down their thoughts after a service experience, rather than encouraging students throughout their service-learning experience to examine how their actions impact on themselves and on those they serve.  Simple reflection does not have the powerful outcomes that can be achieved through cognitively-challenging reflection, which includes at least three dimensions:

• Reflection on the task itself
• Reflection on other contexts of the task (social, political, economic, vocational etc.)
• Reflection on related philosophical issues (questions of meaning, justice, responsibility, “fairness”, purpose, suffering, identity, friendship, hope etc.)

Reflection should occur throughout service-learning – during the investigation, preparation, action and post-action stages – and should incorporate various learning styles and experiences.   As with all service-learning, students should be encouraged to help plan reflective activities, and teachers should provide on-going feedback so students can improve their critical thinking and analytical ability.