Strategy Description
Student learning is more impactful when meaningful reflection is integrated into course design (e.g., Lee and Sabatino, 1998). Providing students with the opportunity to think about their learning experiences and articulate connections to their personal, professional and academic goals can help them better prepare for career success and lifelong learning (e.g., Rolfe, Jasper and Freshwater, 2020). Widely recognized as an evidence-based best-practice for experiential-learning (Kolb, 2015), critical reflection generates, deepens, and documents learning (Ash and Clayton, 2009).
Reflective journaling provides a valuable outlet for students to “think about various concepts, events, or interactions over a period of time for the purposes of gaining insights into self-awareness and learning” (Thorpe 2004, p. 328). In light of this, the authors united a research-based model of critical reflection with a student-friendly blog tool already built into their university’s learning management system (LMS) to create a ready platform for deeper learning in online courses.
About the Author
Karen Edwards, J.D. serves as interim associate dean of academic programs for the University of South Carolina's College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management. Recipient of the University’s 2019 Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation, Edwards is a past associate director for distributed learning at the university’s Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), where she presently serves as a faculty mentor for individualized coaching.
Dr. Amber Fallucca leads the University of South Carolina's efforts of the Quality Enhancement Plan, "Experience by Design," and its assessment for accreditation. She also leads the assessment efforts aligned with the Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning at the institution.
Dr. Lydia Frass is the Program Manager for Assessment and Distributed Learning at the University of South Carolina's College of Arts and Sciences. With years of experience in designing courses and programs for adult learners, she specializes in best practices in online learning.
Date Created
3-26-2023
Pedagogical Category
Assessment
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Edwards, Karen; Fallucca, Amber; and Frass, Lydia, "Applying the DEAL model of critical reflection in blogs to maximize student learning" (2023). Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository. 21.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/topr/21
Reflective Blog assignment
Blog Sample Artifact.png (528 kB)
Student blog entry (used with permission)