Value of Online Group Reflection Following International Service Learning Experiences: I Never Thought of That!

Abstract

Reflection, defined as reviewing what one has experienced and its meaning, is widely accepted as a learning tool and is considered an essential component of competent professional practice (Plack, 2005).  Providing students with the opportunity to reflect on their clinical experiences promotes and increases experiential learning (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010) and the process of reflection has the potential to change practice (Taylor, 2000).   Identifying teaching strategies that promote students’ thoughtful consideration and reflection on their experiences facilitates the development of students into competent practitioners (Schuessler, Wilder & Byrd, 2012).   

Reflecting on one’s experiences is particularly important after an international service learning program in which students have experiences that may challenge some of their previously held ideas and practices. Lipson and Desantis (2007) note that international experiences can lead to increased student self-awareness of their own health care preconceptions and how their own beliefs, values, practices, and behaviors affect care, interactions with patients, and health teaching.

In this presentation the authors describe an exploratory descriptive study in which students who participated in a cultural immersion service learning program in Honduras reflected upon their experiences after returning to the United States.  The program included a 10 day trip to a rural area of Honduras where students worked in clinics, schools and participated in community activities that helped them experience the day to day life of families in Honduras.  The students were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of students who traveled to Honduras in 2008 and 2009 and wrote individual papers reflecting upon their experiences and learning after they had returned to the United States.  The second group consisted of students who traveled to Honduras in 2011 and 2012 and participated in an online group reflection discussion of their experiences and learning after they returned to the United States.  The level of reflection of each group was compared using the four category scheme developed by Kember, McKay, Sinclair and Wong (2008). This scheme provides a means to measure the level of reflective thinking found in writing.  The four levels of reflection are 1. Non- reflection in which the student shows no evidence of attempting to reach an understanding of his/her experiences in relation to concepts or values; 2. Understanding in which there is evidence of understanding a concept but the understanding does not relate to personal experiences; 3. Reflection in which situations encountered personally are considered in terms of values and personal insights; and 4. Critical reflection in which there is evidence of a change in perspective.   

The students who participated in the online group reflection discussion were more likely to critically reflect upon their experiences and the impact of these experiences on future practice than the students who wrote individual reflection papers. The students participating in online group reflection also demonstrated an awareness that other students shared similar responses to their experiences. 

Online group discussion of reflections following experiences that may challenge students’ beliefs, values, practices, and behaviors is an effective teaching/learning strategy that promotes critical thinking.  The online discussion of experiences among students following an international service learning program encourages meaningful dialogue and promotes clarification of values. Using online group discussion as a teaching strategy can facilitate critical thinking that will promote the development of students into competent practitioners.