Written reflection is a productive approach which helps improve basic communication skills at the same time it leads to critical thinking about the academic focus (through questions) you have prescribed. It is the most common and the least intrusive in terms of taking up class time.

     A more powerful, and in many ways more effective, approach is the purposeful dialogue or the reflective class session. This dialogue provides an opportunity for students to share experiences and exchange ideas and critical insights about the information being shared. To achieve academic outcomes, the dialogue, while spirited and free, should be bounded by the learning objectives of the course. The faculty member must serve both as a facilitator to maintain the flow of ideas and commentator who jumps on the relevant item and develops it into a teachable moment. This is not an easy task, but with practice the rewards are great. When we seem to be losing control, the process can be threatening, but it is often at these critical moments that the real learning occurs. The real advantage of the reflective session over the written forms is its power to develop a sense of community, which is one of the general goals of service-learning. Whatever form of reflection is chosen, it is important to do it early in the experience to assure that students understand the process. It should then be followed up regularly to monitor their progress. This type of deliberate and guided reflection is what leads to academic learning, improved service, and personal development. Reflecting is the key element, creating meaning.

     To accomplish this, effective service-learning initiatives involve students in course-relevant activities which address the real human, safety, educational, and environmental needs of the community. Students'course materials such as texts, lectures, discussions, and reflection inform their service, and the service experience is brought back to the classroom to inform the academic dialogue and the quest for knowledge. This reciprocal process is based on the logical continuity between experience and knowledge.

     The pedagogy of service-learning represents a substantial change from the traditional lecture driven, content based, and faculty centered curriculum. Dispite the fact that research has shown that we remember only 10% of what we hear, 15% of what we see, and a mere 20% of what we see and hear, these remain the basic sense modalities stimulated in most educational experiences. Service-learning strategies recognize that we retain 60% of what we do, 80% of what we do with active guided reflection and 90% of what we teach or give to others. It views education as a process of living, not a preparation for life. It also rejects the notion that students are empty vessels waiting to be filled. In a culture characterized by information overload, effective teaching must encourage information processing as well as accumulation. In a complex society, it is almost impossible to determine what information will be necessary to solve particular problems. All too often the content students learn in class is obsolete by the time they finished their degree. With this in mind, it seems much more important to "light the fire than to fill the bucket."

     Learning is not a predictable linear process. It may begin at any point in the cycle. Students may have to apply their limited knowledge in a service situation before consciously setting out to gain or comprehend a body of facts related to that situation. The discomfort experienced from the lack of knowledge may encourage futher accumulation of facts or the development or changing of a personal theory for future application. To assure that this kind of learning takes place however, skilled guidance in reflection on the experience must occur. This facilitation of reflection is the critical responsibility of the service-learning teacher.

     Based on the belief that learning is the constant restructuring of experience, service-learning exemplifies the continuity that exists between experience and knowledge. By providing students the opportunity to have a concrete experience and then assisting them in the intellectual processing of this experience, service-learning not only takes advantage of the natural learning cycle, but also allows students to provide a meaningful contribution to the commnity. This twofold emphasis on both learning and civic responisbility is the overall objective of the strategy, and our success in meeting this objective leads to the fulfillment of the general mission of higher education.

     The following refelction activities are excerpted from "Reflection Activities for the College Classroom" compiled by Julie A Hatcher and Robert G. Bringle.

REFLECTIVE JOURNALS
Requiring students to write journals is a common reflections activity in service-learning courses. Journals are easy to assign, yet difficult to grade, and many argue that this means of personal reflection should not be graded at all. Journals provide a way for students to express their thoughts and feelings about the service experience throughout the semester and, with guidance, journals can link personal learning with course content. However, a common tendency is for journal entries to become a mere log of events rather than a reflective activity in which students consider the service experience in light of learning objectives. Before assigning a reflective journal, consider what learning objective the journal is intended to meet. Journals are an effective way to develop self-understanding and strengthen intra-personal skills. Journals can also be a way to collect personal data during the semester to be summarized in a more formal reflective paper near the end of the service-learning course. Journals should be collected and reviewed at least twice during the semester.

REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
Reflective essays are a more formal example of journal entries. Essay questions are provided at the beginning of the semester and students are expected to submit two to three essays during the term. Reflective essays can focus on personal development, academic connections, of the experience to course content, or ideas and recommendations for future action. As with any essay, criteria can be clearly stated to guide the work of students.

DIRECTED WRITINGS
Directed writings ask students to consider the service experience within the framework of the course content. The instructor identifies a section from the textbook or class readings (i.e. quotes, statistics, concepts) and structures a question for students to answer. A list of directed writings can be provided at the beginning of the semester, or given to students as the semester progresses. Students may also create their own directed writing questions from the text. Students select which directed writings to complete and submit them periodically during the semester. Directed writings provide opportunity for application and critical analysis of the course content.

EXPERIENTIAL RESEARCH PAPER
An experiential research paper is a formal paper that asks students to identify a particular experience at the service site and analyse that experience within a broader context in order to make recommendations for change. Mid-semester, students are asked to identify an underlying social issue they have encountered at the service site. Students then research the social issue and read three to five articles in professional journals on the topic. Based on their experience and library research, students make recommendations for future action. This reflection activiity is useful in inter-disciplinary courses and provides students flexibility within their disciplinary interests and expertise to pursue issues experienced at the service site. Class presentations of the experiential research paper can culminate semester work.

SERVICE LEARNING CONTRACTS AND SERVICE LOGS
Service learning contracts formalize the learning and service objectives for the course. Students in collaboration with their instructor and agency supervisor, identify learning and service objectives and identify the range of tasks to be completed during the service experience. Oftentimes, a service learning contract can not be completed until the student is at the agency for a couple of weeks and has a clear idea of how their skills and expertise can be of service. A service log is a continuous summary of specific activities completed and progress towards accomplishing the service learning goals. The contract and the log can become the basis for reflcetion when students are asked to assess their progress towards meeting the identified objectives and identify the obstacles and supports that had an impact on their ability to achieve the service learning objectives. These items can also be submitted in a service learning portfolio as evidence of the activities completed.

E-MAIL DISCUSSION GROUPS
When service learning is an option in a course, and not all students are involved in service, one way to facilitate reflection is to create a list-serve electronic mail discussion group. Through e-mail, students can create a dialogue with the instructor and peers involved in service projects. Students write weekly summaries and identify critical incidents which occurred at the service site. Students can rotate as a moderator of the discussion every two weeks. Instructors can post questions for consideration and topics for directed writings. Near the end of the semester, a log of the e-mail discussions can be pinted and provide data to the group about the earnings that occurred from the service experience.

CLASS PRESENTATIONS
A way for students to share their service learning experience with peers is to make a class presentation though a video, a slide show, a bulletin board, a panel discussion, or a persuasive speech. This is an opportunity for students to display their work in a public format. A similar presentation can be offered back to the community agency as a final recognition of the student's involvement.

STRUCTURED CLASS DISCUSSIONS
Structured reflection sessions can be facilitated during regular class time if all students are involved in service. It is helpful for students to hear stories of success from one another. They can also offer advice and collaborate to identify solutions to problems encountered at the service site.