• Do students know what they know?

• Do they know how they learned it?

Though reflection is not an end in itself, it can serve as a means to facilitating and assessing learning outcomes. However, since reflection requires deep thinking about a topic or experience, it assumes that the reflector possesses that knowledge or experience on which to reflect. Thus, effective reflection activities build upon prerequisites, integrating lower-level cognitive activities (and assessments) into the course (or high-impact activity) working toward higher-level cognitive abilities to connect, evaluate, and communicate ideas. See Blooms Taxonomy (interactive) at http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html for a visual representation of learning levels. Note at what stage metacognition occurs.

What distinguishes reflection from other kinds of thinking?

In other words, how does reflective thinking differ from the kind of thinking used to solve a math problem or the kind of thinking we associate with daydreaming? "Using the metaphor of a mirror, the act of reflecting involves thinking about something that already exists in some form: a passage of text, an emotion, a thought, an image, an experience, something that has been heard, or a set of several of the items in a list" (Simpson, 2005). In contrast, solving a math problem involves trying to create something new, something that does not already exist, i.e., a solution to the problem. In contrast to daydreaming, reflective thinking has purpose and focus. The purpose may be to deepen understanding, to explore connections, to examine why something happens the way it does, to prepare to communicate one’s thinking with another, or some combination of these (or other) purposes--whereas daydreaming connotes thinking that wanders, moves by association from one idea to another, with no readily identifiable focus or purpose. Thus, there is an intentionality involved in reflection that is not present in daydreaming. Finally, reflective thinking often takes the form or writing, but it can also be in the form of discussion or artistic expression (Simpson, 2005).

Goal: "The objective in all such tasks is look backward with a critical eye in order to move forward with improved vision" (Davis, 2008).

Where are students likely to encounter reflection opportunities?

Examples include the following:

• • Application for college admission. Ex: Texas A&M University.

    1. Topic A. (required). Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.

    2. Topic B. (required). Choose an issue of importance to you - the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope - and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

    3. Topic C. (recommended). There may be personal information that you want to be considered as part of your admissions application. Write an essay describing that information. You might include exceptional hardships, challenges, or opportunities that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials, personal responsibilities, exceptional achievements or talents, educational goals, or ways in which you might contribute to an institution committed to creating a diverse learning environment.

  • Application for student ambassador program. The Google student ambassador program requires applicants to do the following:

• • 1. Write an essay on one of these topics:

       • Engineering students: “Is there a way for the social web to be more than just social?”

       • Non-engineering students: “Creative FOPs (forms of payment) and social support”

    2. Write a motivation letter on why you want to be an Ambassador, what you can change in your Country through learning new technical skills and how using Google tools could help your university.

• • Admission to the University Honors Program.

The review process is holistic, taking into account not only the student’s academic preparation (as indicated by high school class rank, transcripts, and standardized test scores) but also personal vision, passion for learning, demonstrated commitment, proclivity for risk-taking, and innate curiosity, self-awareness, and creativity, as expressed in the application essays.