Create Reflection Activities
Which reflection questions will effectively address the outcomes?
Which activities will produce something I can observe and assess?
*Early, mid, and end-of-semester reflection questions move up Bloom’s taxonomy.
See also Designing Reflection Activities.
Case study example from Technical Communication course
Reflection (formative assessments) can be used to determine how well students understand the different components of rhetorical context in shaping the message. Students can develop responses in a Learning Management System (i.e., Blackboard, Moodle, etc.) or an online journal responding to beginning, middle, and end-of-semester reflection prompts:
(Early) Given what you have learned thus far, define “rhetorical context.” What are the components? (Could be used early in the semester as a benchmark).
(Mid) Given the writing assignments you have prepared thus far, how has your understanding of the rhetorical context shaped your message: what you say, to whom you say it, how you say it? How does your message change as rhetorical contexts change? What examples demonstrate how messages differ depending on the rhetorical contexts?
(End/Summative/Portfolio) How has your understanding of rhetorical contexts changed throughout the course? What have you learned from writing to different audiences/contexts? Provide examples from the course (or other experiences) that demonstrate how your message was prepared to meet the specific constraints of each rhetorical context. Which assignments or messages would you do differently based on your more informed understanding of rhetorical context?
