Student Reflection Leaders
Basic Ground Rules
Remind group members that general guidelines for conversation need to be observed.
- Confidentiality
- Participation – the reflection will be as successful as participants make it!
- Silence is ok – no one should feel pressured to share
- Respect others and their opinions – reflection is not a time for arguing for your own beliefs or opinions or negating those of others
- Allow members to add to/elaborate on ground rules
First Level
Sample Questions
What was your project? Facts: Where? What did you do there? Who was involved?
What can you tell us about your experience?
How does this compare with other things you have done before?
Have you done something like this before?
How does this compare with what you expected?
Is it what you expected?
What did you like about the experience?
What did you dislike? – Could you tell us about that?
Skills
Active listening
Knowing leader’s role
Creating safe/comfortable environment
Respecting everyone’s chance to share/be quiet
Ask open-ended questions
Don’t fill the space
Listening/not planning next question
Attending skills
Summarize or refocus
Ground rules
Set objectives
Transition
What do you need to do next?
What are you learning? Summary to transition
What sense do you make out of all of this?
Theories/hypothesis
Second Level
Sample Questions
- What adjective would you give to describe the experience?
- Metaphor for the experience?
- Tell us more about why you used that word?
- Probe – (what was “wonderful,” “confusing,” etc.)
- Specific probes: Who? Why?
- Could you have done anything different?
- How does that compare with others’ experiences?
- Did anybody else have similar/different experiences?
- What was common among experiences?
- What help could you get from co-workers?
- What common themes emerged among the experiences?
Skills
- How do you handle the unexpected affect?
- Defusing anger
- Crisis skills
- “Metaphor” training
- Transitions
- “Group summary”
- “Hooking to previous statements
- Resisting the urge for premature closure or “first fervor”
Transition
- What have you learned? – “Whip”
- Self
- Social structure
- Ethical questions
- Organization
Third Level
Sample Questions
Social Issue: (Economics, Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Age)
Why do you think they won’t… social structure (e.g., poor economic background)?
Why do you think economics made a difference?
Did race make a difference? Different life experience?
Did gender make a difference? Who was male/female? Did it matter?
Did sexual orientation make a difference?
Question stereotypes of “social reality”
Privilege issues
Cross-cultural issues
Having hope vs. giving up
What do they say about it? How do you know?
Immigration status – with family, on own, etc.
Ethics (Ought/Should/Right)
Let’s think about the ethics involved in this?
What’s wrong with that?
Justice
Rights – Respect/Dignity
Consequences – greatest good
Community values – common good vs. individual good
Self
- How does this relate to your life?
- Privilege/guilt/entitlement
- Do you have any ethical responsibilities?
- Is this something you should care about?
- What can you do about it?
- Compassion
Concluding the Session
At the close of the reflection, allow people to summarize how they are feeling (i.e., “Have everyone use one word to describe how they are feeling”). Briefly summarize where the group has gone over the last 30 minutes. End by pointing out that the purpose of the reflection was to help internalize issues and spark a desire to learn more rather than create a plan of action.
