In order to have a successful reflection you have to have had a real experience. By this, I mean you had to do something more substantial than go to the mall... You need to have helped build a house for a family through habitat for humanity, completed a world history class and actually learn the cause and effects of different nation's actions or in our case graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
I plan on putting the finishing touches on my e-portfolio by using reflection. The result will be a page that can demonstrate how I transformed through college and what I am truly taking away from the experience and how prepared I feel for the new world I will be entering.
This week start considering all the classes you have taken in your post high school education. REFLECT on them. Then learn what you learned from them. That is, what did you really take away from each class and what will stick with you forever. How have you changed or not changed due to your academic career. (not everything you reflect on will be school oriented, look at extracurricular activities as well)
So in a simple summary for this discussion, focus on:
- Share your understanding of "reflection". How is it different from description?
- Share how you're planning to use reflection in developing your e-Portfolio content pages.
When I'm describing something I pretty much state facts. When reflecting I would include perceptions and emotions, especially when looking back over several years. If I were to describe a situation, say an auto accident, the statements I would make would be what a police officer would want to hear about what I witnessed. Reflection would include suppositions and emotions that the officer would not be interested in. I apply these definitions to almost any scenario, whether it be a class in school, a situation at work or a social situation.
ReplyDeleteI think reflection allows you to reveal your personality and I belieive that is important when applying for a job or a volunteer position. Sometimes personality is more important than experience. Reflection lets you tell a story from your point of view, especially the story of you.
Many books and movies start by reflecting back over a situation from the speaker's point of view. That is far more interesting for entertainment purposes than just describing the facts.
I happen to have many years of experience and education to reflect back over. I will use reflection for the personal parts of my e-Portfolio and description to supply facts.
I feel a reflection is more emotional where as a description is more of a case of providing imagery and facts. A reflection is usually based on something that has happened to the author or something that they have accomplished and their reaction to it. Just the word “reflection” proves that the author is going to explain not just a situation but also how it affected them and get deeper into it than one would with a description
ReplyDeleteI would probably use a reflection to tie my eportfolio together. I would add it to the very end of my eportfolio instead of the beginning. It would be a great way to really get my personality in there and presented to the readers.
I guess reflection is the looking back on an experience you had, good or bad. When I think of a description, it is simply a sort of storytelling. I can only reflect on something I have done or been a part of; but I can describe something that I’ve heard of.
ReplyDeleteI’m not really sure at this point how I will use reflection in my portfolio as I haven’t had that may experiences at UCF . I hope to be able to build on my experiences and be able to document them as to fully express them to others.
@Deb - I like how you explained reflection is more of emotion and way you illistrated it by the police report.
ReplyDelete@Leah - I agree with you about using the reflection to tie everything at the end
A description is something actual, facts that have occurred. A reflection is your own personal thoughts of something you have gone through.
ReplyDeleteI want to use my reflection at the end of my portfolio to show reader swhat I’ve taken from my overall experiences personally and professionally.
I think my reflection would read something like this:
As my graduation approaches I look back and see how time has passed and how much homework I’ve done (lol) but more importantly I see how from class to class I have learned so much about myself. At the beginning I had no idea I liked psychology or education and I have never heard of speech language pathology but now those are the areas where I feel passionate about. I was able to find my path thanks to my education and now I like to encourage those around me, my friends and coworkers. I tell them to simply start somewhere one class has the potential of changing their entire life. I therefore would like to do the same for my future students to let them know that all the classes they take will eventually make sense and that they will look back just as I do now and be surprise how much fun they had pursuing their dreams.
Reflection is an actual experience and how it has affected you. Reflections can take what can be perceived as a negative event into a positive. Reflections can be quite powerful and are significantly different from a plain description of something.I plan on using a reflection of an Education class and how the mandatory hours of observing schools has affected my decision to not be an educator. I have gained a new found respect for educators and the hours I have spent observing classrooms has opened my eyes to a lot that I had taken for granted. Most likely, I would be using my reflection based on the real life experience I had in the elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.
ReplyDeleteA reflection is looking back on an experience that you have gone through and looking at what you got out of it. Did you learn an important life lesson, find out how to complete a certain type of project, officially complete a research paper you worked on all semester? I can be about anything that you have gone through and is more meaningful than a summary. While developing my e-Portfolio, I will use my reflection of my experience as a LEAD Peer Mentor and working under the Junior Achievement program. Reflecting in my portfolio to how they influenced me in my decisions and how the experience motivates me to continue my education.
ReplyDelete@Guy
I too have found major respect for educators while working with them. It is a lot more work than people think and you must truly be dedicated
@Luis
I too didn't think I would be interested in Psychology and Education and now they are my focus in IDS
A reflection is going back and remembering some thing that really impacted you. The action or activity taught you something about the world and most importantly taught you some thing about your self. I will go back and evaluate myself. It will show whoever reading it how I grew and improved. It is different from a description because it gives you a more personal look at the situation.
ReplyDeleteAdding my reflection to my e-portfolio will give my portfolio a special touch. It will show me as more then just another employee. It will also catch the eye of who ever is reading my e-portfolio.
A reflection is looking back over a past experience and giving your personal thoughts on the experience. I, like many others have already stated, get stuck in the habit of giving facts without including much emotion. That's great for things such as report writing where you are just supplying the facts...which is what I have to do in my line of work. Maybe that's why it takes a little extra effort for me to include some emotion and personality in my writings/reflections. I'm so used to being trained to not give that because I am only to supply the facts.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I can imply emotions and such in my writings, but I'm not really "talented" at it because I don't get much practice at it. Adding my reflection to my e-portfolio will add a personal yet professional touch. I have much to reflect upon as I'm nearing the end of my B.S. degree here at U.C.F.
@Deb
ReplyDeleteI liked how you explained reflection and gave an example of a "lack of reflection" in the police reports!
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteIt seems that all of you have a good understanding of what reflection is and what it means to you. I agree that reflection is a personal approach to evaluating various events that have occurred in our pasts. Reflection is a continuous process and I often think back on different experiences that I have had and how they have impacted and changed my life.
For example, over the past 5-10 years I have endured many difficult personal life events such as my parent's divorce, the death of loved ones, and the decision to put my dog to sleep. Reflecting back on these events has allowed me to see how I have developed as a woman and gained strength through adversity and learned how to adapt quickly when life did not go just as I expected it to.
The e-portfolio is an excellent place to display reflection in order to reveal your unique personality and life experiences. The reflection process in the e-portfolio allows others to get a better understanding of the "real you" instead of just reading "the facts" about you in a resume, simple application or school transcript.
Keep up the great work! I have enjoyed getting to know all of you this semester!
A reflection is when you look back at something from your past and think about how it has affected you. This could be negative or positive. A description is an explanation about something that happened. It is different than a reflection because it is more informative. A reflection deals more with the emotional aspect of what happened. You can also give a description of something you have never been through, but a reflection comes from a past experience.
ReplyDeleteI plan on using reflection in developing my e-Porfolio content pages by looking back at my past education and extracurricular activities. I will then explain how this has influenced the decisions I have made in my life and helped me get to where I am today. I will also use reflection to explain the traits I have learned from past experiences and how they will be useful in the future.
@Steven
ReplyDeleteI agree that when you reflect upon something, you think about a life lesson that you got out of it.
@Alexandria
I also think that reflection is a good way to separate you from other employers. It can make you standout.
@Josh- I think your use of your reflection will really benefit your E-portfolio.
ReplyDelete@Heidi- I agree that a lot of my training in writing throughout school has also been focused on descriptive writing and not at all towards giving personal opinion, emotions, and so forth. I still though find it much easier to write a personal piece, like a reflection, rather than something based on facts.
@josh
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point when you say that you can use your reflextion to be a guide for your future.
@guy
That’s too bad that real life experience changed your mind on becoming an educator since they are such an important part of our society even if they aren’t compensated accordingly. But I do respect the honesty and the courage to say what you think as well as the thought of respecting those in the education business.
@Heidi
ReplyDeleteMy 2 majors are Chemistry and Engineering Tech. You can imagine that I too did not do much reflecting in my assignments due for those classes! When I started my minor in Cultural Anthropology the writing was totally different. I was suddently expected to reflect on the material I had read and how it might be different from my own experiences due to cultural differences. I really enjoyed doing that but I definitely had room for improvement in those first few assignments.
@Guy
ReplyDeleteAll our posts have a common thread, but I liked your statement that reflections can be quite powerful. Even the best story told with only descripion is not as powerful as one with added reflection. Good thought.
The way I see it, a description is merely just describing something, giving only the facts. A reflection, on the other hand, is something you can explain - explaining how you can apply what you learned, that is, "mirroring" it.
ReplyDeleteI can see myself using my reflections for my e-portfolio. I have the general idea of how I'm going to do it, but I know it will take some time for me to go into further depth.
I feel a description is superficial, while a reflection goes to a more personal level. When I give a description I will gives details of an event or things, like what I see, smell or physically feel. A reflection details more with the cognitive or emotional impact something had. What I learned from an experience or what it cause me to think about is a reflection.
ReplyDeleteJust like in my personal statement for graduate school, I will use my reflections in my e-portfolio to explain how some of my previous personal experiences have impacted me and helped me to be the person I am today, or why I choice to be an occupational therapist.
@Alexandria: I agree on the point you made about how a reflection involves evaluating oneself. Possibly questioning one's values or priorities.
ReplyDelete@Charles - It certainly takes times to generate a reflection on a past experience. It really requires a lot of effort to think back and understand how a situation made you feel and how it impacted your life. When writing reflection pieces, especially for your e-portfolio, I would recommended sketching out thoughts and ideas as they come, then organizing them into a cohesive manner. Then I would step away from the writing for a while, maybe a few hours, days or even weeks. Come back to it and read it again, maybe have a friend read it and see if you/they can really gain an understanding of who you are from the reflection and how that experience molded and shaped you. Just a thought....
ReplyDelete@Jazmin - I love how you wrote about giving details of an event such as what you see, smell and feel. These details will transport others who read your reflection and allow them to truly understand your experience!
Great work everyone!
Reflection is what my experiences meant and how they changed me as a person. It is a great look back at who I was and who I became. Reflection allows us to go deeper into what took place to see all the little things that came along with it all and all the details that are left out of a description.
ReplyDeleteKnowing what I have taken from my learning experiences is the only thing I really have to fill my portfolio's content pages. Just saying what I have done is not enough. I can sit in classes all day long and not learn a thing. Reflection will allow me to show not only what I have done but what I am and what is in my head now.
@Guy - Great point about reflection being able to take something that would otherwise be seen in a negative light and bring out the positive!
ReplyDelete@Deb - That was a great example of reflection you used. Awesome point about the suppositions and emotions. Thanks for bringing out what I assume we all meant. =)