Designing for reflection in online courses

You are here

Research and Development in Higher Education Vol. 25: Quality Conversations

July, 2002, 794 pages
Published by
Tony Herrington
ISBN
0 908557 54 X
Abstract 

Reflection can be described as both an individually-mediated and a socially-mediated process. In this paper we describe an online unit in a Graduate Certificate of Online Learning that has been designed to enhance the opportunities for students to reflect on their learning. Rather than being promoted as a learning strategy to supplement the unit curriculum, reflection has been integrated fully within the course design. Students are encouraged to reflect as they complete their chosen project (reflection-in-action) and in a more sustained and extended manner (reflection-on-action) as they write up their experiences in an article of publishable quality. The technology and tools that facilitate reflection are described, and issues raised in the unit are discussed.

Keywords: reflection, online learning, curriculum design