Reporting or Reconstructing? The zine as a medium for reflecting on research experiences

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

This paper examines zines as a medium for student reflection in a research-based undergraduate course. It addresses the instructional challenge of evaluating reflections created through a combined text-and-visual format. Using the 4R Reflection Scale, the study analyzes students’ reflective depth and finds that learners tended to report and respond to their research experience more often than reconstruct at the highest level. The discussion situates reflection’s value in professional practice and information literacy contexts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background

Value of zines as a reflection medium

Framework: the 4R Reflection Scale

Findings and discussion

Volume 10, Issue 1, 2016 [ARTICLE] REPORTING OR RECONSTRUCTING? The zine as a medium for reflecting on research experiences Silvia Vong University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto In a research-based course, undergraduate third year students were asked to submit their reflections on their research experience in the zine medium. While the literature shows that the medium can encourage students to reflect meaningfully about their experiences, evaluating the medium, which is a mix of text and visuals, can be challenging for the instructor. This paper explores the value of zines as a medium for reflection using the 4R Reflection Scale as a framework. The 4R Scaleby Ryan and Ryan (2015) outlines four levels—reporting and responding, relating, reasoning, and reconstructing—to determine the depth of thinking in the reflection. The analysis using this scale shows that students were likely to report and respond on their research experience (lowest level on the scale) rather than reconstruct (highest level on the scale) . Vong, Reporting or Reconstructing? Communications in Information Literacy 10(1), 2016 INTRODUCTION Reflection on professional practice is often advocated in nursing, medicine, social work, education, and librarianship. It can help identify key themes or lessons in an experience and it can provide a more holistic view of an experience where both positive and negative parts of one’s experience are discussed and evaluated in detail. While reflection has been shown to have a positive impact on professional practice, student learning can also benefit from it. Reflection-based activities can take the form of sharing thoughts with a fellow students or small groups (i.e. pair and share), or thinking about concepts and challenges individually (i.e. 3-2-1 and oneminute papers) . While these activities are very helpful in prompting students to think about their learning after a class, a more holistic view of an experience requires deep and critical reflections that can take longer than 15 minutes. Formative reflections encourage students to provide an overall assessment of their experience as well as an assessment of their own actions and practice. Journaling over a course of a research experience can provide more opportunities for students to record their changing attitudes, emotions and perspectives. Brewer and Jazefowicz (2006) found that the use of reflection journals throughout a course provided students an opportunity to think about course concepts in relation to their everyday lives. They also found that “students recognized a change in their mental perceptions of various situations as economics became more deeply rooted in their analyses”(p. 209) . In the context of information literacy, Bruce (2004) identified the value of reflection in IL and wrote that “information literacy education involves bringing real life experiences of information use into the classroom, and creating opportunities for critical reflection on the learning process, to foster an awareness in learners of what they have learned” (p. 11) . While in-class activities, assignments and tests can help assess students’ progress in learning, reflective activities such as journaling or other written reflection activities take a student-centered approach to learning. The research experience is typically a long process over a series of weeks, months or longer. This experience is non-linear and students experience challenges that cause a shift in their emotions, perspectives or actions. Zines present a unique opportunity for students to reflect on their experience ina visual manner. The medium can be described as “non-commercial, nonprofessional, small circulation magazines, which their creators produce, publish and distribute themselves”(Duncombe, 1997, p. 6) . While zines are relatively easy to produce, depending on material and method of binding, topics can vary from personal stories, politics, art and literature, and f

FAQs

What is the main focus of the paper?

The paper explores the value of zines as a medium for reflecting on research experiences, especially in an instructional context where text and visuals are combined.

How does the paper evaluate the depth of students’ reflections?

It uses the 4R Reflection Scale to assess four levels of reflective thinking: reporting and responding, relating, reasoning, and reconstructing.

What did the analysis show about students’ reflection levels?

The analysis indicates students were more likely to report and respond (the lowest level) rather than reconstruct (the highest level) regarding their research experience.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay