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The study discusses teaching and learning issues linked to reflective writing that students show during practice, outlining plans to strengthen critical thinking and reflection.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/why-is-it-so-hard-to-do-a-good-thing-the-challenges-of-using-reflection-to-help-sustain-a-commitment-to-learning/598714/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/why-is-it-so-hard-to-do-a-good-thing-the-challenges-of-using-reflection-to-help-sustain-a-commitment-to-learning/598714.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"awa","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What role do reflective assignments play in the service learning courses?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Reflective assignments are assessed to train professional competencies and to foster a sustained commitment to learning and professional development. They also provide students with a “critical distance” from their own experiences.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How do the courses’ journal entries structure students’ reflection?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Journal entries use a commonly used format: What? (what happened), So What? (why it is important), and Now What? 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The Challenges of Using Reflection to Help Sustain a Commitment to  \nLearning  \nGail Frost, Maureen Connolly & Elyse Lappano, Brock University  \nAbstract  \nOur service learning research includes assessment of reflective assignments done by students who apply theoretical knowledge in practical, real-life contexts by working with actual clients. For many of these students our classes are a departure from traditional forms of learning, and a challenge to their ability to apply what they know in often very unpredictable situations. The reflective assignments, which include field notes and journal entries, are designed to 1) train the professional competencies of client case management, writing and recording and 2) foster a sustained commitment to learning and professional development. This paper will describe several teaching and learning issues related to reflective writing which we have encountered in our students’work, and outline our plans to address them as we continue to promote critical thinking and reflection as important skills for our students to master.  \nMany of the students of physical education and kinesiology that we teach will pursue careers that involve one-on-one work with people, whether they be students in their class once they are qualified teachers, patients in their physiotherapy clinic, clients in their fitness centre or personal training business or children in a special needs activity program. Our service-based learning courses give students a chance to apply the theory they are learning in their degree programs in practical, real-life contexts before they graduate, by working with actual clients, designing and implementing physical activity programs with adults or engaging with children and youth with various disabilities. Students write a journal entry after each interaction with their client and use their collection of journal entries to complete a reflective writing assignment during the term. They also complete the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) questionnaire (Entwistle, Tait & McCune, 2000) . Analysis of the ASSIST suggests that the majority of our students are “strategic” learners: they are motivated to achieve the highest grade possible and are very alert to the assessment process. This is in contrast to the “deep” learner, who seeks meaning, relates and associates ideas, examines the evidence and engages with material with authentic curiosity and interest.  \nService learning courses that want to be legitimate sites of authentic transformative learning will include an assessed reflective component. Our courses include the reflective assignment in part to support this essential element of service based and problem based learning, and also to provide the students with some “critical distance” from their own experiences. The required analysis of their journal entries is guided by a series of questions designed to position the learners as readers of their work as if it were a series of descriptions encountered after the fact. This critical distance allows them to view their own work and arrive at insights that might not be achieved if they were attempting to reflect while engaging simultaneously in the process of writing.  \nThe raw material for our reflective writing comes from the students’ journal entries which are written in a commonly used format: What? (What happened?), So What? (Why is it  \nimportant?), Now What? (What does it mean and what is my response?). Both the journal entries and the reflective writing assignment are essential parts of our courses. We would like our students to learn not only the appropriate professional and ethical behaviour necessary for their future careers but, more importantly, how to think creatively and respond to changing circumstances. Mezirow (2000) has suggested that this type of learning should include understanding of context, critical reflection on assumptions and validation of meaning by ass","cbCaijlAb2eeGBsa","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijlAb2eeGBsa","pdf",110847,"English","# Abstract\n## Purpose and reflective assignment design\n## Learner profiles and reflection approaches\n## Assessment as transformative learning support\n## Journal structure: What - So What - Now What\n## Teaching and assessment challenges\n## Semiotic phenomenological analysis method\n## Findings at the descriptive level","[{\"question\":\"What role do reflective assignments play in the service learning courses?\",\"answer\":\"Reflective assignments are assessed to train professional competencies and to foster a sustained commitment to learning and professional development. They also provide students with a “critical distance” from their own experiences.\"},{\"question\":\"How do the courses’ journal entries structure students’ reflection?\",\"answer\":\"Journal entries use a commonly used format: What? (what happened), So What? (why it is important), and Now What? (what it means and what the student’s response is).\"},{\"question\":\"What teaching and learning issues were encountered during the two-year implementation?\",\"answer\":\"Issues included a disconnect between instructions and student responses, missed opportunities to benefit from iterative drafts, students treating examples as fixed formulas, and difficulties with assessment and timely meaningful feedback.\"}]","Why is it so Hard to do a Good Thing - The Challenges of Using Reflection to Help Sustain a Commitment to Learning | PDF",1792087443]