The Social Life of Reflection: Notes Toward an ePortfolio-Based Model of Reflection

Abstract

For many, reflection—be it self-assessment, account of process, or synthesis of learning—has been constructed as an individual process. For others, reflection, like other forms of learning, is a social process, one that puts individual account, perception, inquiry, and judgment into dialogue with those of others. This second definition of reflection relies on the context of others for the making of meaning that is unique to reflection. This form of reflection can be fostered in an environmental model of ePortfolios; here, portfolio composers and their peers participate in what I am calling “the social life of reflection.” In this chapter, then, I’ll focus on the ways that curricular design, an environmental ePortfolio, and reflection provide a context for creating the social life of reflection, a practice incorporating both formal and incidental learning. As a consequence, through the social life of reflection as expressed inside the ePortfolio, we see students weaving together various strands of reflection into a coherent whole. And not least, a review of this reflection shows both the development of the student and the myriad ways that reflective practice, in John Seely Brown’s terms, both shapes and supports learning.