EPAC Online Chat on 'The Reflection Fad'

catherine — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:29:17 -0500

Just a reminder that EPAC Community of Practice on e-portfolios is holding an online chat this Friday (March 16), on the topic of 'The Reflection Fad'.

Helen Chen, of Stanford's Centre for Innovations in Learning, will act as facilitator. The chat is scheduled for: 9 a.m. PDT/12 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. GMT. Contact Helen if you're not on the EPAC email list, and would like to receive instructions on how to participate.

The impact of research on reflection and reflective practice in education, in recent years, is surely undeniable. The whole movement of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning has been strongly influenced by the work of figures such as Donald Schön and Jennifer Moon. Yet the very notion of reflection has come under attack from certain quarters: it has been accused of promoting pointless navel-gazing, and criticised for its alleged inability to provide hard evidence of educational benefits / outcomes.

Should we be concerned? What do those of us who are actively engaged in promoting reflective practice think of the criticisms that have been made - do they hold any weight? How should we respond? How can we ensure that our engagement with this issue helps to promote, rather than prevent, dialogue between academics from different disciplinary cultures and backgrounds?

The webchat will use a recent critical piece from the New York Times, "Upon Further Reflection, A Few Random Thoughts," as the basis for discussion. It's thought-provoking stuff.

What are students saying about your university beyond your university's website?

markpalmer — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 10:08:07 -0600

Students at CTX have made efficient usage of websphere communities like Facebook and Myspace.
My neice was talking about Facebook the other day so I signed up. I signed up not to spy on or report "bad" students or things they are posting. I merely want to see how students are using various technology tools and what they are using it to do. I also want to know to what degree we as the university need to do to support/not support student usage of such sites.

What are they saying about Concordia?
What kind of impact does that have on the public preception of the school?
Does the school have an obligation/right/or otherwise to monitor/police such sites since we are providing the email adddress to support it?
What level of support, if any, should a university have when students use such websphere communities?

EDUCAUSE | policy

EPAC Online Chat on 'The Reflection Fad'

What are students saying about your university beyond your university's website?