Appendix D Milestone Model on Reflection and Reflection Writing Assignment Grading Template The authors created this Milestone Model and Grading Template.
Assessment of a Student’s Skill of Reflection Based on a Number of Experiences Where the Student Did Individual Reflection Writing Assignments
The skill of reflection is an ongoing cycle of careful examination of specific thoughts and actions from a student’s own perspective and the perspective of others with a goal of informing and improving the student’s insight and practice in future experiences.Footnote 1 This Milestone can be used to assess a student’s overall skill of reflection over time based on, for example, a portfolio of individual reflection writing assignments.
| Sub-competencies of Reflection |
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| 1. In every reflection, the student identifies the specific thoughts and actions the student is examining relevant to the assignment. |
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| 2. The student carefully examines specific thoughts and actions from the student’s own perspective and the perspective of others.Footnote 2 | RARELY carefully examines specific thoughts and actions from the student’s own perspective and the perspectives of others. | SOMETIMES carefully examines specific thoughts and actions from the student’s own perspective and the perspectives of others. |
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| 3. Shows awareness of the student’s own conceptual framework(s) (e.g., the motivations, intentions, beliefs, premises, and values) that underlie the thoughts and actions.Footnote 3 |
| SOMETIMES shows awareness of the student’s own conceptual framework that underlies the thoughts and actions. |
| CONSISTENTLY shows awareness of the student’s own conceptual framework that underlies the thoughts and actions. |
| 4. Considers changes in terms of the student’s conceptual framework. | RARELY considers changes in terms of the student’s conceptual framework. | SOMETIMES considers changes in terms of the student’s conceptual framework. | OFTEN considers changes in terms of the student’s conceptual framework. | CONSISTENTLY considers changes in terms of the student’s conceptual framework. |
| 5. Engages in the above steps iteratively over time. |
| SOMETIMES engages in the above steps iteratively over time. |
| CONSISTENTLY engages in the above steps iteratively over time. |
* The instructor should first look over the Milestone Model on Assessment of a Student’s Skill of Reflection Based on a Number of Experiences Where the Student Did Individual Reflection Writing Assignments to understand the stages of development for this competency. This grading template is for individual assignments. Note that the instructor must fill in the points to be given for each level of performance on each sub-competency depending on the total points available for the assignment
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| 1. Identifies the specific thoughts and actions the student is examining with respect to the experience(s) above. | Provides no narrative explaining the specific thoughts and actions the student is examining in the context of the experience(s) in the assignment. | Provides a cursory narrative explaining the specific thoughts and actions the student is examining in the context of the experience(s) in the assignment. | Provides a general narrative explaining the specific thoughts and actions the student is examining in the context of the experience(s) in the assignment. | Provides a thorough narrative explaining the specific thoughts and actions the student is examining in the context of the experience(s) in the assignment |
| 2. From the perspectives that the instructor has identified including the student’s own perspective, the student carefully examines the specific thoughts and actions. | Examines the experience(s) only from the student’s own perspective. | Examines the experience(s) largely from the student’s own perspective and only considers additional perspectives the instructor has identified in a superficial manner. | Examines the experience(s) from multiple perspectives identified by the instructor, including a personal perspective, but fails to identify and examine one or more of the other important perspectives in a meaningful way. | Examines the experience(s) from multiple perspectives identified by the instructor, including a personal perspective, in a meaningful way. |
| 3. Student shows awareness of the conceptual framework(s) (e.g., the motivations, intentions, beliefs, premises, and values) that underlie the student’s thoughts and actions.Footnote 4 | Shows just surface-level awareness of the student’s own conceptual framework underlying the student’s thoughts and actions. | Shows some depth in awareness of the student’s own conceptual framework underlying the student’s thoughts and actions. | Shows significant depth in awareness of the student’s own conceptual framework underlying the student’s thoughts and actions. | Shows deep awareness of the student’s own conceptual framework underlying the student’s thoughts and actions. |
| 4. Student considers changes in the student’s conceptual framework that lead to an action step(s). | Focuses only on the past with no indication how insights gained might both change student’s conceptual framework and lead to an action step. | Provides some consideration of how insights gained might change student’s conceptual framework and lead to an action step. Good definition of an action step. | Provides good consideration of how insights gained might change student’s conceptual framework and lead to an action step. Excellent definition of an action step. | Provides in-depth consideration of how insights gained might change student’s conceptual framework and lead to an action step. Outstanding definition of an action step. |
Reflection Writing Assignment Grading TemplateFootnote 5
Course Name:
Assignment Name:
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[For the instructor to put into the assignment.] Explain briefly the experience(s) that are the subject for this reflection assignment.
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[For the instructor to put into the assignment.] List the multiple perspectives that the instructor wants the student to consider with respect to the experience(s) that are the topic of the reflective writing assignment. E.g. readings, class discussion, interviews, client meeting, team discussion, student research, etc.
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Note that the instructor may choose to include points for the quality of the student’s writing.
1 See Quoc D. Nguyen et al., What Is Reflection? A Conceptual Analysis of Major Definitions and a Proposal for a Five-Component Model, 48 Med. Educ. 1176, 1189 (2014); Lawrence Grierson et al., The Reliability Characteristics of the REFLECT Rubric for Assessing Reflective Capacity through Expressive Writing Assignments, 9 Perspect. Med. Educ. 281 (2020); Tony Marshall, The Concept of Reflection: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis across Professional Contexts, 20 Reflective Prac. 396, 411 (2019). Lindsey Gustafson made very useful suggestions on an earlier draft of this Milestone Model.
2 Note that there are three measurables here: the student’s perspective, the perspectives of others, and careful examination of both.
3 For example, is the conceptual framework principally motivating the student’s thoughts and actions focused on rule compliance, rewards and recognition, compliance with social norms and expectations, internal values, or awareness of gaps in the student’s current conceptual framework. This is based on constructive-developmental theory. See Neil Hamilton & Verna Monson, Ethical Professional Transformation: Themes from Interviews About Professionalism with Exemplary Lawyers, 52 Santa Clara L. Rev. 921, 937 (2012).
4 For example, is the conceptual framework principally motivating the student’s thoughts and actions focused on rule compliance, rewards and recognition, compliance with social norms and expectations, internal values, or awareness of gaps in student’s current conceptual framework. This is based on constructive-developmental theory. See Neil Hamilton & Verna Monson, Ethical Professional Transformation: Themes from Interviews About Professionalism with Exemplary Lawyers, 52 Santa Clara L. Rev. 921, 937 (2012).
5 This grading template adopts the four sub-competencies of a reflective thinking process defined by Quoc D. Nguyen et al. based on a systematic review of medical education scholarship. Nguyen et al., supra Footnote note 1, at 1182. The template also adapts some language in the descriptions of the novice, intermediate, competent, and exceptional learner stages from Prof. Kendall Kerew’s Reflection Rubric. See email to Neil Hamilton from Kendall Kerew, Feb. 27, 2020 (on file with the authors). The template also adapts some language from the American Association of College and Universities’ Foundation and Skills for Lifelong Learning VALUE Rubric, https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/lifelong-learning.
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