Connecting students to knowledge
and its application
Southern Utah University
Lynn White, Ph.D.
Stress and Pain Reflections
Material that is reflected on is processed more deeply - which means it is more likely to be remembered. The nature of these reflections depend on whether you are taking a fall/spring semester class or an online summer class.
Fall and Spring Semester Courses
These reflections are done in-person and with your learning pod at the beginning of class. They are unprompted. This means you will not be told what to reflect on other than it must be based on the video lectures assigned for that class period. To prepare for a reflection, I suggest you do the following:
1. Before coming to class, identify one or two specific facts/findings/theories from the assigned video lectures that you found particulary interesting.
2. Think about why you found it/them so interesting. Was it because you have a personal experience that relates to them? Or maybe you thought of an interesting application for the material?
The reflection period will only last about 5 minutes so please, each of you take turns sharing. I will then ask for hi-lights from these reflections and wherever possible, I will try to contribute additional information to the reflection. This is also a great time to ask me questions about the material!
What if someone in the pod has nothing to say?
I am hoping that this never happens. However, if it happens only once or twice, no biggie. If it happens consistently - and I will know because I will be watching and listening - I will meet with the student to understand the reason for their silence and explore ways to rectify the issue(s). If there is no improvement, then the student may lose 1 point from their attendance score each day they remain non-contributory.
Online Summer Classes
Reflections are not done in pods, but as individuals. You will need to respond to 5 prompts to which you will respond with a (2-minute maximum) Kaltura video. This video will then be posted to a discussion board. These posts cannot be late - so do not wait until the last minute.
In addition to your own posts, you can respond to other students' posts. This will earn you bonus points, as long as they are meaningful and respectful. Please note that once a new reflection opens, the ability to respond to the previous post will close.
Freaked out? Terrified? I am pretty sure you are not alone. Take comfort in that I am not looking for "earth shattering" revelations. I don't care if you get tongue-tied and nothing "comes out right". We all have days like this. What is important is that you think and talk about what you are learning. We will become more comfortable with each other as the semester progresses. This will get easier - and hopefully really, REALLY fun!