Stanford University
In 2014 Stanford was pleased to join the Consortium to Promote Reflection in Engineering Education (CPREE). In the first year of the project, our campus identified existing, already implemented practices aimed at fostering reflective thinking by students with STEM interests. The details of these practices were collected into this field guide, which aims to capture the many ways and places Stanford engineering students learn.
This diverse set of reflective practices includes activities that could be used in large lecture classes, as well as in a dormitory setting or in career counseling conversations. We hope that this collection will be a resource for:
– faculty, staff, and teaching assistants as they think of ways to support student exploration using reflection both inside and outside of the classroom;
– students, as they think about strategies to connect the sometimes seemingly disparate elements of their education.
1. Core Values and a Stanford Bucket List
As part of a seminar series, students determined core values to help guide decisions and activities during their college career and beyond. more… PDF
2. Online Course Community
Students engaged in online discussions about course content and collaboratively worked on problems in an online community for the course. more… PDF
3. Bootcamp: Daily Practice Problems
After the midterm, students self-selected to work a math problem each day above and beyond course assignments. more… PDF
4. Interactive Grading
After each of the course assignments, students met with the teaching assistant to discuss their grade. more… PDF
5. Using the STAR Method to Debrief Past Experiences
Students used the STAR method to look back on previous experiences to explain what they did and what they learned from them in preparation for interacting with employers. more… PDF
6. Pain Poll: Understanding Engagement in Homework
After completing assignments, students reflected on how long it took them to complete the assignment. more… PDF
7. Clicker Questions: Thinking About Your Learning
Students reflected on their thinking and learning by responding to clicker questions and then discussing the question and answer with their peers, and then as a class with the instructor. more… PDF
8. The Stanford Resilience Project
Students reflect on their failures in service of learning and growing from them to develop their resilience. more… PDF
9. Mentoring Moments Through Portfolios: Connecting Students with Alumni
Students created ePortfolios to share with alumni to receive feedback. more… PDF
10. Setting the Stage for the Class
Students self-assessed their previous study habits, chemistry background, and resilience or ability to bounce back from failure before class. more… PDF
11. Socratic Method: Reflecting on How You Learn
Students self-assessed their previous study habits, chemistry background, and resilience or ability to bounce back from failure before class. more… PDF