Guided Reflection for Experiential Learning

Experiential learning does not always result in deep learning. Students can complete a project, placement, lab, or community-based activity without fully recognizing what they learned, how the experience connects to course concepts, or how that knowledge can inform future action. Structured reflection helps students make these connections. As Ash and Clayton (2004) argue, guided reflection helps students articulate what they learned, why the lesson matters, and how they can apply their insights. Reflective practice and metacognitive awareness can further strengthen the benefits of experiential learning.

Why reflection matters: Reflection helps students move from experience to learning by supporting analysis, self-awareness, and application.

At the University of Alberta, experiential learning includes a range of approaches that support active engagement, reflection, and application. Explore definitions, learning types, and examples available through the University of Alberta Experiential Learning website.

Reflection Frameworks

Reflection frameworks help students make sense of experience through a structured set of prompts. The most appropriate choice depends on your goals for the learning experience in your course. Some support quick sense-making, some activate prior knowledge and questions, and some support deeper analysis tied to learning outcomes and assessment.

Originally associated with Terry Borton’s developmental framework (1970), “What? So what? Now what?” is a simple reflection structure that helps students describe an experience, interpret its significance, and identify next steps. It helps students connect experience to insight and next steps without requiring a long or heavily structured response.  

Use What? So what? Now What? as as tool for a(n): 

  • brief, accessible reflection
  • easy to scale across class sizes
  • discussion prompt, exit ticket, short written response, and reflective checkpoint

Student Reflection Example (Arts) 

  • What? (description and self-awareness) I worked with my group to create a public mural. I contributed ideas, sketches, and painted part of the final piece.
  • So What? (analysis): This project showed me that collaboration in art is not just about sharing ideas. I had to listen carefully, adjust my plans, and find ways to balance my own style with the group’s overall vision.
Now What? (synthesis and application) In future group projects, I want to communicate my ideas earlier, stay more open to critique, and treat revision as a normal part of collaboration.  

KWL asks students to identify what they already know, what they want to know, and what they have learned. Because it begins with prior knowledge and student questions, it is especially useful when reflection is meant to support inquiry, curiosity, and self-regulated learning. 

KWL is particularly effective at the beginning of a learning cycle because it helps students identify both what they already understand and what they still need to explore. While it can be used in many contexts, it works especially well for field observations, labs, research activities, and preparatory reflection.

Use KWL to: 

  • help students surface assumptions before an activity
  • support students in tracking how their thinking changes over time

Student Reflection Example (Environmental and Conservation Sciences)

  • K (Know): I already knew that local regulations govern how water quality testing is conducted, so I reviewed them before the fieldwork.
  • W (Want to know):  I wanted to understand how seasonal runoff affects the watershed and whether it changes the types of pollutants we find.
  • L (Learned): I learned that my assumptions about pollutant sources were overly simplistic. The field data showed me that water quality can be affected by several overlapping environmental factors.

Developed by Ash and Clayton, the DEAL model supports guided reflection and assessment. It is especially useful when you want students to connect experience to learning goals and articulate what they have learned. DEAL works especially well in professional programs, community-engaged learning, and graded reflective assignments. 

Use DEAL to: 

  • support a more analytical reflection
  • connect reflection directly to course concepts, learning outcomes, and assessment
  • provide strong support for evaluating student reflection

 Student Reflection Example (Education)

  • Describe (description of the experiences objectively and in detail):  I attended a local school board meeting and took notes on how decisions about student programming were discussed.
  • Examine (examination of the experiences relative to specific learning outcomes): As I reflected on the meeting, I noticed that decisions were shaped by questions of policy, governance, and equity. I started to think more carefully about whose needs were being prioritized and whose voices were missing.
Articulate Learning (articulation of learning, including goals for future action): I learned that decisions made outside the classroom can still significantly affect students’ learning experiences. This matters to me because it reminds me that teaching is connected to larger systems, not just what happens in my own classroom. In the future, I want to pay more attention to how policy and advocacy connect to my role as an educator. 

Looking for more reflection frameworks and assessment guidance? The University of Edinburgh’s Reflection Toolkit includes additional models for structuring reflection and offers practical guidance on designing reflective tasks, assessing reflection, and using criteria and rubrics.

Strategies for implementing the frameworks

Reflection does not need to be elaborate or complicated to be effective. Even brief, well-structured opportunities can help students move beyond description and make sense of their learning. 

Guided reflection is most effective when it helps students interpret their experiences, connect them to course concepts, and articulate what they have learned. 

Scaffold reflection across the learning process

Building reflection activities into your course multiple times over the course of the semester is often most effective. Rather than treating reflection as a single endpoint task, build in opportunities before, during, and after an activity.

  • Before an activity: ask students to identify prior knowledge, assumptions, or goals.
  • During an activity: prompt students to notice challenges, questions, or moments that shifted their thinking.
  • After an activity: ask students to analyze what they learned, why it matters, and how they will use that learning in future contexts.

Use brief, regular reflection opportunities

Brief, recurring opportunities can help students process their experiences as they unfold and build reflective habits over time. 

Examples include: 

  • Quick writes or minute papers: one or two-minute responses to a focused prompt 
  • Learning logs: short entries across a project, placement, or lab to track questions, challenges, and shifts in understanding 
  • Critical incident prompts: reflection on a significant, challenging, or surprising moment 
  • 3-2-1 reflections: three things learned, two questions, and one connection or next step 
  • Exit tickets: a brief end-of-class prompt about learning, uncertainty, or next steps  

Connect reflection to learning outcomes

When students understand what they are being asked to reflect on and why the reflective practice is more is more meaningful and effecitve. Prompts that connect experience to course concepts, disciplinary ways of thinking, or specific skills are more likely to support deep learning than broad prompts that simply ask students to reflect.

You might ask students:

  • What course concept helps you interpret this experience?
  • What assumption did this activity challenge?
  • What skill did you develop or practise?
  • How could you apply this learning in another context?

Consider different formats 

Written reflection is common, but different formats can support different learners and teaching contexts. The format should align with the goals of the reflection activity and the kind of learning you want students to demonstrate. Canvas offers several features that support accessible and flexible reflection activities.

  • Podcasts or voice memos: Useful for students who process ideas verbally.   Supporting
    Portfolios: Useful for documenting growth over time and curating evidence of learning across activities or courses. 
  • Photo stories:  Useful for observing, documenting, and reflecting visually. If students photograph or record people, ensure that students follow the University of Alberta guidance on privacy, notification, and consent. 

Recommended tools:

  • Canvas Studio and YuJa Enterprise Video are available to both students and instructors for creating, managing, and sharing media. Both platforms support captioning for recordings with audible speech, improving accessibility for students. Canvas Studio is well suited for course-based media creation and sharing within Canvas, while YuJa offers additional tools for managing, editing, and streaming video content. Choose the platform that best fits the learning activity, audience, and media needs. See the recommendations tailored to different use cases.
  • Canvas SpeedGrader allows instructors to provide personalized audio or video feedback  directly within assignment comments during assessment. This can make feedback clearer and more engaging for students while supporting efficient, timely communication.
  • Canvas Portfolio supports both instructor-guided assessments intended for assessment purposes as well as student-driven presentations intended to showcase their learning.

Putting it into practice

As you plan reflection activities, consider how the framework, timing, and format align with your learning goals.

  • How can you build in reflection before, during, and after an activity?
  • Which framework best fits your goal: What? So What? Now What? for quick sense making, KWL for surfacing prior knowledge and questions, or DEAL for deeper analysis tied to outcomes?
  • What kinds of prompts will help students connect their experience to course concepts, skills, or future action?
  • Which reflection format would best suit the activity and your students: a written response, audio reflection, portfolio entry, or visual reflection?

Learn more

References

Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2004). The articulated learning: An approach to guided reflection and assessment. Innovative Higher Education, 29(2), 137–154. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:IHIE.0000048795.84634.4a

Ho, K., De Los Santos, J. M., Luong, Y., & Clark, D. (2025). Implementing diverse continuous reflective strategies in a multi‑section General Chemistry II lab. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2025.1.16508

Ho, W. W. Y., & Lau, Y. H. Y. (2025). Role of reflective practice and metacognitive awareness in the relationship between experiential learning and positive mirror effects: A serial mediation model. Teaching and Teacher Education, 157, 104947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2025.104947

Karagöl, E. (2025). The impact of the KWL Plus strategy on university students’  note-taking and academic listening skills: A mixed-methods research. SAGE Open, 15. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251379210

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