In the article, The Role of Reflection in the Effects of Community Service on Adolescent Development: A Meta-Analysis, researchers van Goethem, et al. explored the benefit reflection has on adolescents participating in community service. The act of reflection is when a person takes mindful approach to thinking the relationship between community service and possible psychological benefits (Ogden & Claus, 2006 as cited in van Goethem, et al., 2014). Reflection is important part in the process of adolescents learning about the benefits of community service (Billig, 2009; Hatcher, Bringle, & Muthiah, 2004 as cited in van Goesthem, et al., 2014). The way the researchers looked at this concept is through the lens of various moderators. They first
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Then lastly, they aimed to see how characteristics of community service, kind and quantity, and characteristics of adolescents who partake in community service moderate the overall effectiveness of community service (van Goesthem, et al., 2014). In the end, the researchers found that community service was beneficial to adolescents and reflection is a key component in that effectiveness. They saw frequency of reflection and reflection on academic content and competence served as significant moderators for community service effect. Meaning, those who reflected more often lead to a more beneficial outcome when engaging in community service, and reflecting on academic content and competence also lead to an increase on the impact of community service. This is a very interesting point to consider since as part of the Poverty and Development course involved service learning. Combining academics to real life application allows adolescents or in this case, us, to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and applying what is taught in the classroom to the outside …show more content…
Having service learning be part of the class curriculum made the material more meaningful. It allowed us to apply the concepts we learned by separating ourselves from the typical form of learning and have us be actively involved. I do not think I would have experienced the same lessons and feel the same way if we did this class with no service learning or time to reflect. Taking the time to ponder about what is around us helps us to process information, uncover and see new perspectives. It is the process of combining both of these aspects that makes learning more
Then lastly, they aimed to see how characteristics of community service, kind and quantity, and characteristics of adolescents who partake in community service moderate the overall effectiveness of community service (van Goesthem, et al., 2014). In the end, the researchers found that community service was beneficial to adolescents and reflection is a key component in that effectiveness. They saw frequency of reflection and reflection on academic content and competence served as significant moderators for community service effect. Meaning, those who reflected more often lead to a more beneficial outcome when engaging in community service, and reflecting on academic content and competence also lead to an increase on the impact of community service. This is a very interesting point to consider since as part of the Poverty and Development course involved service learning. Combining academics to real life application allows adolescents or in this case, us, to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and applying what is taught in the classroom to the outside …show more content…
Having service learning be part of the class curriculum made the material more meaningful. It allowed us to apply the concepts we learned by separating ourselves from the typical form of learning and have us be actively involved. I do not think I would have experienced the same lessons and feel the same way if we did this class with no service learning or time to reflect. Taking the time to ponder about what is around us helps us to process information, uncover and see new perspectives. It is the process of combining both of these aspects that makes learning more