Chapter 1: Teaching with Branching Scenarios
1.4 Post-Scenario Strategies: Facilitating Reflection and Discussion
Whether or not learners are being assessed on their reflection, leading learners through a metacognitive or reflection process is vital to the experiential learning cycle. This is where they can reflect on their actions in the scenario, make connections to course materials and other relevant information, and integrate their learnings from the scenario in a manner that will inform future action.
Pauses for reflection and discussion on scenario-based learning are essential for establishing and transferring learning from the scenario to other contexts. Sometimes these pauses, which may come naturally during in-person classes, can be lost in the move to online instruction. The best way to retain these constructive pauses in our scenario-based work in all contexts is to deliberately design a reflective process into our branching scenarios.
1.4.1 Prompting Reflection
Reflection on scenario-based learning can be informal or can utilize a model of reflection for/on learning. If you want to incorporate reflection in an informal manner without the use of a model, it is important to identify what you want the learners to be thinking about and reflecting on in this situation. Without explicit instruction or prompts that help learners go beyond surface level, learners will often reflect on what happened without making strong connections to their learnings, implications for future practice, etc. Some reflective prompts that you may consider providing to learners include:
- What were the key decisions you made in the scenario, and what were their outcomes?
- How did you arrive at these decisions? What factors influenced your choices?
- How do these decisions relate to the theories we discussed in class?
- Can you identify any specific concepts or principles from the course that were applied in this scenario?
- How did the scenario help you understand these concepts better?
- What would you do differently in a similar real-world situation?
- What skills or knowledge do you need to develop further to handle similar situations more effectively?
1.4.2 Models of Reflection
Another way to ensure deeper reflection is to use established models or frameworks of reflection. These models provide structured approaches to reflection, ensuring that learners go beyond reporting what happened to making meaning of it and applying it to future practice.
Some examples of reflective models are:
Ryan’s Reflective Learning Framework (or 4Rs Framework)
Emphasizes critical reflection and the integration of theory and practice, and focuses on: Reporting & Responding, Relating, Reasoning, and Reconstructing.
Turn over the cards below for examples of reflection prompts following Mary Ryan’s 4R framework. Use the next [>] and back [<] arrows to navigate between the four cards.
Adapted from Fundamentals of Community Engagement: A Sourcebook for Students, by ExCel Faculty Group, McMaster University, CC BY-NC.
What? So What? Now What?
This one is as simple as its title. It encourages learners to describe the event, analyze its significance, and plan future actions.
Below is an image depicting the “What? So What? Now What?” model. Click on the plus [+] icons at each step to learn more about what happens at each phase of the process.
Adapted from Fundamentals of Community Engagement: A Sourcebook for Students, by ExCel Faculty Group, McMaster University, CC BY-NC.
Kolb’s Reflective Cycle
Focuses on the elements of an experiential learning cycle as defined by Kolb: Act, Reflect, Conceptualize, Apply.
Below is an image depicting the steps in Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. When reviewing this cycle, please consider the following scenario:
A group of education students (teacher candidates) are tasked with creating an elementary school lesson to teach children about water quality in natural bodies of water in advance of the summer school holiday.
Click on the plus [+] icons at each step to learn more about how Kolb’s model might apply in this scenario.
Adapted from Fundamentals of Community Engagement: A Sourcebook for Students, by ExCel Faculty Group, McMaster University, CC BY-NC.
1.4.3 How to Incorporate Reflection
Reflective pauses can sometimes be embedded in the scenario itself, depending on the software and setup used. For example, helper characters in the scenario can ask questions of the user that prompt them to consider some aspects of the reflective models introduced previously. This can be especially helpful if the learner is making a wrong choice in an exercise where decisions are right or wrong based on course content. In the scenario image below, we can see the veterinary technician character prompt the learner veterinarian to reconsider their choice in a thoughtful way.
Prompts for reflection from the scenario itself may also be held until the end. This may be more appropriate for a situation in which there is no clear right or wrong answer. If you are using a digital format, it may be designed to give learners a summary of their progress through the scenario and possibly additional information as well. It could let learners know when their choices promoted their success and when their choices added challenges. It may also provide feedback about what might have happened had they chosen a different path. Finally, the scenario may merely prompt learners to engage with the reflection questions or models introduced in previous sections.
Reflection can also be incorporated as part of a feedback cycle in which learners gain insight from the perspective of others. If it is possible, you can provide learners with your feedback about the path that they took through the scenario before assigning them an assessment task. When this is not possible, especially in bigger groups, you may want to set up a system of peer feedback.
1.4.4 Conclusion
The addition of reflection is a critical part of the learning cycle. By embedding it directly into the scenario or planning for a post-scenario debriefing session, reflection ensures learners not only analyze choices but connect them to theory and future practice.
With a solid understanding of the pedagogical benefits and implementation practices for branching scenarios, the next step is to learn how to design them. The next chapter focuses on the process of creating branching scenarios so you can assign engaging, learner-centered scenarios specific to your course.
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