reflection assignment

Final Reflection Assignment

Vocation

Purpose: to provide each student the opportunity to synthesize his/her insights regarding his/her sense of vocation, purpose and meaning as discerned through engagement in this course.

Process: While the final product of this exercise will be the submission of a three to four page paper, you are asked to follow the process outlined below.

A. Review: take some time to review the following materials:

1) Review the results of your VIA Inventory from the beginning of the semester.(teamwork, love, honesty)

2) Read the papers that you submitted for this course, paying attention to the insights that confirmed you in your sense of calling, or provided new insights into your life journey.

3) Read the Handout, “We Can Be Called.”

4) Extra-curricular experiences that have helped you to grow as a person.

5) Your engagement with faculty, advisors, coaches and other mentors.

B. Reflect and Journal: For each of the sections presented below, you will find some questions for your reflection. Thinking about the descriptions given for “Reflection and Action,” and the descriptions provided for each category (Self-Knowledge, Understanding of Others, Life Knowledge and Long-Term Perspective) jot down some “responses” to each question in the manner that is easiest and most helpful to you.

“Learning from life incorporates the process of collecting, processing, and acting on information.”

Reflection includes thinking and writing about the actions or interactions related to the intake and processing of information, and connecting it with previous knowledge and experiences. This integration of knowledge can happen in and out of class, as well as on and off campus.

Action generally refers to any changes in a student's attitudes, values, awareness, and/or behaviors. Action can also include prioritizing importance of information, assessing strategies, deciding on an option, charting a path, and acting.

Self-Knowledge: Understanding of your own values, talents, limitations and interests; personal authenticity and genuineness; confidence in own skills, knowledge, and beliefs.

· Based on my experiences this past semester, what have I learned about what really matters to me?

· What are my major strengths? How can I continue to develop them?

· What possible life paths do my strengths suggest that I might flourish in?

· What areas do I need to improve on or grow in to feel more comfortable in discerning my life’s call, vocation or purpose?

Understanding of Others: Understanding of a wide variety of people in varying contexts based on a genuine interest in learning about others (attentiveness, empathy).

· How can I better approach/understand others?

· What strategies are successful for me in connecting with others?

· What types of friendships do I need to flourish as a person?

· Who have served as my major influencers and mentors? How have they helped me to be “successful?”

Long- Term Perspective: Confidence to realize your potential and to live your vocation.

· What have I learned about my calling?

· What actions will I take to stay on my path?

· What is one question I still have about my calling?

· How does the concept of a “call within a call” apply to me in thinking about my vocation?

C. Write your Paper: Compose a well-written essay (3 to 4 pages in length) that responds to the following prompt:

Discuss what you have learned or confirmed regarding your sense of the purpose, meaning, call, or direction of your life. Highlight experiences or encounters with others that have impacted what you now think about your life path or journey.

D. Grading

1. Your capacity to construct an essay that has a clear introduction, body and conclusion;

2. Your capacity to compose an essay according to the norms of English grammar and proper spelling;

3. Your capacity to apply aspects from this course (VIA Character Strengths, e.g.) and from other interactions or engagements at King’s to your search for meaning, purpose, etc.;

4. Your demonstrated ability to engage in mature and thoughtful reflection on your life journey.