The Role of Critical Reflection in Transformative Learning

Knowledge of and effectiveness in critical reflection design practices is an essential skill for educators seeking to create academically sound and culturally relevant study abroad programs. In short, critical reflection is a tool to help us resist our habits and tendencies of justifying what we do by reference to unchecked "common sense" and that the unconfirmed evidence of our own eyes is always accurate and valid." (Brookfield, 2000)

The practice of critical reflection is not only relevant to education abroad, but it is a lifelong learning skill that is fundamental to constructing knowledge through experience. We all can work to build our capacity to not only reflect on action (retrospectively) but to reflect in action (reflective observation) and reflect for action (prospectively) (Gleason Rodríguez & Rubio, 2020; ).

CRITICAL REFLECTION 鈥淚S A TOOL TO HELP US RESIST OUR HABITS AND TENDENCIES OF JUSTIFYING WHAT WE DO BY REFERENCE TO UNCHECKED 鈥楥OMMON SENSE鈥� AND THAT THE UNCONFIRMED EVIDENCE OF OUR OWN EYES IS ALWAYS ACCURATE AND VALID.鈥�

STEPHEN BROOKFIELD

Taking a Developmental Approach

In any experiential learning context, including education abroad, learners' starting points and capacities for reflective learning vary. Whether we identify as educators, administrators or advisors, we need to be prepared to tailor our teaching to support learners in strengthening their reflective muscles to observe, describe, examine and articulate learning from their experiences. When integrated effectively, the work of critical reflection both challenges and supports learners, promoting their development of a global mindset, intercultural maturity and self-authorship in learners ().

Guiding Principles for Integrating Critical Reflection: The Four C's

One heuristic that experiential and international educators can use to effectively integrate critical reflection into education abroad programs is called the 4 Cs model (). Each C stands for the name of a design principle. To be effective, critical reflection should be designed to be: continuous, connected, challenging, & contextualized.

Based on Eyler, J., Giles, D. E. & Schmiede, A. (1996). A practitioner's guide to reflection in service-learning. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University. https://archive.org/details/practitionersgui0000eyle

Continuous

Reflection should take place before, during, and after the experience. In education abroad, this means providing structured opportunities for reflection throughout the entire program cycle.

Example:

Short-term program (2 weeks in Spain): Learners complete pre-departure journal entries examining their cultural assumptions and intercultural development goals. During the program, they participate in daily evening reflection circles focusing on both academic content and intercultural learning moments. Upon return, they engage in a structured re-entry workshop where they map their intercultural growth journey and write a one-page reflection letter to their pre-departure selves.
Semester-long program (Spain): Learners maintain an online reflection portfolio tracking both academic insights and intercultural development milestones. They use the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as a framework to analyze their evolving cultural perspectives alongside their growing academic understanding of Spanish history and society.

Connected

Global experiences can bring theories, concepts, and statistics to life in palpable, contextualized, and unscripted ways. At the same time, classroom experiences help learners situate these experiences within larger conceptual frameworks that can assist them in searching for root causes and potential solutions, as well as devise action plans in which they are active participants individually or with others.

Example:

Short-term program (10 days in Ghana): Students use a mobile app to record daily observations related to course concepts. During evening debriefs, they explicitly connect their clinical observations to both health disparities theory and their developing global competencies, like perspective-taking and recognizing power dynamics in international healthcare. Upon return, they create infographics that illustrate both academic concepts and their personal growth in global citizenship.
Semester-long program (Ghana): Students develop ongoing digital case studies connecting epidemiological theories to local health practices while simultaneously mapping how these experiences transform their cultural frameworks and assumptions. Their final projects must demonstrate both academic mastery and evidence of progression along Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity.

Challenging

Effective reflection requires stretching the learner outside of their comfort zone to explore difficult or challenging questions. Instructors should balance challenging the learner while creating a supportive, psychologically safe (yet brave) space for students to express doubt, frustration, and inspiration. In this process, the instructor’s role may shift between facilitator, mentor, and coach.

Example:

Short-term program (8 days in Japan): Following brief homestays, students participate in a structured 90-minute discussion using critical incident questionnaire to analyze cultural interactions that caused discomfort or confusion. They complete a focused 500-word reflection addressing specific prompts about how these moments challenged their cultural identity and assumptions.
Semester-long program (Japan): Students maintain ongoing reflection journals with increasingly challenging prompts that push them to recognize ethnocentrism in their initial reactions and develop more ethnorelative perspectives over time. Monthly one-on-one coaching sessions help students identify patterns in their cultural adaptations and challenge their developing assumptions.

Contextualized

The mode of reflection (e.g., oral, written, visual, online, in person, individual or collective) should reflect the setting and context and be scaffolded appropriately to the learner's developmental stage and background knowledge.

Example:

Short-term program (12 days in Mexico): First-time travelers complete daily structured "3-2-1" digital check-ins (3 observations, 2 questions, 1 insight) giving explicit attention to how their observations relate to their own cultural lens. Their final project requires them to select a cultural practice they initially found confusing and trace how their understanding evolved from ethnocentric judgment to deeper cultural understanding.
Semester-long program (Mexico): Advanced learners progress from structured prompts to self-directed reflective inquiry throughout the semester. They use the Intercultural Praxis model to analyze both their academic progress and intercultural development. Advanced language learners conduct interviews with locals about cultural values, then reflect on how these conversations influenced both their language skills and their intercultural competence.

When applying the 4 Cs, consider developing a reflection strategy to guide the integration of critical reflection into your course/program design. Your strategy should ensure that each activity clearly addresses:

WHAT the focus of reflection is;
WHY learners are being asked to reflect---that is to what ends (to address a learning goal, to assess their well being/examine personal growth, etc.);
WHO will reflect (students, faculty, host families, individually, in pairs, as a large group, etc.) be involved and in what roles (reflector, facilitator, observer, etc.);
WHEN reflection will occur (daily in the morning at breakfast, weekly during a cohort meeting, etc.); and
WHERE reflection will occur (in class, online, on the bus to a field experience, etc.)

The means by which students reflect, the HOW, (in writing short or long form, discussion, artistic expression, movement, etc.) should align with the other elements.

Adapted from: Clayton, P.H. Clayton, P.H. (2010). 10 Tips for Designing Critical Reflection.

SaMPLE Activities

Listed below are examples of critical reflection activities developed for or adaptable to education abroad.

Writing Based Reflection Activities

Arts-Based Reflection Activities

Topical Reflection Activities

- a multi-step reflective exercise designed to build empathy and personal insight into processes of loss, change, and reconnection associated with the disruption of personal and cultural connections to landscape.

For additional activities, check out some of our list of recommended readings.

Reflection Frameworks & Recommended Reading

There are many frameworks designed to support critical reflection. The following are some that are often applied in Education Abroad in the U.S. This list also includes some key readings.

Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1(1), 25-48.

Deardorff, D. (2020). Manual for developing intercultural competencies: Story circles. UNESCO Routledge.

Eyler, J., Giles, D. E. & Schmiede, A. (1996). A practitioner's guide to reflection in service-learning. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University.

Hamilton, A., Rubin, D., Tarrant, M., & Gleason, M. (2019). Digital Storytelling as a Tool for Fostering Reflection. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 31(1), 59–73.

Pagano, M., & Roselle, L. (2009). Beyond Reflection: Refraction and International Experiential Education. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 18(1), 217–229.

Sandiford, N., DeGuzman, K. & Brandauer, S. (2021). Using the Intercultural Praxis Model to Build Bridges: Identity, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in a Global Context. In S. Brandauer and E. Hartman (Eds.). Interdependence: Global Solidarity and Local Actions. The Community-based Global Learning Collaborative. Retrieved from:

Savicki, V., & Price, M. V. (2017). Components of Reflection: A Longitudinal Analysis of Study Abroad Student Blog Posts. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 29(2), 51–62.

Williams, T. R. (2017). Using a PRISM for Reflecting: Providing Tools for Study Abroad Students to Increase their Intercultural Competency. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 29(2), 18–34.

Williams, T. R. (2013). Examine your LENS: A Tool for Interpreting Cultural Differences. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 22(1), 148–165.

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Critical Reflection

The Role of Critical Reflection in Transformative Learning

Taking a Developmental Approach

​Guiding Principles for Integrating Critical Reflection: The Four C's

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Guiding Principles for Integrating Critical Reflection: The Four C's