Note: This article's focus is on the next-generation Service Learning Module (SLM), released by Galaxy Digital in late 2017/early 2018. For information on the old version (Legacy SLM), click here. The SLM is an add-on module and is not part of a standard Connect platform. SLM features are only available to clients who have purchased the module.

Students answer reflection questions when logging their volunteer hours. Their answers can be exported along with their hours. Both site managers and SLM Leaders (course instructors) can add reflection questions to courses, and the questions can ask for the following answer forms:

  • Short answer
  • Long answer
  • Check box (multiple options; choose as many as apply)
  • Dropdown (multiple options; choose only one)
  • Radio button (multiple options; choose only one)
  • File upload (upload a document)

This article is geared toward site managers. To learn how to add reflection questions as a course instructor, click here.

Note: A course is a type of user group, as explained in this article. This article uses the terms "course" and "user group" interchangeably, but it uses the default "user group" when referring to buttons, tables, and other items as they appear on the default screen.

Adding Reflection Questions to a Course

To add a reflection question to a course:

  1. From your site manager panel, go to Volunteerism > User Groups.
  2. Click on the user group (course) to which you want to add reflection questions.
  3. Scroll down to the Reflection Questions table, located just below the Update User Group form. In this example, no reflection questions have been added yet.
  4. Click Add Custom Question.
  5. Create the custom question in the fields provided. For further instructions on creating custom questions on a Connect platform, see our article titled Collecting Data with Custom Questions.
  6. Click Save Custom Question. The question is added to the Reflection Questions table.

The question will now appear when the student submits their volunteer hours. They'll see it in a special Reflections section of their hours-submission form.

Editing or Deleting a Reflection Question

Both site managers and course instructors have the ability to edit a custom question.

Note: Once students have begun answering a custom question, editing a question's substance can affect the quality of your data. If you wish to pose a different question each week, the best approach is to create a new question each time, rather than editing/revising the existing one.

To edit a reflection question from the site manager panel:

  1. From Volunteerism > User Groups, click on the user group and scroll down to the Reflection Questions table, located just below the Update User Group form.
  2. In the Options column, click the Edit (pencil) icon in the row of the question you wish to edit.
  3. Make your changes to the question.

    Note: You can change the status (from Active to Pending), the question type, the wording of the question, or and whether or not the question is required for all students.

  4. Click Save Custom Question.

To delete a reflection question, click the X icon in the Options column.

Viewing Responses to Reflection Questions

Reflection-question responses are visible to the course instructor (SLM User Group Leader) from their SLM Leader Portal. Click here for more information.

Related Articles

See these articles to learn more about using setting up courses with the Service Learning Module.