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 the following types of reflection questions to courses:

  • 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 SLM Leaders (course instructors). To learn how to add reflection questions as a site manager, click here. 

Note: A course is a type of user group, as explained here. 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 profile menu, go to your SLM Leader Portal.
  2. Click Reflections to access the reflections-management area.
  3. If necessary, select a course and click Go to view the question form for that course. (If you have only one course, you'll automatically be taken to the question form for that course.)
  4. Click the Add Custom Question button.
  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 Reflections area of your SLM Leader Portal, select the user group (course) from the User Group dropdown.
  2. Click Go to view the questions for that course.
  3. In the Options column, click the Edit (pencil) icon in the row of the question you wish to edit.
  4. 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.

  5. Click Save Custom Question.

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

Viewing Responses to Reflection Questions

You can view student reflections in a couple of places within your SLM Leader Portal:

  • From the Hours area, which lists hours for all students.
  • From the User Info area, which lists information for an individual student.

Click here to learn how to view answers in the Hours area, and click here to learn how to view them from the User Info area.

Related Articles

See SLM Leader Guide: The Basics to access more articles for SLM leaders.