see www.coffeeforthebrain for all the work and examples

1. A Few Bad Apples
Social Experiment/Interviews/Policy/Person-on-the-Street Reflection
Journal
Why do we use Reflective Journals?
Reflection journals are a response to life experiences and events. They contain
reflections and thoughts on what took place, emotions that were felt, understandings
and conclusions from the experiences, lessons learned, or action plans.
The purpose is to explore the events and deepen your own understanding of what
occurred. Reflection Journals deepen your learning and make sense of the
experiences.
What is the structure?
A reflection journal entry is a conversation with yourself and, in this case, with Mrs.
Melchert and Mrs. Barnes. You may choose to reflect in written or video form. Each
form needs the following:
Section 1:
Objective Data – the “what happened” and the results
Social experiment: Describe the situations both times. Where did you go? What
were you doing? Who were you with? What did you see and hear in each location?
What was different? What wasn’t?
Past experiences interviews: Describe the people you interviewed. How many? What
were their experiences? What did you see or hear as they were talking? What did
they remember about being a teen and their treatment by adults?
Current Policy interviews: Where did you go? What are the current policies? Why do
they exist? Have they been effective? What did you see or hear as the person was
being interviewed?
Person on the Street: Where were you? Who was with you? What questions did you

2. ask and what were your responses? What did the pictures look like? How did you try
to get them to change their minds? What did you see or hear as the person was
being asked the questions?
The objective data can be in narrative/paragraph form, jot dots and
bulleted lists, graphs, or a combination. It can include pictures, video,
writing-anything that fully explains what happened and the data you
recorded.
**It must be understood by someone other than you!
Section 2:
Reflective Data-the “how I felt”
Describe your reaction or how you felt about what happened, either to you or to your
interviewees.
-How did you feel about what people were saying or doing?
-How did you feel if you were ignored, yelled at, or treated the same as always?
-How did you feel about people’s experiences?
-How did you feel about the reasons the interviewees gave or their own stories?
-Etc.
Section 3:
Interpretive Data-the “so what does this mean”
Try to EXPLAIN what you have observed or found out.
-Why do you think you got the results you did?
-Why do some adults have bias towards teen and not others?
-Why do some adults feel more strongly than others?
-Why do some teens have more impact on society than others?
Section 4:

3. Decisional Data-the “what did I learn”
What did you learn?
What answers to the questions did you discover?
What conclusions can you draw about adult bias?
What conclusions can you draw about teens and our community?
What information will be important for you to remember as you grow as a teenager?
What information will be important for you to remember as you become an older
adult?
How will you use this knowledge to make an impact in your life?
• Turn in your completed reflection entry on Friday, September 19.
• Be ready to share a few aspects of what you learned in a small
group.