USING AND PROMOTING
REFLECTIVE JUDGMENT AS
STUDENT LEADERS ON
CAMPUS
Patricia M. King, Professor Higher Education,
University of Michigan
Well- and Ill-Structured Problems
Well-Structured
Ill–Structured
Can be described with a high Cannot be described with a high
degree of completeness
degree of completeness
Can be solved with a high
degree of certainty
Cannot be solved with a high
degree of certainty
Experts usually agree on the
correct solution
Experts often disagree about the
best solution, even when the
problem can be considered solved
Goal: Learn to reason to
correct solutions
Learn to construct and defend
reasonable solutions
What Counts as Good Evidence?
1) “Something that agrees with me and how I’ve been
raised. If I really don’t believe it, I really don’t take
it as concrete fact.”
2) “Something that agrees with my view and with what
research says. What one person thinks is right,
another person might think is wrong, but that doesn’t
make it wrong. It has to be a personal decision.”
3) “Facts that are well researched by independent
investigators. But facts have to be interpreted; facts
reflect the researchers’ assumptions.”
“I wouldn’t listen.” Why not?
A.“I have no interest in his/her advice because I won’t really
benefit from it.”
B. “His advice isn’t relevant to me because he is different from
me. I just can’t relate.”
C. “Because if I did listen, I would be too easily swayed to follow
what she recommends, and right now I’m trying to listen more
to myself.”
D. “Because it is advice from someone whose background is not
relevant to my goals.”
E. “Actually, I listened, but I just didn’t follow her advice
because I didn’t think it was the best for me.”
Criteria for Judging Advice



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Are you aware when others use criteria you find
irrelevant or not useful?
What are good criteria to evaluate advice?
How do you know when advice is not in your best
interest? How could you know this better?
How has your work as a student leader affected
how you evaluate advice?
“I speak up for what I believe.” Why?
“Because it helps me get what I want/need.”
“Because people are open and it is encouraged and welcomed
here—I even get a lot of positive feedback when I do.”
“Our group does this a lot. When we discuss our different
perspectives, it helps me figure out what I really believe.”
“When I feel strongly about an issue, it is important to talk with
others about how it impacts me and why we should be
concerned about it as a community. For example…”
Boes. L. (2006). Discussant comments, ASHE Symposium, Methodological Issues in Assessing Self-Authorship.
Criteria for… beliefs, judgments

A college education is supposed to include learning
how to think and make judgments – good judgments
 Judgments
that are well grounded and defensible
 Consistent with disciplinary or other criteria
appropriate to the context
 That reflect espoused purposes, values and principles

Many students report being overwhelmed by this
process and default to “just choosing.”
Basis for Beliefs–Desired Skills

Think of each box as clusters of evidence. Can sort
strong and weak evidence/arguments; show how
they fit together to construct an argument.
Patricia M. King, U of Michigan
Basis for Beliefs-Common Entry Point
Point of View #1
Point of View #2
How I was raised
You were raised differently
How I was taught
How you were taught
What I want to believe
What you want to believe
What I take as evidence
What you take as evidence
 Assumes one is right and one is wrong.
 No explicit criteria for judging this

Patricia M. King, U of Michigan
Basis for Beliefs-Progress toward RJ
Point of View #1 ------------------ Point of View #2
 Take perspective/approach into account, which allows
each to be examined
 See that both perspectives reflect assumptions, are based
on evidence
 Begin to examine the evidence: Is it sound?
 See both as valid, begin to examine strength of evidence

Patricia M. King, U of Michigan
Basis for Beliefs–Desired Skills

Think of each box as clusters of evidence. Can sort
strong and weak evidence/arguments; show how
they fit together to construct an argument.
Patricia M. King, U of Michigan
RJ Levels-How to Justify Beliefs
 Early:
Observe phenomenon yourself or
ask an authority figure
 Middle: Gather evidence and arguments;
choice is idiosyncratic to knower (e.g.,
choose evidence that fits a belief)
 Advanced: What is most compelling based
on evidence from variety of considerations
(e.g., most complete, reasonable, plausible)
What helps you think critically, to make
better judgments?

What do others do?
 Classes:
Types of readings, assignments, class activities
 Student organizations: Staff members’ assistance in
planning, pointing out resources, trouble-shooting, etc.
 Other students’ comments & critiques to refine ideas
 Something else?

What do you do?
 Organize
your thoughts more carefully (How?)
 Ask others to explain the basis of their beliefs
 Something else?
Examples from Your Area/Organization

Good Examples of Using Reflective Thinking
 We
drew from multiple perspectives
 We discussed differences and respectfully challenged
each others’ ideas
 We looked for the basis of others’ ideas before
evaluating or rejecting them

Examples Where We Did not Use Reflective
Thinking Skills
 What
was the discourse like?
 What happened?
Following Up…
What is the typical approach to decision
making in your organization?
 Does this approach promote reflective
thinking?
 What factors contribute to this?
 Does this approach reflect your preferred
leadership style?
 What would help members of your
organization think reflectively more often?

Thank you!

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Good luck in your education and especially in your
leadership roles!
I hope you take full advantage of the rest of your
time as a UNCW student.