What is Reflections for?

I have been asked this question a lot of times. So, I decided to write this page to answer it.

TL;DR

Reflections are part of your learning process. It is not for grading or assessment purposes, but rather for you to reflect on your learning journey.

Why Reflections Matter

During my time at Carnegie Mellon University, I had the privilege of taking a Deploying Machine Learning Models course with Chris McComb during the Covid pandemic. This experience profoundly shaped my understanding of why reflections matter in technical courses. In the midst of remote learning, our reflection exercises became an anchor that helped us stay grounded and process our learning journey.

Through regular reflections, we were able to:

• Identify which concepts truly resonated with our professional goals
• Recognize gaps in our understanding that needed more attention
• Connect theoretical concepts with practical applications in our own contexts
• Build a personal knowledge repository that we could reference later

One particularly valuable aspect was how reflections helped us distinguish between what was immediately applicable to our work and what might become relevant later. Rather than treating every topic with equal weight, we learned to be intentional about where to focus our energy based on our individual contexts and goals. Little did I know that such a simple exercise would have such a profound impact on my learning journey and was based on rigorous scientific research. See for instance Davis et. al. (2013).

The practice of reflection also created space for us to acknowledge when certain concepts didn’t align with our current needs - and that’s okay. This honest self-assessment helped us make more informed decisions about our learning priorities and professional development paths. In short, reflections are a tool for you to assess what you are learning, why it matters (or doesn’t), and how you might apply these insights in your own context.

Final Thoughts

Drawing from this experience, I’ve incorporated reflections into this course not as a bureaucratic requirement, but as a tool for deeper learning and professional growth. When you write your reflections, think of them as conversations with your future self and to decide what you want to learn next. If by any chance you found that you do not need anything from this course, feel free to drop it and focus on your other priorities.