REFLECT

Project description

Reflection is a valuable part of any learning environment, so Iman Mossavat set out to help students with their reflection by making a tool that uses local LLM AI, to help the users with their reflection by following certain reflection cycles, and by being an interactive workspace.

Main research question:
“How can we create a system that encourages continuous improvement on reflection within Fontys students, achieving accurate, consistent results in the process?”

Sub questions:

• What type of “environment” nurtures good reflection
• How do you correctly teach the user to reflect according to the type of reflection cycle we are going to use?
• What elements do you need to include in the product that would help the user with their reflection?
• How do you get the user to send information between devices in an easy & intuitive manner?
• How do we display the previously acquired knowledge and progression the user is making?
• How do Fontys ICT students currently reflect on their experiences, and what factors influence the effectiveness and consistency of their reflection?
• How are Fontys students using the tool to reflect on their experiences, and what factors influence the effectiveness and consistency of their reflection?

Context

Fontys students are expected to reflect - but are rarely taught how. Reflection is often perceived as an action which is mandatory and not a choice.

Most available tools are either too blank (no information or insights) or too descriptive (too much information causing cognitive overload on the user).

The goal of this project is to make reflection for students - both in personal and school life, easy to use by making the process natural to their workflow. We want to nurture continuous improvement through reflection. By request of our client, the work will be UX and not UI based.

The target audience for the project is Fontys students that need to do reflection for their portfolio’s, particularly FHICT students. They already do reflection on a regular basis but just are not good at it and need to improve their reflection skills. They are between 19/24 both Dutch and international.

Success Factors

• Low-Friction Capture: Thoughts can be recorded instantly with minimal effort
• Clear but Flexible Structure: Guidance without feeling rigid or overwhelming
• Personal Meaning: Reflection feels relevant rather than forced
• Trust and User Control: Users feel safe, especially when interacting with AI

Results

Key Outcomes: Products
The primary product delivered is two interactive Proof of Concept, built as high-fidelity Figma prototypes. To directly address the varying academic contexts of our target audience, the product was strategically split into two distinct versions: one tailored for Semester 4/5 students and another for Semester 6/7 students.

Core features of the prototype include:

• Socratic AI Chat: A non-intrusive, guided questioning system that helps users structure their internal thoughts.
• Visual Reflection Timeline: A dashboard element that tracks continuous progress and visualizes reflection habits over time.
• Multi-Modal Capture: Low-friction input methods, specifically highlighting on-the-go audio recording and quick notes.

Key Outcomes: Insights
Extensive interviews and usability tests yielded critical insights into student behavior and platform requirements:

• Barrier of Capture: Students struggle with reflection due to forgetfulness and the repetitive, "forced" nature of school assignments. Low-effort capture methods are essential.
• AI Boundaries: Users highly value AI for structural guidance but strongly reject AI that attempts to draw conclusions or interpret feelings on their behalf.
• Assessment Anxiety: Quantitative performance metrics induce anxiety. Users heavily prefer soft, actionable feedback like the "Consider doing" prompts.
• Privacy & Trust: A calm, minimal UI with robust privacy controls (including anonymous usage options) is required to build trust and ensure consistent use.

Validation & TRLevel Positioning
The project is currently positioned at TRL 4 Validated Prototype.

Validation Evidence:
The value of the REFLECT concept was validated through moderated, in-person UX testing and iterative interviews with Fontys ICT Media Design students. Testing confirmed that the core value proposition, turning scattered thoughts into structured reflection, was successfully met. Participants specifically praised the Socratic chat for seamlessly redirecting their thought processes and the Reflection Timeline for providing a motivating overview of their growth.

About the project group

We are a group of 6 human-centered design students working together on this group project. We all have slightly different backgrounds within ICT, but are now focused on Media design. We have spent the second half of our semester working on this. It started with all 6 of us doing research before splitting up into 2 groups of 3 to create our final products.