Beyond the Classroom: Integrating the ORID Model for In-Depth Reflection and Assessment in Service-Learning

Abstract

Service-learning is a community-based learning approach that bridges academic knowledge with practical application through purposeful exploration, action, and reflection. In addition to enhancing academic learning in various disciplines, service-learning cultivates students’ self-awareness, personal values, and social responsibility, preparing them with essential skills for life beyond the classroom. However, due to its experiential nature, service-learning presents challenges for effective assessment. This study provides a concrete example of student reflections structured by the Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, and Decisional (ORID) model in practice. Content analysis was implemented by examining undergraduate students’ end-of-semester reflection papers while volunteering during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The results showed that the model provided a guided and structured format for students to reflect on their service-learning, going beyond reporting on factual details to engaging in profound reflections on the emotional, cognitive, and prospective aspects. Moreover, with the solution aspect added to the model, students could express their creativity, articulating on innovative solutions they proposed to overcome challenges and how they turned the challenges into favorable outcomes. Clearly, the model stands as a powerful tool for educators, offering deeper insights into students’ authentic experiences, fostering comprehensive, critical, and insightful reflection, and thereby facilitating the effective assessment of experiential learning.

1. Introduction

Service-learning is grounded in the framework of experiential learning, initially articulated by Dewey in the 1930s, followed by Lewin and Piaget in the 1950s, and later by Kolb in the 1980s [1]. It is a form of learning by doing pedagogy [2] that combines academic learning with civic engagement [3], where students apply what they learn to authentic community-based activities [4]. In this regard, while strengthening academic understanding in a variety of disciplines, students get opportunities to enhance their social understanding through community involvement and civic responsibility [5], which in turn contributes to the development of a broad range of soft skills including critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving [6], as well as interpersonal skills such as communication, team building, and leadership [7].

Service-learning differs from other community-based learning forms, such as volunteering and internship. During volunteering, students are involved in community service; however, it is not structured around academic learning with a learning objective [8]. Likewise, during an internship, students are involved in course-based community service, yet it does not aim to develop civic learning, respond to social needs, or benefit community life [9]. In this regard, service-learning is community-based learning that links theory with practice [10], focusing on academic and civic learning through purposeful exploration, action, and reflection [11].

Over decades, service-learning has gained increasing attention in teaching and research as a part of excellence in higher education, especially in general education [12]. Indeed, incorporating service-learning as a pervasive aspect of the core curriculum has shown the power of stimulating civic engagement across different areas of academic work, which is highly central to the mission of higher education [13]. Higher education institutions have recently started integrating service-learning within high-impact practices such as first-year seminars, learning communities, capstone projects, and collaborative assignments [14], building a hybrid high-impact practice mechanism with more extensive, robust, and distinctive outcomes than a single one.

As service-learning is spreading more in higher education, the need to assess its impact on student learning has grown vital. However, due to its experiential nature, service-learning is not simple to assess [15]. Indeed, service-learning practitioners highlight major challenges intensified by the shortage of assessment tools that can reliably and systematically assess students’ community experiences [16,17,18]. Also, studies stress that service-learning requires authentic ways to capture students’ real-world applications [19,20]. To cite, projects, interviews [21], observations, surveys, portfolios [22], reflective journals [23], and presentations [24] are the assessment techniques implemented in service-learning courses. Specially, a recent systematic review highlights that reflection papers are among the most commonly used authentic assessment in service-learning [11].

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1. Role of Reflection in Service-Learning

Reflection is a crucial component of student learning. Reflective practices promote students’ critical thinking, self-awareness, and self-regulation as they review, question, and evaluate the learning process in various forms, such as written, verbal, visual, or in groups [25]. Principally, reflection can be in two ways: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action [26]. The former refers to thinking about one’s actions and behavior during the practice, and the latter is about judging the action after the practice and fostering what to do differently next time [26]. Taking both modes of reflection together, students can draw upon their learning process, through and from experience, on five progressive levels: noticing, making sense, making meaning, working with meaning, and transformative learning [27], which ultimately takes them beyond theoretical knowledge to a deeper understanding, leading to a paradigm shift in the way they see and interact with the world [28].

As Dewey formulated [1], experience plus reflection equals learning. In service-learning, reflection plays a vital role as it encourages students to think critically about their service experiences and its relation to academic concepts. In particular, through reflection, students can deepen their academic understanding, enhance critical thinking, and develop civic responsibility [9,10,11]. Especially, critical reflections have the power to promote metacognitive processing [29], transfer a concrete service experience into an abstract and inward exploration [30,31], and expand on personal growth over time both retrospectively and prospectively [22]. Rather than merely reporting on what happened, students write in-depth descriptions pertaining to their community experience, highlighting personal judgment [32], dialogic reflections, and articulation regarding their past, present, and future selves [33]. During a critical reflection, a student can confront various questions, such as “What was the scene? Who was involved? What did he or she think? Why did it happen? Why did he or she do that?” [30] (p. 2).

It is important to note that instructors should offer a structured approach and clear guidance to students throughout their reflection process [34,35,36]. Without an organized approach, students may lack the focus to connect their service experiences with academic learning, and report merely on events instead of critically evaluating their meaning or impact [34]. However, when students are guided with specific questions and prompts, they can have a clear structure to articulate on the complexities of their experiences and the social, ethical, and personal implications of their work [34]. Particularly, through structured reflections, students can have more meaningful dialogue, a deeper understanding of their community engagement, and profound personal growth [35]. Also, it can ease the assessment of service-learning, as the instructor will have a structured framework for evaluating students’ responses [36]. Indeed, systematic reflection tools can improve understanding between the instructor and students [37], providing a common consent about how service-learning performance is to be judged [38], making assessment more transparent and away from personal prejudices [37].

2.2. Structured Reflection Models

2.2.1. ORID Model (Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional)

The Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, and Decisional (ORID) model, also referred to as the focused conversation model, developed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs International (ICA), provides the basis for a sequentially generated questioning process that walks students toward a guided and structured reflection [39]. Regardless of the discipline or level of expertise, the ORID model orients students toward articulating on their academic learning with in-depth discussions and decision-making, both written or oral, and individually or in small groups [40]. Based on Kolb’s experiential learning model that involves concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation [41], the ORID model includes a consecutive four-stage process of reflection that explores students’ observations (objective stage), feelings (reflective stage), interpretations (interpretive stage), and possible actions or implications for the future (decisional stage) [39]. Mainly, the first stage is about facts and concrete observations that students can take in with their senses, mostly including what students did, observed, read, and heard [39,42,43]. Next, the second stage is about students’ personal reactions and emotions, such as how they felt about the experience, and what they liked or disliked [42,43]. Then, the third stage is about analyzing and interpreting the experience, involving the meaning, significance, issues, and challenges [42,43]. Lastly, the fourth stage is about making decisions, conclusions, and producing resolutions for the future [42,43].

In this study, students utilized the ORID model for structuring their end-of-semester reflection papers. The objective aspect focused on the concrete experiences that students identify and observe during their community services, such as the nature of the training, tasks, accomplishments, and challenges. Next, the reflective aspect emphasized students’ affective experiences [44], including feelings, expectations, and interests. Then, the interpretive aspect highlighted students’ cognitive experiences, such as what they learned, ideas, relationships, and the connections they generated, and how their thinking changed during their service-learning. Finally, the decisional aspect underlined actions for the future, including how students would do things differently next time and how their service-learning experience would affect their future choices.

2.2.2. DEAL Model (Describe, Examine, Articulate Learning)

The DEAL model, developed by Ash and Clayton at North Carolina State University [23], is an integrated approach to reflection that relates learning experience with academic outcomes, personal growth, and civic responsibility [45]. In accordance with Bloom’s taxonomy [46], students confront a series of questions from identifying knowledge to developing judgments. In particular, in the first stage, students describe their learning experience objectively, addressing information on the who, what, when, and where of the situation [47]. This stage is mostly a factual account of the experience, capturing all relevant details without any interpretation [45]. Next, during the second stage, students critically examine the learning experience in detail, considering its relevance and impact on their personal growth, civic engagement, and academic enhancement [47]. It moves students into meaning-making by analyzing the experience from various perspectives, including deep analysis of assumptions, strengths, weaknesses, comparisons, contrast, causes, and outcomes [45]. Then, in the last stage, students articulate on their learning by expanding on what was learned, why this learning is important, and what they can do with it in future situations [47]. Overall, the model encourages continuous improvement and deeper understanding through a detailed, structured, and prompted process, emphasizing articulation of learning with actionable insights [48].

2.2.3. Three-Stage Reflection Model (What? So What? Now What?)

The three-stage reflection model, developed by Toole and Toole [49], is a simple and strategic reflection model that consists of three main consecutive stages: What?, So What?, and Now What?. In the first stage (What?), students describe information about their experience, including purpose, what happened, who was involved, what was observed, and outcomes [49,50]. In this stage, the information is factual and objective, establishing the basis for deeper inferences at the subsequent stages. Next, in the So What? stage, students make critical analysis of their experience, considering aspects such as values, opinions, significance, meaning, and impact [49,50]. This stage emphasizes critical thinking and self-awareness. Then, in the Now What? stage, students identify the lesson learned, examine how to apply new information in other contexts, and decide on future actions [49,50]. This stage aims to help students transfer and reapply the lesson learned from one experience to other learning contexts [51]. The three-stage reflection model facilitates reflection, making reflective practice easy to apply in various settings, especially with a strong focus on actionable insights [52].

2.2.4. Comparison of the Reflection Models

Table 1. Comparison of structured reflection models.

Elements	ORID Model	DEAL Model	Three-Stage Model
Concrete Experiences	Objective stage (Describe facts, data, and observations)	Describe stage (Describe the experience objectively)	What? stage (Describe the experience objectively)
Feelings	Reflective stage (Analyze personal emotions and reactions)
Cognitive Experiences	Interpretive stage (Analyze and interpret the experience)	Examine stage (Analyze the experience by considering personal growth, civic learning, academic enhancement)	So What? stage (Analyze the meaning and implications)
Future Plans	Decisional stage (Make decisions and generate resolutions for the future)	Articulate Learning stage (Express lessons learned and how to apply in future situations)	Now What? stage (Decide on future actions and possible changes)

provides a comparison among the reflection models, highlighting similarities and differences in each stage. Regarding similarities, all the reflection models possess an organized structure guided through consecutive stages. They begin with a factual description, followed by analysis of the learning experience, and conclude with future plans. The major difference is that the ORID model closely aligns with Kolb’s experiential learning model [41], and has a specific focus on analysis of emotions. Particularly, the reflective stage of the ORID model mirrors Kolb’s reflective observation stage, with analysis of how the experience made students feel and how these feelings impacted their thoughts and actions. This emotional aspect could be embedded in the DEAL model within the examine stage, and in the three-stage reflection model within the So What? stage. However, neither of them explicitly gives emphasis on emotions as the ORID model does. Indeed, reflecting on emotions can help students become aware of their underlying values, beliefs, perceptions, and biases [42,43]. As feelings drive action, through analysis of emotions, students can better understand how and why they reacted in particular situations, which can lead them through more comprehensive, deep, and insightful reflections [53].

2.3. Aim of the Study

Reflection is one of the most predominantly applied assessment techniques for evaluating students’ authentic learning experiences [11,35]. While the literature highlights the ORID model as a comprehensive and structured framework for critical reflection [32,39,40,41,42,43], there remains a significant lack of documentation illustrating its practical application, particularly in service-learning. Recognizing the central role of reflection in service-learning, the purpose of this study is to provide concrete examples of students’ reflective work, structured through the ORID model in practice. In particular, demonstrating the model’s practical utility can provide valuable insights for educators, practitioners, and researchers on its effectiveness in facilitating critical reflection. While the findings could inspire the future research studies, teaching practices, and curriculum development in service-learning, they can also support and strengthen the model’s broader adoption to other authentic learning contexts.

In addition to demonstrating practical application, this study expands on the ORID model by adding the “solution” aspect, which captures students’ creative thinking on overcoming challenges and turning them into positive outcomes. Particularly, in this stage, students find innovative solutions to address the challenges they face during their service experience and propose ways to turn the challenges into possible opportunities. It is important to highlight that while the existing reflection models mostly promote critical thinking, they overlook the important element of creative thinking. In addition to enhancing the depth of reflection, incorporating creative thinking to the model can cultivate the development of an entrepreneurial mindset, fostering students’ resilience, adaptability, and ability to realize the opportunities in their environment where others may see only the obstacles [54]. When students approach challenges with inventive solutions, they can drive meaningful change in their communities and beyond, being proactive citizens and change-makers in the rapidly evolving world [55].

With this integration, the study seeks to address the following research question:

• How does the ORIDS model engage students in deep reflection in their service-learning?

3. Methods

3.1. Study Site

The study was conducted at Qatar University (QU), a national institution providing college-level education, located in the capital city of the State of Qatar. Founded in 1977, QU hosts eleven colleges in the Arts and Sciences, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Sharia and Islamic Studies, Dental Medicine, and Nursing. The university offers fifty bachelor’s programs, with around 20,000 student bodies at the undergraduate level. In particular, about 67% of undergraduates are Qatari nationals, and females comprise approximately 75% of the entire student population [56].

This study collected data from undergraduate students taking a service-learning course, an elective course offered by the Core Curriculum Program (CCP), which is a non-degree program under the Deanship of General Studies. Students pursuing a baccalaureate degree at QU must complete 33-credit Core Curriculum courses beyond their significant courses. In particular, CCP courses offer many subjects, addressing the breadth of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and perspectives needed to succeed in work, life, and citizenship in the 21st century. They foster common core competencies, such as communication, critical thinking, quantitative literacy, civic responsibility, digital literacy, entrepreneurial thought, and cultural diversity.

3.2. Participants

Eleven undergraduate students were enrolled in service-learning courses during the fall 2022 semester.

Table 2. Profile of the participants.

Student Number	Year	College	Major	Exp.	Nationality
Student 1	Sophomore	Business and Economics	General Business	No	Non-Qatari
Student 2	Sophomore	Arts and Sciences	English Lit.	Yes	Qatari
Student 3	Sophomore	Arts and Sciences	English Lit.	Yes	Non-Qatari
Student 4	Sophomore	Arts and Sciences	Mathematics	No	Non-Qatari
Student 5	Junior	Business and Economics	Entrepreneurship	Yes	Non-Qatari
Student 6	Sophomore	Arts and Sciences	Mathematics	Yes	Non-Qatari
Student 7	Junior	Business and Economics	Finance	No	Non-Qatari
Student 8	Senior	Business and Economics	Accounting	No	Non-Qatari
Student 9	Sophomore	Arts and Sciences	Mathematics	No	Non-Qatari
Student 10	Junior	Business and Economics	Accounting	Yes	Non-Qatari
Student 11	Senior	Business and Economics	Finance	No	Non-Qatari

provides an overview of students’ profiles, detailing their year of study, college and major, prior volunteering experience, and nationality. In particular, none of the students were a first-year student, as they could register for this course only after completing a minimum of 29 credit hours in their study plan. Therefore, six students (54.5%) were in their second year (sophomore), three students (27.3%) were in their third year (junior), and two students (18.2%) were in their last year (senior). Regarding colleges, six students (54.5%) were enrolled at the College of Business and Economics, studying Finance, Finance, and Economics (n = 2), Accounting, Accounting and Info System (n = 2), General Business (n = 1), and Entrepreneurship (n = 1) as majors. In addition, five students (46.5%) were at the College of Arts and Science, studying either Mathematics, Maths, Statistics and Physics (n = 3), or English Literature and Linguistics (n = 2) as majors. Regarding volunteering, five students (46.5%) had prior experience in volunteering at either the community or school level, while six students (54.5%) did not have any previous experience. Moreover, regarding nationality, ten students (90.9%) were non-Qataris, whereas only one student (9.1%) was from Qatar. After completing the semester, students were given a consent form to participate in this study via their reflection papers. All the students agreed to provide their consent. Hence, data were gathered from all the students attending this course, being an “information-rich case” for collecting information of “central importance to the purpose of the inquiry” [57] (p. 1).

3.3. Service-Learning Course

The service-learning course was an elective course developed by the Core Curriculum Program as a form of experiential learning with hands-on service activities and structured reflections. In the first three weeks, students attended the campus lectures, learning key concepts, characteristics, and challenges of service-learning and discussing civic responsibilities, attitudes, and ethical implications in service activities. They practiced the acquired knowledge and skills through various experiential learning activities, in addition to analyses of real-life, community-based cases. In the following weeks, students were in the field, accomplishing their training and service-learning activities as allocated by the community partner, the Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.

While having the field visits, students wrote journals about their service-learning experiences and the impact of civic engagement on themselves, others, and the community. Then, upon completion of their field visits, they wrote an integrated reflection paper about their service-learning using the ORID model and the guided questions provided under each ORID stage, as listed in Appendix A. Finally, in the last two weeks of the semester, students were on campus, individually presenting their service-learning journey to the instructor.

3.4. Community Service

A partnership was established with the Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, responsible for implementing all host operations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. At the beginning of the fall semester, students registered for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Volunteer program and became volunteer community members. After passing an online gamified assessment and one-hour face-to-face interview, students were offered a volunteering role, ranging from access management to workers’ welfare. First, students received several structured trainings within the volunteer program tailored to their volunteering roles. Then, they committed a minimum of 10 shifts in the field to serve the community during the tournament time. At the end of the tournaments, students were evaluated by their FIFA World Cup supervisor based on their performance, behavior, task accomplishment, and completion of a minimum of 40 service hours.

3.5. Research Design

The object of the analysis was students’ end-of-semester reflection papers on their service-learning, while volunteering at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The ORID model was utilized to structure students’ reflection papers with objective, reflective, interpretive, and decisional aspects. In addition, the ‘solution’ stage was added to the model as a fifth step for nurturing students’ creative thinking and entrepreneurial mindset. Data were analyzed through content analysis, which is a commonly employed research methodology for identifying patterns in different forms of communication, such as written, oral, and visual [58]. In addition to the other “methods and approaches that fall under the category of qualitative research, such as case study, politics and ethics, participatory inquiry, interviewing, participant observation, visual methods, and interpretive analysis” [59] (p. 5), content analysis was conducted first by developing categories for each stage of the ORIDS model, followed by analyzing students’ reflective practices by identifying the emerging categories [60] and using frequency analysis to find patterns [61].

As the students’ reflection papers were written in English, no translation took place before delving into data analysis. First, the researchers implemented a deductive approach [62] by developing categories for each stage of the ORIDS model, considering the main characteristics and guiding questions under each aspect. Before moving to actual analysis of students’ reflection papers, an audit trail was implemented to address potential areas of researcher bias. The auditor had no investment in service-learning or the ORID model. The auditor reviewed the categories for clarity and suggested refining operational definitions to include concrete examples of the information that could fit into each category. Then, the researchers meticulously examined students’ reflection papers, analyzing the appearances of emerging categories and calculating frequencies. Student quotes were also provided to illustrate relevant examples.

4. Results

4.1. Analysis of the ORIDS Model

ORID is a reflection model with sequentially developed guided questions that move students from reporting concrete experiences toward deep reasoning. Before the actual analysis of students’ reflective work, researchers conducted a thorough analysis of the reflection model to fully understand its stages and identify what is targeted in each stage. Then, using a deductive approach [62], researchers developed categories for each stage of the model, considering the types of data incorporated and the guided questions implemented. Researchers primarily created two categories for each stage and developed operational definitions to articulate what each category entails. In essence, developing these tailored categories significantly contributed to the actual data analysis, as they provided researchers a structured and systematic approach for interpreting students’ reflections, thereby enhancing relevance, consistency, and accuracy.

Table 3. Operational definitions of the developed categories.

Stages	Target	Categories	Sample Information	Possible Guided Questions
Objective	Concrete Experiences	Facts	General information	What was the service about? Where is the place? What was the task? Who was involved?
		Senses	Descriptions	What did students do, see, or hear? What happened? What were the challenges?
Reflective	Affective Experiences	Internal Connections	Past associations	What did the community engagement remind students of? Did the experience match students’ expectations?
		Internal Responses	Feelings and personal reactions	How did students feel? What did students like/dislike?
Interpretive	Cognitive Experiences	Interpretations	Meanings	What did the service experience make students think about? How did students’ way of thinking change?
		Significance	Values	How does this experience relate to classroom learning? How does it connect to global issues?
Decisional	Future Plans	Actions	Changes in action	What would students do differently next time?
		New Directions	Changes in choices	How will this experience change students’ life choices, use of new information, skills, and acquisition of new technologies?
Solution	Innovative Ideas	Innovative Solutions	Creative proposals	What innovative solutions are possible to overcome the challenges?
		Opportunities	Novel opportunities	How can challenges turn into opportunities?

illustrates the details about the ORIDS stages, categories, and examples of information that fit into each category. First, the objective element deals with the concrete experiences that students identify during their community service without conferring emotions, beliefs, and interpretations about the experience. The two categories for the objective stage are (1) facts and (2) senses. Here, facts refer to general information and accurate data about the place, task, and people, such as what the service is about, where the business is, and what the job is. And who is involved? Meanwhile, senses describe what happened during the community service and how students perceived the experience, such as what they do, see, read, or hear. What happened as a result of their work? And what were the challenges?

Next, the reflective stage is about the affective experiences that confer students’ emotions, expectations, and associations about their community engagement. Researchers formulated two categories for this stage: (1) internal connections and (2) internal responses. Internal connections relate to students’ past associations, such as what community engagement reminds them of and whether the experience matches their expectations. Furthermore, internal responses are about students’ feelings and personal reactions, including self-confidence, success, and effectiveness, and enable them to develop the necessary abilities and self-assurance to use this information effectively in their specific areas of study.

Then, the interpretive stage is related to cognitive experiences, including students’ knowledge application, critical thinking, problem-solving, and intellectual development. Researchers formulated two categories for the interpretive element: (1) interpretations and (2) significance. Here, interpretations refer to the meaning students make from their experiences, such as what the experience made them think about, what worked, and what did not. And how did their thinking change during service-learning? In addition, significance is about the value of where students connect and relate their civic engagement with educational outcomes, such as why their community work is needed. And how do the issues/problems/challenges connect to global issues?

After that, the decisional stage addresses students’ actions and plans for the future. Researchers formulated two categories for the decisional stage: (1) actions and (2) new directions. Mainly, actions refer to the arrangements that students would make in response to their experience, such as what they would do differently next time. New directions refer to the changes in students’ knowledge, awareness, and understanding that will shift their choices for the future, such as using new information and skills and acquiring new technologies.

Finally, the solution stage, added by the researchers, highlights the innovative solutions that students propose for tackling community problems and how to turn those problems into possible opportunities. Researchers formulated two categories for this stage: (1) innovative solutions and (2) opportunities. Here, innovative solutions are the potential solutions that students propose to overcome the societal issues that they recognized during their community service. Lastly, opportunities are related to how students can turn challenges, issues, and problems into opportunities, such as new products, services, community projects, or initiatives.

4.2. Analysis of Students’ Reflections

Once the categories were formulated, researchers conducted several meetings to closely examine students’ reflection papers and segment the material to fit under the tailored categories. While segmenting, researchers highlighted the text to show the type of information and dominant features under each category. Then, frequency analysis was performed to calculate the appearance of the categories. Student quotes were also provided to illustrate relevant empirical evidences.

4.2.1. Objective Stage

• Facts

When students were asked for general information about their community service, it was clear that all students could provide various details about the location, role, and responsibilities. Regarding location, almost every student served at a different location, such as Al Janoub Stadium (n = 2, 18.2%), Education City Stadium (n = 2, 18.2%), Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium (n = 2, 18.2%), Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (n = 1, 9.1%), Al Sadd Sports Club (n = 1, 9.1%), Oxygen Park (n = 1, 9.1%), Stadium 974 (n = 1, 9.1%), Al Bayt Stadium (n = 1, 9.1%), Al Thumama Stadium (n = 1, 9.1%), and Qatar University (n = 1, 9.1%). Regarding roles, almost half of the students were assigned by the Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy to work at spectator services (n = 5, 45.5%). In contrast, others were responsible for being team leaders (n = 1, 9.1%) or worked at the last mile services (n = 1, 9.1%), cultural experience services (n = 1, 9.1%), team services (n = 1, 9.1%), workforce support services (n = 1, 9.1%), and the e-sports club (n = 1, 9.1%). In particular, students described their responsibilities at spectator services as ensuring that spectators feel welcome, validating their tickets, assisting them with finding their seats, and interacting with the spectators to boost their World Cup experience.

Moreover, all students reported interacting with various local and international spectators, FIFA staff, and other volunteers. All students wrote that they received information about their roles, rules, and regulations regarding training. One student noted that “we had two pieces of training before our service, a role-specific training (information about what our duties would be) and a venue-specific training (a tour around the stadium explaining different spots and activations)”.

• Senses

Students noticed that no matter how people speak different languages and have dissimilar cultures, they are all united by the love of football (n = 4, 36.4%). One student wrote, “Football brings people together”. Moreover, students realized the importance of volunteers’ dedication to the event’s success. One student stated, “I noticed how volunteers were needed to make this global event smooth and fun for all spectators”. They heard positive comments from spectators and the media about the success of the event (n = 7, 63.6%). One student reflected, “People say good things about Qatar regarding the events, hospitality, places, culture, food, people, and the way they managed FIFA”, and one wrote, “Qatar has done a remarkable job, and that has been an unforgettable experience”.

Furthermore, more than half of the students (n = 6, 54.5%) pointed out that their hard work and dedication served many people, helping them have a positive experience. One student wrote, “Our work and hospitality helped people feel comfortable, welcomed, and safe. Our volunteer role was crucial and beneficial to everyone”. On the other hand, regarding challenges (Figure 1), students reported facing various difficulties, including long walking distances to reach stadiums (n = 4, 36.4%), language barriers (n = 4, 36.4%), and long volunteering hours (n = 3, 27.3%). In addition, students stated problems with spectators such as entering matches without a ticket (n = 2, 18.2%), being rude to volunteers (n = 1, 9.1%), negative match experiences (n = 1, 9.1%), food waste (n = 1, 9.1%), and pollution in stadiums (n = 1, 9.1%).

4.2.2. Reflective Stage

• Internal Connections

When the students were asked what this community service reminded them of, most of them recalled their previous volunteering experiences (n = 5, 45.5%) at the FIFA Arab Cup in 2021 (n = 3, 27.3%) and in high school (n = 2, 18.2%). One student also mentioned her earlier work experience in the customer service department at a private company. All students agreed that community service matched their expectations and even stated that it exceeded their initial expectations. Specifically, they felt more social, organized, and confident than they expected themselves to be. In addition, regarding knowledge, all students concurred that they gained various knowledge and skills during their service, which made them feel more knowledgeable and professional. For example, one student reflected, “I’m thrilled to have had this experience so I can be a better and well-rounded member of society”.

• Internal Responses

Students’ feelings about their volunteering experience were highly positive (Figure 2). None of the students indicated a negative emotion. Instead, more than half of the students noted feeling a sense of satisfaction (n = 7, 63.6%), pride (n = 4, 36.4%), and gratefulness (n = 3, 27.3%) for participating in such a unique (n = 4, 36.4%) and unforgettable (n = 4, 36.4%) event. One student wrote, “I am extremely grateful to have had this experience. My team, supervisor, and I were like one big family”. Another student reflected, “The sense of accomplishment I felt after completing an activity outside my comfort zone is the best aspect of my volunteering experience”.

Regarding growing self-confidence, all students agreed that service-learning improved their self-confidence. For example, one student stated, “After talking to thousands of people daily and being given the authority to handle a team and make decisions, my self-confidence grew. The way everyone liked me also helped boost my self-esteem and confidence”. Another student indicated, “Doing work that I had never done before and going out of my comfort zone gave me a confidence boost”.

Similarly, all students agreed they felt successful and accomplished with their service. For example, one student reflected, “The last mile area is where spectators would have the most questions; they would be unfamiliar with the place and have numerous inquiries. Thus, it is certainly a success representing Qatar and showing how welcoming we are”. Another student indicated, “The time I felt the most successful about the event was seeing the fans’ happiness while leaving the stadium. It was visible that the spectators were satisfied with the event and the services offered”.

Lastly, regarding effectiveness, students said that although their tasks were highly tiring and demanding, they felt helpful in their roles. For example, one student wrote, “Sometimes I felt tired, but I was disciplined and motivated to perform well as a spectator service volunteer, to represent Qatar and QU with honor, and to help the fans to the best of my abilities”. Similarly, another student stated, “Some days I felt tired due to the long shift hours and how demanding it was. Nonetheless, as I had a social responsibility, I always kept a smile and tried to do my best”. Furthermore, one student reflected, “The feeling I got after seeing the smiles of grateful customers was immeasurable and cannot be put into words. That erased all the physical tiredness away and kept me motivated”.

4.2.3. Interpretive Stage

• Interpretations

Students stated that before participating in the World Cup event, they hesitated about safety, the environment, people, and tasks. However, during the experience, they realized how volunteering could be fun and beneficial both for the volunteer and society. For example, one student wrote, “The experience made me realize that volunteering is necessary to attain self-fulfillment and pride in life. Previously, I considered it an aid to society, which is true, not realizing the immense benefits to the one providing it”. In addition, students mentioned that before the event started, they were reluctant about whether it would be successful. Then, while volunteering, they witnessed how much work was put into organizing a major event like the World Cup. For example, one student wrote, “I learned how large-scale events like this operate. The policies and protocols used to ensure the success of this event, as well as the amount of effort put into it, were eye-opening”. In this regard, one student reflected, “I believe Qatar has hosted the best World Cup so far, knowing and sticking to its ethics and religion. This helped me understand the importance of staying connected to who we are”.

During their service, students learned various information and gained multiple skills (Figure 3). In particular, they reflected on academic skills such as communication, time management, decision-making, problem-solving, and leadership (n = 6, 54.5%), different cultures (n = 4, 36.4%), difficulties in the work environment (n = 2, 18.2%), and the pleasure of doing community work (n = 2, 18.2%). For example, one student said, “The experience taught me that no matter how many obstacles there are and how tiring the service might be, there is such a great reward in doing community service”.

• Significance

Regarding their classroom learning, students mentioned learning about the theoretical aspects of community service, benefits and different types of service-learning, and duties, values, and obligations associated with service-learning. In their reflections, they linked their experience with the skills and qualifications needed for community services (n = 8, 72.7%), how to handle difficulties (n = 3, 27.3%), types of community service (n = 3, 27.3%), civic-mindedness (n = 2, 18.2%), as well as ethics in service-learning (n = 1, 9.1%). One student stated, “My experiences and the skills we discussed in class show how volunteering helps others and helps yourself”.

4.2.4. Decisional Stage

• Actions

When students were asked what they would do differently in the future (Figure 4), most of them commented on being better prepared in terms of having more energy and positivity (n = 3, 27.3%), being more confident (n = 3, 27.3%), communicating better with spectators, team members, and supervisors (n = 3, 27.3%), and being more spontaneous (n = 1, 9.1%). Some students were also interested in experiencing different roles and responsibilities to learn more about how other stadium areas operate to maximize their FIFA experience (n = 4, 36.4%).

• New Directions

Students also reflected upon how this experience will change their life choices and the use of new information, skills, and technologies. As for life choices, all students expressed willingness to participate in prospective volunteering projects, community services, and charity events. In addition, seven students (63.6%) also pointed out their desire to become more active and outgoing. In this regard, one student stated, “Now I realize that nothing relieves stress better than a meaningful connection to the people around me”. While one student indicated her willingness to travel to other countries to learn about new cultures, she even reflected that she would like to go abroad to study.

For new information, students wrote that during their service-learning experience, they learned how an event works to significant effect, how a work environment feels, how to deal with diverse people, and the importance of commitment, which they could use in university and professional life. Furthermore, students stated that they would try to be more eager to seek new information (n = 3, 27.3%), pay attention to details (n = 1, 9.1%), and think critically (n = 2, 18.2%).

Regarding new skills, all students agreed that service-learning helped them enhance their communication skills. In addition, they mentioned many other soft skills, such as time management (n = 4, 36.4%), leadership (n = 3, 27.3%), teamwork (n = 3, 27.3%), organization (n = 2, 18.2%), and decision-making (n = 1, 9.1%). Lastly, regarding acquiring new technologies, students cited using a social media application tool and a team collaboration application to communicate with their volunteering team and supervisors. They were also impressed by the variety of technologies used in the World Cup event for navigation and safety, as well as in stadiums and footballs. No student had a negative attitude toward learning and acquiring new technologies.

4.2.5. Solution Stage

• Innovative Solutions

Students faced various challenges during their service-learning experience. They mainly mentioned the long walking distances, language barriers, long volunteering hours, and problems with spectators. Interestingly, students could generate different creative solutions even for the same issues. For example, for long walking distances, students proposed offering alternative transportation, having priority lanes for older people, women, and children, providing electronic scooters, and placing motivational billboards on the way about the benefits of walking. Next, for language barriers, students suggested providing booklets of helpful phrases in different languages, offering online language workshops, creating teams of people speaking the same language, and engaging in fun language activities. Furthermore, regarding the long volunteering hours, students recommended getting fewer volunteering hours, having a structured check-in system, increasing the number but decreasing the duration of the shifts, and providing breaks.

• Opportunities

Regarding opportunities (Figure 5), on a personal level, students found walking long distances an opportunity to lose weight and keep healthy (n = 2, 18.2%) and language barriers an opportunity to enhance language and communication skills (n = 3, 27.3%). On the community level, most students agreed on using the World Cup experience to enhance logistics, operations, and services for future projects. For example, two students (18.2%) proposed improving services for vulnerable individuals, especially those with disabilities and special needs. One student proposed organizing a new project called all-ladies events, where only women run the event, from collecting to volunteering. She stated, “This could help ladies overcome their social anxiety and be open to future events with both men and women”. Furthermore, to benefit the local and global community, one student suggested creating a non-profit organization to collect food waste around Qatar and donate it to charities, orphanages, and even families within Qatar. She also suggested adding a new feature in restaurants similar to Japan and Korea; if food is left over, people will be charged extra, which will be donated to needy families.

5. Discussion and Conclusions

This study aims to demonstrate concrete examples of students’ reflective practices, structured through the ORID model with objective, reflective, interpretive, and decisional stages, as well as the ‘solution’ stage added by the researchers. The object of the analysis was undergraduate students’ end-of-semester reflection papers on their service-learning experiences while volunteering at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Content analysis was conducted first by developing categories for each stage of the ORIDS model, followed by analyzing students’ reflection papers by identifying the emerging categories and using frequency analysis to find patterns.

In terms of the service-learning experience, the findings reveal that students had a positive volunteering experience during the World Cup in Qatar. Their tasks were tiring and demanding, with various challenges, including long walking distances, language barriers, long volunteering hours, and problems with spectators. Yet, despite the obstacles, students demonstrated resilience and felt successful in accomplishing their roles. They were proud to participate in this significant event and serve spectators a pleasant World Cup experience. On a personal level, volunteering helped students get out of their comfort zone, increase their self-confidence, and improve soft skills such as communication, time management, leadership, teamwork, organization, and decision-making. In addition, it helped students develop a civic mindset and a desire to participate in forthcoming projects, community services, and charity events. With this experience, students proposed ways to enhance volunteering for themselves and others. They also generated creative solutions for improving logistics, operations, and services for future happenings.

In terms of the ORIDS model application, the detailed examination of students’ end-of-semester reflection papers showed that the model provided a well-structured format for students to reflect on their community service from various aspects, with its objective, reflective, interpretive, decisional, and solution stages. As students responded to the sequentially developed guided questions in each stage, they not only reported on the factual descriptions of their community services but also delved into deep reflections on the emotional, cognitive, and prospective aspects of their learning. Moreover, with the solution stage added to the model, students had the opportunity to express their creative thinking, articulating on the innovative solutions they proposed to overcome the challenges and how they turned the challenges into favorable outcomes.

In particular, at the objective stage, the model guided students into a clear and objective description process on what happened during their community service. They explicitly reported on their service locations, roles, responsibilities, tasks, and interactions with spectators, staff, and volunteers. Mostly, students were assigned to spectator services and some worked at the last mile services, cultural experience services, team services, and workforce support services. They mentioned facing a variety of challenges during their service hours, including walking long distances, language barriers, and extended hours, as well as dealing with disruptive spectators and logistical issues. This step is important for capturing the concrete aspects of the authentic learning environment, and sets the stage for deeper exploration in the following steps [39,42].

Next, with the reflective stage, which is a missing element in other reflection models, the ORIDS model helped students to explore their emotions, articulating on how specific moments evoked their feelings, such as frustration, joy, confusion, or accomplishment. Mostly, students expressed strong feelings of satisfaction, pride, and gratitude, recognizing the value of stepping outside their comfort zones during their community services. In addition, despite the challenges, including the long distances, language barriers, and extended hours, they felt successful in accomplishing their roles. This emotional analysis is an important aspect of reflective practice as it enables students to connect their feelings with their actions and earlier experiences, fostering social and emotional intelligence [44]. Moreover, when students analyze their emotions and become more aware of how and why they reacted in particular situations, they can make more deep and insightful reflections [54].

During the interpretive stage, the model facilitated a deeper and critical analysis, allowing students to interpret and make meaning of their service experiences. In particular, they examined the significance of their community service and its broader implications on the society and culture. For example, students recognized the value of their community involvement for personal fulfillment and addressing societal needs. They enhanced their understanding of how large-scale events are planned by experiencing the complexities involved and the efforts required to accomplish them. Moreover, their service experience had a positive impact on their academic growth, equipping them with valuable skills such as communication, leadership, and problem-solving. This step is crucial for encouraging critical thinking and connecting the real-life experiences to broader contexts [39,42,43].

Then, at the decisional stage, the ORIDS model guided students in evaluating their actions and exploring new directions for the future. With this forward-looking approach, students articulated on how they could make proactive changes in their personal and academic lives, demonstrating the transformative impact of their community experiences. For instance, most of the students expressed a strong willingness to engage in future volunteering projects, community services, and charity events, and explore different roles and responsibilities. Also, the majority were impressed by the technologies employed during the World Cup events, and stated future plans for learning and adopting new technologies. This step is important for not only developing a growth mindset but also encouraging continuous improvement, as students think deeply about applying their insights to future settings [39,54].

Lastly, the solution stage added to the model enriched students’ reflective practice, encouraging them to think creatively about how they can overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities for positive outcomes. Despite the various challenges faced during the service experiences, students suggested a range of diverse and innovative solutions. For instance, to address the long walking distances, they suggested providing alternative transportation options, creating priority lanes, and placing motivational billboards. For managing the long volunteer hours, they proposed reducing shift durations, implementing structured check-in systems, and allowing more frequent breaks. Moreover, students identified opportunities for personal growth and community improvement, such as creating a non-profit organization to address food waste and enhancing services for vulnerable groups. Overall, the solution stage was important for nurturing students’ creative thinking and entrepreneurial mindset, fostering a sense of agency, resilience, and adaptability essential for both academic and professional success.

In the literature, several studies also leveraged the ORID model and consistently highlighted its effectiveness in fostering class discussions and students’ reflective practices across various educational settings. For example, in a graduate group counseling course, the ORID model was implemented to guide students’ reflection journals on their counselors-in-training experiences at a high school [63]. Data were collected from fourteen students to examine the impact of in-service training on their group counseling self-efficacy and skill development. The results indicated that with the progressive questioning of the ORID model, “counselors-in-training were guided through thoughtful and critical reflection” (p. 194). In particular, the reflection model helped students “to utilize their observation and analytic skills while immersing themselves in their cognitive and affective experiences” (p. 203), guiding them through critical thinking and decision-making.

Similarly, in an undergraduate public administration course, the ORID model was used for both formative and summative assessment purposes [64]. As a formative assessment, the ORID model was used as a guide for structuring in-class discussions where students deliberate on how films screened in the classroom connect with the theoretical concepts on public administration. Next, as a summative assessment, the ORID model was used as a format to structure written reflections where students further articulate on their learning after the class discussion. The results showed that “the ORID technique provides a way of systematically reflecting on films” (p. 116), giving students “the opportunity to note and consider aspects of a film beyond the central plot or dialogue”, and moving them beyond the “the emotional and intellectual tension” to an “open a space to consider the implications for action and decision” (p. 108).

Furthermore, in a case study [65], having an experiential and outcomes-based learning setting planned for game education, the ORID model was implemented for providing structure to discussions among the players and facilitators for the game design and playtesting process. The results revealed that the reflection model “allows for an examination and reflective process, and it works effectively when combined with an activity-based learning” (p. 448). Moreover, the findings highlighted that “the model is inherently experience based, allowing for active learning” (p. 455).

In conclusion, the empirical evidences strongly support the ORID model as a structured and comprehensive tool for evaluating students’ authentic learning activities. The model deepens reflective practices by guiding students beyond superficial descriptions toward a critical analysis of their development across various dimensions. Moreover, the addition of the solution stage further enriches the model by prompting students to think creatively about overcoming challenges and turning them into favorable outcomes. This integration fosters a proactive and entrepreneurial mindset, and makes reflections more comprehensive, meaningful, and profound.

6. Limitations

It is important to note several limitations. First, the sample of the study consisted of eleven participants, limiting the findings’ external validity to a larger group of students. Next, the analysis merely relied on the students’ self-reported reflections, which may be biased or inaccurate. Then, the research was conducted within a particular cultural context, which may not be generalized to other regions or cultures. Employing multiple data collection methods, such as surveys and interviews, and triangulating data from supervisors, community partners, and other stakeholders could mitigate some of these limitations.

It is also important to highlight the fact that the researchers revised the ORID model by adding the solution stage and modifying the guided questions to be aligned with service-learning. The researchers strongly suggest that future studies validate the revised model through expert consultation, to make the new model suitable for the international audience and facilitate the replication of studies.

7. Future Directions

Reflection can serve as a powerful tool for evaluating both the depth of student learning and the effectiveness of teaching practices [25,35]. In terms of student learning, the results of this study revealed that the ORIDS model provides a good structure for students to reflect on their learning. Students’ grades were determined by the depth of their reflections, which required reporting on each stage of the model and giving detailed explanations in response to the guided questions. Later, for the purpose of data analysis, researchers developed subcategories for each stage of the model, outlining what is targeted and what sort of data to be incorporated, with possible questions to be answered. Researchers believe that introducing students to this categorization system at the beginning of the semester could offer more clarity and guidance on what they need to reflect on in each stage, which, in turn, may enrich their reflection process and the quality of their reflections.

Indeed, although plenty of resources explain this reflection model in theory, there is no rubric for guiding practitioners on how to assess students’ reflections with specific performance criteria and descriptions of performance levels. As well-developed rubrics can reduce complexity and enhance the objectivity of assessment [17,38], the results of this study, specifically the categories created by the researchers for the data analysis, can guide future research by providing an evidence-based reference for developing a thorough, equitable, and structured rubric to evaluate student reflections through the ORIDS model in practice.

Furthermore, in terms of teaching practices, teachers can leverage the ORIDS model to analyze how well students can apply their course content to real-world situations, identify areas where students need further support, and evaluate where course materials and teaching strategies could be adjusted to better achieve the targeted learning outcomes. However, in addition to improving the effectiveness of teaching and the quality of course materials, the ORIDS model can also serve for professional development, especially in the context of teacher education. Studies emphasize that reflection plays a vital role in teacher education [66,67], not only at the level of behavior and competencies but also at the level of identity and mission where they see why and how they are becoming teachers [30]. Teacher identity is “continuously constructed through their lives as teachers and is central to their reflective practice of teaching” [30] (p. 4). Both pre-and in-service teachers can implement the ORIDS model to critically and systematically self-assess their teaching practices and make informed decisions for improving their professional growth, including teaching effectiveness, student engagement, and classroom management. Overall, such reflective practices can foster lifelong learning, encouraging a mindset of continuous learning and professional development.