Skip to Content Center for Teaching & Learning Header
Purdue Mitch Daniels School of Business logo
Purdue Mitch Daniels School of Business logo
Center for Teaching & Learning

School of Business Center for Teaching & Learning Programs & Resources

Reflection is essential in experiential education as they bridge the gap between theoretical practice and practical application. By encouraging students to critically analyze their experiences, reflection fosters deeper understanding, personal growth, and the development and recognition of essential skills. Additionally, reflection promotes self-awareness and continuous improvement, making it a cornerstone of effective experiential learning, as well as lifelong learning.

One of the most requested areas for support in experiential education is the development of structured reflective exercises that effectively guide students through the reflection process, ensuring that students can articulate their learning, assess their progress, and set goals for future growth. Below are some general reflection questions that can be used for guided reflection for students. All questions can be tailored to a specific experience. Below the general reflection questions are questions focusing specifically on diversity, equity, and inclusion with examples for a course that focuses on selling and sales. 

General Experience Questions

  • What were your initial expectations for the experience? Explain how the experience met, exceeded, or fell short of those expectations and why.
  • What did you feel during the experience?

Analyzing the Experience

  • What were the key challenges or obstacles you faced? How did you address them?
  • What strategies or approaches did you use to address the challenges or obstacles? How well did those work?
  • What are the successes from the experience? What prompts you to describe this as a success?
  • What did you learn from this experience?
  • How does this experience relate to what you have learned in the classroom or from preparation sessions prior to the experience?
  • What skills did you develop or enhance?

Personal Development

  • What did you learn about your strengths and weaknesses?
  • How will this experience influence your future actions or decisions?
  • How did the experience align with your personal or professional goals?

Future Planning/Application

  • How can you apply what you learned to future situations?
  • What would you do differently if you could redo the experience and why?
  • What additional skills or knowledge do you need to acquire to handle similar situations better?
  • What advice would you give to another student that engages with this experience?

For examples of reflection questions tailored to a sales and selling course, open the accordions below. For assistance creating questions tailored to your course or experience, contact Erica Lott at ealott@purdue.edu.

Reflection Questions Examples

  • What aspects of your identity are most important to you, and why?
  • How have your experiences shaped your understanding of your own identity?
  • Selling-specific: How do your own social and cultural identities influence your approach to selling? What aspects of your identity do you think play a role in your interactions with clients and colleagues?
  • How do you perceive the social and cultural identities of others?
  • What assumptions do you make about people based on their social or cultural identity? How do these assumptions impact your interactions with others?
  • How knowledgeable are you about cultures different from your own?
  • How do you seek to learn about and understand the perspectives of people from different cultural backgrounds?
  • What have you learned from interacting with people from diverse cultural backgrounds?
  • Selling-specific: How do you/how can you educate yourself about the cultural norms and values of different customer groups?
  • What stereotypes or biases do you hold, and where do they come from?
  • How do these stereotypes or biases affect your behavior and thinking?
  • What steps can you take to challenge and overcome these biases?
  • Selling-specific: What assumptions or biases might you hold about clients from different social or cultural backgrounds? How can biases affect your sales performance and customer relationships?
  • How do you practice empathy towards people with different social and cultural identities?
  • Can you recall a time when you misunderstood someone’s cultural perspective? What did you learn from that experience?
  • How can you better understand and appreciate the lived experiences of others?
  • Selling-specific: Can you share an example of a time when understanding a client's cultural background helped you build a stronger relationship?
  • What have you learned about social and cultural identities through this reflection process?
  • How has your understanding of your own identity and the identities of others changed?
  • How will this new understanding influence your future actions and decisions?
  • What strategies can you use to ensure your sales approach is inclusive and respectful of diverse cultural identities?
  • How can you adapt your sales techniques to better meet the needs of clients from diverse backgrounds?
  • How do you ensure effective communication with clients who have different social and cultural identities?
  • How can you ensure that your sales practices are fair and respectful to all clients, regardless of their identity?
  • In what ways can you promote inclusivity and diversity within your sales team and organization?
  • What specific actions will you take to improve your cultural competence in professional selling?
  • How will you apply what you have learned about social and cultural identities to enhance your future sales interactions and career development?

Example Reflection Questions on Inequity (for a selling and sales course)

  • How have historical events and policies shaped the current landscape of the market you are working in?
  • What significant historical events have influenced the economic opportunities and challenges faced by different social and cultural groups?
  • How have historical inequities in education, employment, and housing impacted the consumer base you engage with?
  • Can you identify any past policies or practices in the sales industry that have contributed to systemic inequities?
  • What structural barriers exist in the sales industry that may prevent certain groups from achieving equal opportunities?
  • How do factors such as access to capital, education, and networks influence who can enter and succeed in the sales profession?
  • How do structural inequities affect market segmentation and target marketing strategies?
  • In what ways might a company’s sales practices inadvertently perpetuate inequities?
  • How can implicit biases and stereotypes influence sales interactions and outcomes?
  • What steps can you take to identify and mitigate biases in your sales approach?
  • How do inequities impact the accessibility of products or services to diverse customer groups?
  • What strategies can you implement to ensure equitable service and access for all customers?
  • How will you use your understanding of historical and structural inequities to inform your future career in professional selling?

Statement about the curriculum design process.

Mitch Daniels School of Business Footer