What Benefits Might Reflective Writing Have for My Students?

In The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Donald Schön notes that

When we go about the spontaneous, intuitive performance of the actions of everyday life, we show ourselves to be knowledgeable in a special way. Often we cannot say what it is that we know. When we try to describe it we find ourselves at a loss, or we produce descriptions that are obviously inappropriate. Our knowing is ordinarily tacit, implicit in our patterns of action and in our feel for the stuff with which we are dealing. (49)

He then explains one of the major functions of reflection for the practitioner:

Through reflection, [the practitioner] can surface and criticize the tacit understandings that have grown up around the repetitive experiences of a specialized practice, and can make new sense of the situations of uncertainty or uniqueness which he may allow himself to experience. (61)

As writers, students have less tacit understanding of how to construct texts generally and much less tacit understanding of how to construct texts in their new content disciplines. Thus, the first major contribution of reflective writing for students as writers is that such work allows student writers to examine their tacit understandings to see where and how those might be elaborated for the complex or uncertain rhetorical contexts they write within.

In addition to this advantage of reflection, many teachers of writing have found that students who reflect about their writing processes and decisions are able and careful critics of their own work. They often see exactly those shortcomings that a target reader will identify. Students can, then, anticipate the responses that teachers give to the text, often in productive ways if the reflective writing occurs before final submission of a writing assignment.

Teachers who assign reflective writing, however, are not solely concerned with having students consider their writing processes and rhetorical decisions. Many teachers across the curriculum strongly believe in the value of reflecting on one's knowledge and practices, particularly in clinical, professional, and classroom settings.

To sum up responses to the question, then, reflective writing benefits students because it

• Helps students identify their tacit knowledge as well as gaps in that knowledge
• Brings to the surface rhetorical and writing process decisions that can focus subsequent revision or learning
• Encourages growth as a working professional

Beyond the Basics

Reflective writing is used across disciplines, but it most widely accepted as a pre-professional practice in nursing and teacher education. (See Mortari 2012, for a partial review of the literature in nursing.) The sheer number of recent titles on reflection in the literature of these disciplines puts an exhaustive review (or even listing) beyond the scope of this text, but the table below captures some of recent titles across the curriculum. Please search key disciplinary journals to find those sources most pertinent to the courses you teach.

 

Disciplinary area	Title (specific discipline; type of reflective assignment)
General	Ho & Lee, 2012 (interdisciplinary; essay) Jehangir, 2010 (interdisciplinary; essay) Leijen et al., 2012 (interdisciplinary; varied) Lew et al., 2011 (interdisciplinary; journal) Park & Milora, 2012 (interdisciplinary; varied)
Arts/Humanities	Baker & Krout, 2012 (music therapy; songwriting) Barney & Mackinlay, 2010 (indigenous studies; journal) Browning, 2011 (communication studies; short papers) Gulwadi, 2009 (interior design; journal) Ponte, 2006 (law; essay) Prescott, 2012 (creative writing; "life-writing" commentary) Ryan & Brough, 2012 (fashion design; garment critique)
Business	Bisman, 2011 (accounting; journal) Chu et al., 2012 (nursing & information management; blog) Vega, 2004 (business management; case writing) Wills & Clerken, 2009 (business management; simulation and critical writing
Education	Badley, 2009 (education, essay) Bairral & dos Santos, 2012 (mathematics pre-service; e portfolio) Brown & Coles, 2012 (mathematics pre-service; analysis) Ciminelli, 2011 (pre-service literacy education; interactive intervention) Cisero, 2006 (educational psychology; journal) Dianovsky & Wink, 2012 (elementary ed chemistry; journal) Fadde et al., 2009 (pre-service education; video editing and writing) Hagavik et al., 2012 (teacher education; action research) Harland & Wondra, 2011 (pre-service education; blog and essay) Hughes, 2008 (sexuality education; integration papers) Kajdar & Parkes, 2012 (pre-service education; blog and videolog) Knapp, 2012 (pre-service education; journal) Lai & Calandra, 2010 (pre-service education; online prompted journal) Lee, 2010 (physical education pre-service; journal) Mortari, 2012 (teacher education; journal) O'Connell & Dyment, 2011 (physical education pre-service; journal) Parker, 2010 (pre-service education; literacy narrative) Schwartz et al., 2004 (secondary science teachers; journal) Starks et al., 2012 (pre-service education; teaching critique)
Social Sciences	Attard, 2012 (social sciences; narrative journal) Brewer & Josefowicz, 2006 (economics; journal) Holtzman, 2005 (sociology; activity) McGuinness, 2009 (geography, diaries) McGuire et al., 2009 (social work; essay) Mott, 2008 (political science; personal essay) Nesoff, 2004 (social work; journal) Rusche & Jason, 2011 (sociology; sequence of tasks) Trepagnier, 2004 (sociology; portfolio reflection) Walmsley & Birkbeck, 2006 (social work; personal narrative)
Sciences	Bairral & dos Santos, 2012 (mathematics pre-service; e portfolio) Balgopal & Montplaisir, 2011 (biology; 10 essays) Brown & Coles, 2012 (mathematics pre-service; analysis) Cisero, 2006 (educational psychology; journal) Clark, 2010 (psychology; final paper) Dianovsky & Wink, 2012 (elementary ed chemistry; journal) Kalman, 2011 (general science; concept writing) Kalman & Rohar, 2010 (physics; varied) Mayne, 2012 (bioscience; reflective writing) McDonald & Dominguez, 2009 (science, guided writing) Parry et al., 2012 (bioscience; critical incident report) Schwartz et al., 2004 (secondary science teachers; journal) Shepherd, 2010 (health science; essay) Simmons, 2008 (natural resources; memoir) Walker, 2006 (sports science; journal)
Professional Practice	Chu et al., 2012 (nursing & information management; blog) Lie et al., 2010 (internal medicine; narrative paper) Hill et al., 2012 (speech therapy; journal) Smith-Battle, 2012 (nursing education; student-created dramas) Sung et al., 2009 (teachers; digital teaching portfolio) Wald et al., 2009 (medical education; field notes)

Often, reflective writing is assigned or captured in journals (kept in hardcopy or online). One common complaint from students is that so many of their teachers assign reflective journals that students feel overburdened with this kind of writing. Teachers, on the other hand, sometimes complain that students do not engage in authentic reflection and rely instead on simple description of activities or events. To address these typical problems, Dyment et al. (2010) consider the factors that limit the effectiveness of reflective journals for students. They provide useful suggestions for setting clear expectations by specifying the purpose of the journal in the specific course as well as connecting journal goals to a larger educational program or professional practice. Dyment et al. also explore the importance of noting the audience for the journal and its "mechanics"—how much it counts in a course grade, how often students should write and for how long, what specific requirements the teacher has for entries, and so on. They continue their helpful logistical advice with notes about how to help students to read and write journal entries and how and when to respond and grade journals. (See also Mills, 2008.)

Hubbs & Brand (2010) add to this basic information about setting up a reflective journal by defining two dimensions common to journal activities -concrete/abstract and cognitive/affective spectra. They contend that having students analyze their own journaling helps them to connect and critique classroom learning and practical experience.

Moving beyond the journal as the vehicle for reflection, Rusche & Jason (2011) describe a detailed sequence of reflective writing tasks that culminate in a final reflective essay. Although their sequence derives from sociology, the activities might easily translate to other disciplines. Similarly, Mair (2012) describes an online resource designed to facilitate reflective writing, develop students' metacognitive awareness and, ultimately, enhance learning.

Rai (2012) turns to questions related to assessing reflective writing, focusing specifically on the emotional elements often included in reflection on practice in disciplines such as social work, nursing, and teaching. Like Rai, Tummons (2011) questions the validity of assessing reflective writing. Unlike Rai, Tummons' position is more critical of our current assessment practices. He argues that our typical assessment practices mask complexities and contradictions in how students write reflective assignments and how we read them. He calls for new assessment based on clearer theoretical underpinnings, particularly from social theories of language and literacy. Although not focused exclusively on assessment of reflective writing, Ross (2011) also takes up theoretical viewpoints on the affective dimension of reflective writing and how teachers might consider issues of identity, authenticity, ownership, privacy and performativity in compulsory reflective writing.

References

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Brewer, S.M., & Jozefowicz, J.J. (2006). Making economic principles personal: Student journals and reflection papers. Journal of Economic Education, 37(2), 202-216.

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