Using reflective writing as a teaching tool

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Using reflective writing as a teaching tool

• Humanities methods
• Lydiah Nganga

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Reflective learning

• reflective learning is the process of internally
  examining and exploring an issue of concern,
  triggered by experience, which creates and
  clarifies meaning in terms of self, which
  result in changed conceptual perspectives Boyd
  Fales ( 1983, p. 100).

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Why use reflective writing?

• In education reflective writing will usually have
  a purpose-students write reflectively about
  something that they have learned
• Reflective writing helps learners to
• develop critical thinking skills
• Analytical abilities
• Contributes to learners cognitive development
• Enable creativity making connection
• Helps create connections between information (
  learned)
• Develop new perspectives about a subject ,
  topic, theme etc.
• A means of becoming clearer about something
  learned.

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Why reflective writing.. Continued

• Helps learners in ordering their thoughts in
  some way, or reordering them to rearrange the
  components in different ways Byod (1983). Guided
  questions can help the teacher to tap into the
  thinking of the students, their perceptions,
  misconceptions, understanding of content
• Questions help to prompt reflective writing
• Example Unit Native Americans
• Question could range from
• How do you feel about .
• What do you need to do in order
• Are others seeing these issues the same way as
  you do?
• What has changed if anything about your
  perceptions on Native American?
• What information do you need to know. why?

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Why reflective writing..

• Developing metacognition -learners automatic
  awareness of their knowledge ability to
  understand, control, and manipulate their own
  cognitive process Or for the teacher it provided
  the ability to analyze how/what a student has
  learned
• These skills are important
• In schools
• Throughout life
• Why is metacognition important?

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Metacognitive skills

• Helps the learner to be aware of
• the knowledge about their memory systems
  strategies for using their memories effectively.
• Understand information being communicated to
  them, recognize failure to comprehend to employ
  repair strategies when failures are identified.
• Learners with poor metacomprehension skills often
  finish reading something even without knowing
  they have not understood what they read.