This page has resources and information for the writing work we do in this course.

Journal Writing for Reflection & Developing Expertise 

"Journal Writing as a Teaching Technique to Promote Reflection" by Stacy E. Walker | annotated copy

Reflection involves thinking about and exploring an issue of concern, which is triggered by an experience. Reflection distinguishes experts from those with basic competency because an expert "uses information from previous experiences as well as the insights gained from the reflective process to improve decision-making ability."

competency vs. expertise

Competency = knowing-in-action or the "know-how" an individual reveals while performing an action. 

When a familiar routine produces an unexpected result, it is beneficial for students to reflect on it afterward; this helps the individual to gain insight, deepen understanding, and develop competency in the nuances and complexities of a skill.

Expertise = able to engage in reflection-in-action in which an individual "reshapes what he or she is doing while doing it" based on data and insights including those gained from reflection on past experiences. Expertise and insight comes from reflecting on a experience after it has happened.

Journal writing can be an excellent strategy for facilitating reflection and growth. Journal writing assignments give students guided opportunities to "think aloud" on paper and reflect their own perceptions or understandings of content and situations. Journal writing can be designed to enhance reflection, facilitate critical thought, express feelings in writing about problems encountered during experiences, and practice writing summaries, goals, and focused arguments.

Journal writing also helps students move from being passive to active learners, and aids in "placing responsibility with the student for active engagement and self-directed learning."

Tips for reflective journal writing: 

• the assignment should guide the written content; example assignments:

  • Write about at least one reading, video, concept, issue, event or person we have explored in class or in your independent research.

  • Choose one of the following topics to focus on in your reflection writing.

  • Reflect on your research project and/or writing this week.

  • [Specific question(s) related to topics.]

• challenge students to reflect on information and situations, as well as consider how they might perform differently should similar situations arise in the future

• encourage students to reflect on an experience, whether that experience is from classroom content or their own experiences

  • What did you like/enjoy?

  • What did you find interesting?

  • What did you struggle with? What did you find challenging?

  • What did you learn?

  • What questions do you have?

  • What relevant information or resources can you find?

  • More reflection questions

• encourage students to include new information, resources and ideas in their journal writing, especially information that is relevant to  a problem/challenge that they have identified in their previous writing, or information that interests them and provides new avenues for professional growth and development

• reflective journal writing can also involve writing about difficult concepts, summarizing a discussion, or exploring or arguing for/against a particular issue 

• encourage students to explore different perspectives in their writing

• consider assigning a mix of preassigned and spontaneous topics

  • preassigned: advantage is that students can think about the topic before writing

  • spontaneous: advantage is that students can write about any topic or experience that concerns or interests them

• allow time for journal writing during class (10-15 minutes)

• allow students to write in a freeform style -- the journal should be a safe space for free expression -- maintaining confidentiality and having a nonjudgmental approach is key

• summaries or critiques should be 1-2 pages -- content is more important than word count

• be clear about grading:

  • How will journals be graded?

  • What percentage of the grade will be affected by their journal writing? (10-20% of the overall course grade)

  • How/when are journals turned in? How/when will they be returned? 

Giving feedback on journal writing:

• if/when students submit portions of their reflective journal writing, consider giving written feedback or having an individual dialogue/debriefing session -- opportunity for validation and further input

• the focus should be on the students' thought process and the content of their writing, not on grammar, punctuation or spelling

• after the first journal writing assignment, provide timely feedback to every student -- 1-2 comments about the overall journal or comments/questions related specific portions 

• in feedback or conversations, encourage students to reflect more deeply... guide them to continuously ask themselves why they feel the way they do about a topic or situation or why they made a certain decision --> 

  • Why did I...? 

  • How will... affect...?

  • What changes could be made now or in similar situations in the future?

• individual conferences and/or group discussions can help with connecting the journal writing with critical thinking

• group discussions can promote the exchange of ideas and help students synthesize information 

3 stages of the reflective process (can be used for assessing the level of reflectivity):

1. awareness of uncomfortable feelings (frustration, stress, etc.)

2. critical analysis of the situation -- involves feelings and new knowledge is applied

3. development of a new perspective on the situation

More Ideas for Writing Workshop

New Ways to Workshop: A Reading List to Inspire Literary Innovation by Rachel May and Krys Malcolm Belc - discusses the idea of using a chapbook concept to commit to writing poems around a single topic, idea, question, or theme, for the entire semester.  Also includes a list of chapbooks that can be used as mentor texts for such an exploration.

The Writing Workshop and Its Variations from the Princeton Writing Program

Drafting