Journaling: A powerful Academic Writing Learning Tool

Abstract

Students who engage in writing-to-learn activities do a better job of grasping the concepts being taught. Students may use journaling as a powerful learning tool to better grasp a subject and hone their analytical thinking abilities. In this regard, we conducted two long-term field trials. To keep track of their progress, students in Study 1 completed a learning diary after each of their biology courses. Student understanding, interest and critical reflection were higher in the intervention group than the control group (n=25) at study's completion. Increased interest in the subject matter led to a more critical examination through journal writing. Students' motivation to develop their critical thinking abilities was examined in the second study. In addition to the cognitive and metacognitive prompts, the experimental condition's (n=13) journal writers also got a personal utility prompt. The students in the control group (n=11) received just cognitive and metacognitive tests. The experimental group exhibited a higher degree of interest and a better level of critical thinking when it came to a bioethical problem than the control group. It is clear from these research that journal writing has a positive impact on student learning and critical thinking about difficult scientific topics.