Using journal writing in a graduate science education course to promote constructivist pedagogy

Abstract

The journal writing activity was an opportunity for Tom and his classmates to personalize a constructivist vision of teaching and learning, a step Gallagher’s (1993) teachers identified as the beginning of their transition to a constructivist practice. The efficacy of the journal writing activity may be attributed to its capacity to engage students in metacognitive thinking. That is, the students had an opportunity to think about their ideas rather than merely with them (Kuhn, Amsel, & O’Loughlin, 1988). Indeed, various researchers have associated metacognition with cognitive development, meaningful learning, and conceptual change (e.g., Champagne, Gunstone, & Klopfer, 1985; Kuhn et al., 1988; Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993).