Reflective Essay Research Articles

Twelve tips for maximizing the potential of reflective writing in medical education

Reflective writing (RW) is a popular tool in medical education, but it is being used in ways that fail to maximize its potential. Literature in the field focuses on why RW is used – that is to develop, assess, and remediate learner competencies – but less so on how to use it effectively. The emerging literature on how to integrate RW in medical education is haphazard, scattered and, at times, reductionist. We need a synthesis to translate this literature into cohesive strategies for medical educators using RW in a variety of contexts. These 12 tips offer guidelines for the principles and practices of using RW in medical education. This synthesis aims to support more strategic and meaningful integration of RW in medical education.

A Millennial’s leadership perspective: reflections on a decade of mentorship from a servant leader

PurposeThis article illustrates the transformational nature of servant leadership and its capacity to empower and develop others. In it, I recount my close relationship with a high school mentor who embodied the key tenants of Greenleaf’s (1970) servant leadership philosophy. I also advocate for others to provide mentorship and support in a similar fashion.Design/methodology/approachThis Origins contribution was constructed as a reflective narrative in response to a mentorship experience earlier in my life.FindingsA mentorship experience from my youth profoundly shaped my approach to leadership and teamwork that I still embrace to this day. Readers are asked to consider the power of servant leadership in their own lives.Originality/valueStudents of leadership can utilize this reflective essay as a touchstone for further classroom discussion.

“Creating security and a good relationship with the student” – Exploring ECEC teachers’ relational professionalism during mentor training

Previous research on mentor training in early childhood education and care (ECEC) teacher education has shown that relationships are at the core of mentoring (Kupila et al., 2017; Ukkonen-Mikkola et al., 2021). This article presents findings from a qualitative study that aims to explore ECEC teachers’ relational professionalism (Furu & Sandvik, 2019) during mentor training. Our research material consisted of essays (n = 77) from the final reflective essay of a mentor training course for ECEC teachers, which were analysed through narrative analysis (Clandinin et al., 2016). The results show that ECEC teachers’ relational professionalism is built in three types of entangled relationships: (1) relation to oneself, (2) relation to the student and (3) relation to colleagues. The results imply that relationally professional mentors are a key factor that contributes to students continuing in the profession after graduation. This requires that the university engages in cooperation and relationships with the ECEC centres that receive students in the practicum. The university needs to offer mentor training and develop rich opportunities for mentors, their colleagues, and leaders in ECEC to establish relationships with all parties involved on all levels.

Challenging power relations in food systems governance: A conversation about moving from inclusion to decolonization

This reflective essay explores power relations, with a particular focus on racialization, that flow through dominant forms of food systems govern­ance, with an aim to create more participatory gov­ernance models. Four of the authors asked a group of five scholars, activists, and practi­tioners (also authors) who identify as Black, Indige­nous or People of Color (BIPOC) to discuss dur­ing a conference session issues of Indigenous food sovereignty, decolonization, Whiteness, and inclu­sivity in food systems governance. This paper pre­sents and analyzes the content of the session, part of the 2021 Global Food Governance Conference. We reflect on common themes from the session and put forth recommendations: encouraging greater inclusion in existing forms of food systems governance, achieving decolonization through cre­ating diverse new governance models, and address­ing the deeper power structures that underpin the dominant food system itself. We also suggest a research agenda, with the “what” of the agenda unfolding from a process of agenda development that centers BIPOC scholarship. The frameworks offered by the panelists are a starting point, as more work is needed to move towards decolo­nizing food systems governance research. Finally, a collaborative agenda must attend to the inextricable links of food systems governance to other funda­mental issues, such as the emerging field of planetary health.

Subaltern-centred Pedagogy: Field Notes and Reflections from Tunisia

Abstract This essay responds to the challenge of deconstructing the concept of democracy and decolonizing knowledge production. The authors, educators in secondary and higher education, grapple with the pedagogical dilemma of how to re-tell the stories of the marginalized and silenced ‘others’ in their classrooms. They explore the concept of ‘subalternity’ as a decolonial critique and a methodological perspective, with the aim of shifting the epistemic location of narratives about migration. This essay proposes a radical change in educational approaches, urging practitioners to listen to the subaltern rather than speaking for them, and to adopt a ‘subaltern-centered pedagogy’ (Reed 2013) to counter hegemonic and dehumanizing narratives about migration. By doing so, this reflective essay emphasizes the role of educators in fostering critical thinking and awareness about positionality. Before concluding, the authors call for a bold epistemic intervention in education systems, aiming to leave a lasting impact on pedagogical practices. They propose a process of unlearning through critical reflexivity to deconstruct Eurocentric and nationalist narratives, ultimately empowering students to become global citizens in a globalized world.

Students' perceptions of social issues in biology courses.

Students' scientific literacy may be improved by the integration of social issues into biology courses, enabling them to make informed decisions on social issues in the context of their scientific knowledge. Additionally, this may allow students to recognize the connection between science and society. Although there are a number of benefits with having students learn about social issues in biology courses, most undergraduate courses may follow a traditional curriculum, which emphasizes the scientific content without framing it in a social context. Here, we investigated whether undergraduate students have been exposed to social issues in previous biology courses and examined how their perceptions changed before and after taking a biology course that incorporated social issues. In surveys, most students reported having no exposure to social issues in biology courses. Most students, especially females and persons excluded because of their ethnicity or race (PEERs), agreed with the integration of social issues in biology courses before taking the course. Students found reflection essays to be a useful tool in allowing them to think and share their thoughts on social issues as well as relate the course content to their personal lives. These results highlight students' interest in learning about social issues from a scientific perspective and how reflection essays may be used to practice applying their knowledge to real-world issues.

Transforming professional identity of medical teachers in Pakistan by a certificate program in health professions education: a thematic analysis of reflective essays.

A teacher's professional identity development is a dynamic and continuous process that requires rigorous, longitudinal, faculty development initiatives which are designed to work on individual professional growth. Impact of such programs must be evaluated by qualitative means to identify the process of change; The purpose of our study was to investigate whether and how our thoughtfully designed 6-month certificate program has transformed the professional identity of medical teachers. The study was conducted in National University of Medical Sciences, Pakistan using thematic analysis, wherein a weekly task of guided reflective writing, on Moodle, was given. Data was analyzed in six phases to achieve credibility and transferability. By analyzing 202 reflective writings, seven subthemes were identified which manifest transformation in certain aspects of identity of participants and grouped under three major themes. The seven subthemes represent transformative journey of participants and include recognizing millennial learners' dilemma, identifying learning gaps and overcoming barriers, discovering a newer version of self, alternative frame of thinking, transforming traditional classroom, conducive learning environment and Community of Practice. Three major themes identified were Awareness, Modeling and Socialization which represent three processes bringing transformation in participants. Our faculty development program has transformed certain aspects of professional identities of medical teachers by incorporating informal teaching strategies of experiential learning, professional socialization, reflections, and role modeling. Participants' beliefs and practices on teaching were challenged by giving a disorienting dilemma of millennial learners and learning theories. They underwent critical discourse with professional peers and mentors in community of practice, reflected on their traditional teaching practices, acquired new insight, underwent self-discovery, and introduced digitalization and interactive learning strategies within their classrooms.

How can a task-based project enhance students’ transferable skills? An investigation

ABSTRACT Background In a time of rapid technological change, there is a need to provide students with relevant learning opportunities to support the development of their transferable skills. Purpose Set in a higher education context in Taiwan, this study sought to investigate how students perceived their engagement with a task-based, multimedia project within an English as a foreign language (EFL) course. Method Participants were 73 third-year undergraduate university students who were engaged in an 18-week task-based video-making project as part of the EFL course. Data, which were analysed qualitatively, included students’ reflective essays and post-course transcribed interviews with 15 of the students. Findings Overall, the students felt that participating in the task-based project had enhanced their literacy competencies through the process of gathering relevant information; supported their learning motivation and engagement as they sought to discover the necessary resources to generate their videos; and fostered their awareness of how they could apply the knowledge and skills they developed in the course to new contexts. Conclusions Task-based, digital projects can provide one way of helping students to develop transferable skills. As technology continues to evolve, this study highlights the need to consider more fully, in the context of tertiary education, how best to support students to acquire and hone the competencies that they will require in employment.

Experiential training course on spirituality for multidisciplinary palliative care teams in a hospital setting: a feasibility study

BackgroundThere is widespread agreement about the importance of spiritual training programs (STPs) for healthcare professionals caring for cancer patients, and that reflecting on one’s spirituality is the first step. Health professionals (HPs) working in hospitals must develop this dimension to guarantee the quality of life as well as spiritual and emotional support. In this paper, we propose a possible training format for hospital professionals and assess its implementation.MethodsThis is a phase 0-I study that follows the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework. The program was implemented for hospital palliative care specialists. The program included one theory lesson, three spiritual interactions, four pieces of reflective writing, and two individual follow-up sessions for each participant. The evaluation was performed quantitatively according to the MRC framework and qualitatively according to Moore’s framework with data triangulation from interviews, reflective writings, and indicators.ResultsThe program was implemented for palliative care physicians, nurses, psychologists, and bioethicists according to the plan, and the program components were highly appreciated by the participants. The results suggest the feasibility of a training course with some corrections, regarding both the components of the training and organizational issues. The qualitative analysis confirmed a shift in the meaning of the themes we identified. The trainees went from intrapersonal spirituality to interpersonal spirituality (engagement with the other person’s spirituality, acknowledging their unique spiritual and cultural worldviews, beliefs, and practices), with colleagues, patients, and people close to them. The training had an impact on Moore’s Level 3b.ConclusionsSpiritual training for hospital professionals working in palliative care is feasible. Having time dedicated to spirituality and the ongoing mentorship of spiritual care professionals were suggested as key elements. The next step is increasing awareness of spirituality from our hospital reality and creating a stable competent group (with nurses, chaplains, nuns, counselors, etc.) with the support of the management.

The Perceptions and Experiences of In-Service Teachers in a Computer Science Professional Development Program

This research aimed to investigate the perceptions and experiences of in-service teachers participating in a professional development (PD) program focused on computer science (CS). The main research question explored the teachers’ perceptions of their experience in the CSPD program, while sub-research questions examined the challenges encountered and the program’s impact on their capacities to teach CS in elementary schools. The study adopted an interpretivist paradigm and employed a qualitative research approach to understand the subjective meanings and hidden factors underlying teachers’ experiences. Data collection involved observations, reflection essays, and a semi-structured focus group interview. The data analysis was guided by the community of practice elements. The findings revealed prerequisite challenges faced by the teachers, such as the need to develop self-directed learning and research skills. Additionally, the PD program was found to enhance teachers’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in teaching CS. It also fostered changes in their beliefs and self-efficacy. Challenges in the pre-implementation and implementation stages were also revealed, including conflicting perspectives, limited supervisor support, and passive learning and teaching. These findings provide valuable insights that can contribute to the design of effective PD initiatives in CS education and promote sustainable education practices.

Professionalism-training in undergraduate medical education in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic setting in the Gulf Region: an exploration of reflective essays

BackgroundDespite the established need to prioritize professionalism-training in developing future physicians, very few medical programs in the Gulf Region embed in their curricula discrete contextualized courses aimed at developing the corresponding competencies, while fostering self-directed learning. This study aims at exploring the perception of undergraduate medical students in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic setting regarding their understanding of, and personal experience with professionalism through their engagement with the content of an innovative curriculum-based professionalism course, offered at a Medical School in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.MethodsThe study used a qualitative phenomenological research design. Out of 33 students, 29 students had submitted reflective essays. The content of these essays was inductively analyzed following a six-step framework for conducting thematic analysis. The framework’s steps include familiarizing oneself with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report.FindingsThe inductive qualitative analysis generated the Professionalism Learning Journey model. This conceptual model includes four interconnected themes: Awareness, Acknowledgement, Realization, and Application. The generated model depicts the trajectory that the learners appear to experience while they are engaging with the content of the course.ConclusionIntegrating a professionalism-training course into an undergraduate medical curriculum is likely to be positively appraised by the learners. It raises their awareness, enables them to value the subject matter and the sophistication of its application, and empowers them to put into practice the taught principles, on an individual basis and collectively. This is especially true when the course is entrenched in constructivism experiential learning theory and designed to foster self-directed learning. The introduced conceptual model, in conjunction with the innovative professionalism-training course curriculum, can serve as a template for other competencies and other schools.

International Training and Development

It is widely accepted that effective management of human resources will bring about increased organizational and employee performance. Based on this, the area of international human resource management (IHRM) has gained increased interest, especially with the continued growth of multinational corporations and globalization. Many IHRM practices and theories have been developed since the emergence of international business. The boundaries of IHRM are established within the concepts of MNC management across diverse cultural work practices as well as comparative international HRM among organisations. In this paper, I will reflect on these concepts as applicable in the practices of international training and development and performance management and compensation. My reflective essay will explore these topics with a key interest in expatriates who are affected greatly

Student Performance in Machine Translation Training: Assessment and Exploration

The present research aims to conduct a process-oriented analysis to measure whether a group of graduate students enrolled in a translation course made steady progress in their performance of identifying machine translation (MT) errors and post-editing MT drafts of company web texts and news texts. A mixed methods approach consisting of quantitative and qualitative analyses was used. The findings show that there was a steady decline in the average number of MT errors that students could not spot or correctly identify in their three assignments. However, there was no significant improvement in student MTPE performance, with only a slight decrease in errors in the final MTPE assignment, which still remained worse than the first one. Finally, student responses in their reflection essays indicated that their reception of MT and MTPE had shifted from negative denial to positive acceptance. Overall, the findings of the present study reveal the need to extend the period of MTPE training for students. Incorporating MT training into the translation course has proven to be worthwhile for students, as it helps to dispel students’ previous misconception about MT and MTPE.

Introducing Peacebuilding Philosophy to Language Teacher Education

Rebecca L. Oxford’s contributions to academia extend well beyond language learning strategy research, for which she is well known, to embrace peace education in language classrooms. Inspired by her peace education philosophy, this study first describes the influence of Oxford’s scholarly research in peace approach. Then, it presents a case study of five preservice teachers, all native Turkish speakers, who were guided to adopt the peace approach philosophy to develop creative teaching materials to be implemented in the Practicum course. Throughout six hours of weekly lessons at a state middle school, the preservice teachers integrated peacebuilding activities into their English instruction. The analysis of the qualitative data from lesson plans, classroom observations, and reflective writings, revealed compelling findings. Preservice teachers who implemented peacebuilding activities showcased increased competence and awareness of peace education philosophy, and they reported feeling more confident and fulfilled in their teaching. Children exposed to peacebuilding activities experienced a shift in their emotional state. It was also found that peacebuilding activities fostered inner harmony, boosted self-confidence, and enhanced children’s English learning engagement. The study highlights the crucial role of integrating peace education into teacher education programs, particularly for language teachers. Equipping educators with the tools and philosophies of peacebuilding can empower them to become agents of positive change, cultivating global citizens who embrace harmony and understanding.

EFL students’ responses towards Rosen’s ‘Sad Book’: An attitudinal occurrence and aesthetic stance

The vocabulary choice and language used in expressing sadness vary in different cultures, even in the smallest scale of cultural group, i.e., family. There have not been many studies done to explore Indonesian EFL students’ word choices and expressions related to expressing sadness and empathy. The purpose of this study was to explore how the 11 EFL second-year university students in Basic Reading and Writing class expressed sadness as written in their personal reflective writings. The data was analyzed using mixed methods to obtain valid and reliable results. These second-year university students were assigned to read a picture book, ‘Sad Book’, or to watch and listen to the video version as a part of an activity in class. Their reflective writings were analyzed using content analysis to identify the corpus used by the students and using the appraisal framework to capture the variety of their attitudinal linguistic occurrence in expressing sadness and empathy. The findings illustrate that the highest attitudinal marker in expressing sadness is ‘affect’, followed by ‘judgment’ and ‘appreciation’. The use of the picture book, ‘Sad Book’, assists the EFL students to be more engaged in their reflective writing and thus the highest marker of ‘affect’ exists due to their ability to project their aesthetic stance. Implications for English language learning for adult learners are addressed at the end of this article.

Louisiana State University of Alexandria Teacher’s Preparation Program: Using Reflective Writing as a Way of Preparing Teacher Candidates

Louisiana State University of Alexandria Teacher’s Preparation Program: Using Reflective Writing as a Way of Preparing Teacher Candidates

Does training in post-editing affect creativity?

This article presents the results of an experiment with eleven students from two universities that translated and post-edited three literary texts distributed on the first and last days of their translation technology modules. The source texts were marked with units of creative potential to assess creativity in the target texts (before and after training). The texts were subsequently reviewed by an independent professional literary translator and translation trainer. The results show that there is no quantitative evidence to conclude that the training significantly affects students’ creativity. However, after the training, a change is observed both in the quantitative data and in the reflective essays, i.e. the students are more willing to try creative shifts and they feel more confident to tackle machine translation (MT) issues, while also showing a higher number of errors. Further, we observe that students have a higher degree of creativity in human translation (HT), but significantly fewer errors in post-editing (PE) overall, especially at the start of the training, than in HT.

RESCUER: Combining Passive and Active Learning Techniques to Teach Food Sustainability

This paper discusses the creation and implementation of an experiential learning assignment focused on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, which aims to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Using a grounded theory approach that combines analyzing 90 senior-level marketing students’ reflective essays alongside 63 pre- and post-assignment survey responses, we develop the “RESCUER” framework which combines active and passive learning elements. We demonstrate how active learning layered on top of passive methods can be an effective means to generate more responsible consumer behaviors within a complex food supply system. Students begin with passive learning components in the form of readings and lectures (labeled Resources), before Engaging with mindfulness in an active learning activity that involves the selection, purchase, and preparation of perishable food for a salad. The framework also includes the important effects of Social influence and its role in how Cognizance and Underlying problem salience are generated. Finally included are factors that Expedite the process of generating cognizance and problem salience such as the ready availability of relevant facilities (e.g., the existence of a garbage sorting system), which can enable more Responsible consumer behaviors.

Responding To Drama: The Efl Students’ Reader-Response Literary Analysis

This article presents the EFL students' reader-response literary analysis of an English drama. The study aims to investigate the EFL students' engagement in reading drama as one of the literary genres and the way they make a Reader-Response literary analysis of the drama. The writer carried out the present research by analyzing the students' reflective essays in which they respond to an English drama entitled "The Other Player" written by Owen G. Arno. The study consists of 9 student participants enrolling in the Introduction to Literature subject at an English Education Program of one private university in West Java. Introduction to Literature subject was taught to English as a Foreign Language students in the university and is a subject that introduced the students to literature and literary works and led the students to evaluate, describe, and analyze literary works. In responding the given drama, the students were asked several questions. Then, the students answered the questions based on their interpretation and understanding. The study revealed several findings. The findings of the first part revealed that the students showed active engagement in the reading of drama because they were able to tell their enjoyment of the story, make a relation between the story and the other's life experiences, and make judgments and arguments about the things happened in the story. The finding of the second part revealed that the student participants were able to actualize themselves upon the drama they were reading and put it into the reflective essays or reflections.

The affordances of a mobile video-tagging tool for evaluating presentation skills in a second language

ABSTRACT This study investigated the affordances of a mobile video observation and tagging tool used to evaluate presentation skills in English language classrooms. The data consists of 35 video-recorded presentations in a higher education setting. Using a digital evaluation grid, the students received feedback based on visual analytics generated by the mobile app. The students then were asked to reflect on their performances, and were also asked to comment on the affordances and limitations of the method and the tool. Qualitative data that came from (1) students’ written self-evaluations and reflections and (2) their reported perceptions of the affordances of the tool were analyzed using the Constant Comparison Method. Analyses of reflective writings indicated the dominance of negative self-evaluations of language use, while affective factors were also a strong theme. The video-tagging tool was found to be very beneficial by the learners, mainly in enabling them to notice their strengths and weaknesses in presenting in English and facilitating effective feedback. The results show that this data-led reflective presentation model can be beneficial for learners as they can identify points of development.