Student Reflective Journals Research Articles

Sustaining critical minds: How classroom learning cultures shape student thinking dispositions and practices

Critical thinking is routinely identified as a goal for student learning in higher education. Critical thinking, however, is difficult to define or teach, often left as an educational aspiration that is challenging to operationalize and assess. Therefore, many interventions targeting critical thinking are isolated and tend to focus on the development of cognitive skills, providing less attention to students’ dispositions toward applying these skills to different situations. In this study of a redesigned course at a research-intensive university, we query what a dispositional view of thinking can reveal about students’ understanding and experience in an active learning environment. Drawing on student reflection journals and semi-structured interviews with 13 students from two cohorts of the course, we trace how students decide when and how critical thinking is necessary and suitable, as well as when it is perceived to be too demanding or out of place in the classroom. The course included newly introduced, ill-structured problems aimed at competency development. We note that although students employed many critical thinking skills to complete these tasks, the uncertainty related to applying critical thinking to ill-structured problems often conflicted with students’ expectations of classroom instruction. When adapting to unfamiliar instructional practices, students were largely successful in using different approaches to solve problems. However, students’ sensitivity to error and tendency toward familiar ways of being students were barriers to the solidification of critical thinking habits. We argue that to foster long-lasting critical thinking skills and dispositions, education interventions need to shift from the course to the program level and move toward the development of broader cultures of thinking.

Hungarian EFL Students' Perspectives on Global Competence Development in a Thematic Language Course

In today’s increasingly complex world, education must equip students to become engaged, globally competent citizens, who can solve both local and global issues and are ready to face the challenges of the 21st century. The goal of global competence is to address these demands by strengthening the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes: a globally competent student can examine issues of global significance, understand other people’s perspectives, engage in appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds, and act for collective well-being and sustainable development. In this framework, this case study aims to explore how a thematic language development seminar focussing on global content can contribute to developing second-year EFL students’ global competence and its perceived effectiveness. One group of students (N=18) from a prestigious Hungarian university was involved in the study, instructed by the first author. Data was collected over the course of the Spring 2023 semester from multiple data sources: student reflections after each thematic lesson, a beginning-of-the-term feedback sheet, an end-of-the-term feedback sheet, weekly student reflections, observation notes (by the second author) and reflective journals (by the first author). The findings emerging from this qualitative inquiry suggest that the students were satisfied with the course overall and could effectively gauge which global and language skills they developed during the course. These findings imply that designing courses with dual aims is both feasible and worthwhile, and with the help of regular reflection exercises, the students can be made aware of the development of their skills, leading to increased global awareness and satisfaction with the course.

Exploring the use of ChatGPT to foster EFL learners’ critical thinking skills from a post-humanist perspective

The use of ChatGPT for educational purposes is in its infancy, and its practical classroom application remains underexplored. While some studies have investigated the impact of ChatGPT on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ critical thinking skills, they have not focused on structured pedagogical designs, leading to limited pedagogical insights. This study aims to fill this gap by examining specific pedagogical designs that leverage ChatGPT to cultivate critical thinking skills among 58 university EFL learners in Macau. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests of critical thinking skills and student reflection journals. Drawing on a post-humanist perspective, this study uncovered innovative results. While the statistical analysis of critical thinking tests suggested that the student participants did not experience significant changes in their critical thinking skills after attending the programme, findings from their reflection journals indicated that the utilisation of ChatGPT assisted students in becoming spatially advised critical thinkers. They perceived ChatGPT as a valuable tool for enhancing cognition and stressed the significance of maintaining a balance between technology and human thought processes to develop critical thinking skills. The findings offered a useful guide on how to use ChatGPT to enhance critical thinking skills and illuminated the influence of ChatGPT on the advancement of students’ critical thinking skills. Implications for both research and practice were discussed.

Development of Literacy Engagement in Chinese Students with Varying Language Proficiencies

The objective of this study is to develop literacy engagement in Chinese students with varying language proficiencies through teacher-written corrective feedback. Drawing on Bandura’s social cognitive theory and Boekaerts and Corno’s self-regulation theory, the research aims to understand how corrective feedback influences literacy engagement and language proficiency. The study employs a qualitative analysis of student responses and reflective journals with quantitative measures of language proficiency and engagement metrics. The research site includes Chinese university classrooms with both low-proficiency (LP) and high-proficiency (HP) students. Key informants are LP and HP students who receive teacher-written corrective feedback. Data analysis involves thematic coding of student responses and statistical analysis of language proficiency scores and engagement levels. Results show that LP students initially display passive engagement but improve with targeted feedback, while HP students demonstrate active engagement and advanced literacy skills. The study suggests tailored pedagogical strategies for LP students and challenges for HP students to enhance literacy engagement and language proficiency.

Efektivitas Instrumen Asesmen Afektif dalam Meningkatkan Kualitas Pembelajaran Bahasa Indonesia

This research describes the development and implementation of affective assessment instruments in the context of Indonesian language learning in five junior high schools in Padang. The research used a four-cycle Classroom Action Research (PTK) design with the participation of five teachers and twenty-five eighth grade students. Research instruments include questionnaires, structured interviews, class observations, and student reflective journals to collect data about students' attitudes, interests, motivation and values ​​towards Indonesian language lessons. Data analysis uses qualitative and quantitative approaches, including descriptive, inferential and thematic statistical analysis. The research results show that affective assessment instruments are effective in increasing student understanding and learning motivation, as well as supporting the development of adaptive and responsive teaching strategies. The practical implication is the importance of integrating affective assessment in education to improve the quality and readiness of students to face the challenges of future learning.

Boosting Critical Thinking Skills: Applying the Dilemma Stories Approach with the 5E Learning Cycle in Buffer Subject Education

This study explores the impact of the Dilemmas approach, rooted in transformative learning, on enhancing critical thinking skills in buffer chemistry subjects among high school students. Employing a mixed-methods design and purposive sampling, the research involved 34 eleventh-grade students from SMAN 1 Surakarta. The implementation of dilemma stories integrated with a 5E learning cycle was scrutinized using various data collection methods, including observations, student reflective journals, pretest-posttest assessments, the Constructivist Chemistry Values Learning Environment Survey (CCVLES), and interviews. Observations assessed the application of the dilemma stories and the 5E learning cycle. Pretest-posttest evaluations measured changes in students' critical thinking abilities, while reflective journals and CCVLES questionnaires captured students' perceptions of their critical thinking skills and their learning experiences. Interviews were conducted to validate the findings from the tests, journals, and questionnaires. Data analysis involved reduction, display, and conclusion-drawing techniques. The findings suggest that the Dilemmas approach significantly fosters students' ability to think critically and apply chemical concepts practically. This was evidenced by students' analyses of dilemma stories and responses in interviews, CCVLES questionnaires, and reflective journals, indicating a deeper engagement with and understanding of the subject matter through this innovative learning strategy.

Storytelling in EFL primary education: Defining a sociocritical and participatory model with pre-service teachers

This study explores the challenges faced by 25 future primary school teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) when designing a storytelling session aimed at promoting young learners’ linguistic competence—the norm in the practice of EFL storytelling—, while simultaneously activating their higher order thinking skills and raising their awareness of social justice issues. Data collection instruments included student reflective journals and recordings of the instructional sessions. The main difficulties the trainees encountered on developing this multi-faceted approach with the well-known fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood included designing tasks to successfully enhance the children's participation, encourage their critical thinking, and specifically target content related to social justice. The challenges reported in this study led to the definition of a comprehensible set of guidelines which teachers interested in conducting EFL storytelling from this expanded perspective might usefully employ with younger learners.

Enhancing College Students’ Intercultural Competence through International Electronic-Service-Learning

International Electronic-Service-Learning (eSL) is regarded as a pedagogical innovation, yet very few research studies focus on it. During COVID-19, seventeen Taiwanese student volunteers joined an international e-service-learning program, taking turns teaching English online for one semester to one year to primary school students in a remote village in Cambodia. This study employed a qualitative case study research design. It analyzed how an eSL program impacted Taiwanese students regarding intercultural communicative competence development. Research data included in-depth interviews, student reflection journals, bi-weekly meeting minutes, voice recordings of final presentations, and teacher’s field journals. Byram’s intercultural communicative competence framework was adopted to code the data and establish learning outcomes. Results found that the college student-volunteers enhanced their intercultural competence; this ranged from understanding real-life situations in Cambodia to empathizing with others, making cultural comparisons, and developing better interaction and communication. Most importantly, it showed that it had the potential to transform the student volunteers into intercultural citizens who began to question the taken-for-granted convention in their own life experiences critically. They became more willing to take responsibility for their own lives and those of the global community.

'The dental nurse played a vital role in helping to manage the patient': a thematic analysis of undergraduate dental students' reflective journals from outreach placements.

Introduction Community-based dental education, or 'outreach', forms a key part of dental courses in some high-income countries. Its educational benefits are well-established and once graduated, participants feel better prepared for their early career. Yet, it is less clear what students actually learn while on placements.Materials and method Qualitative document and thematic analysis of a convenience sample of anonymised dental student reflective journals (n = 51).Results The reflective journals described varied and broadly positive learning experiences. Analysis identified a number of themes of learning. Most related to the process and outcomes of care, but two key themes - dental anxiety and teamworking - were interrelated with both. Within teamworking, dental nurses appeared important in students' learning. Three process interrelated themes of learning were identified in the data. These were: tailoring your approach; communication and time; and evidence-based dentistry and minimising risk. Two broad interrelated themes relating to outcomes for patients and students were also identified: trust and confidence; and professionalism and personal development.Conclusion This research identified important and potentially transformative learning from outreach placements. This included how dental anxiety impacts patients and the dental team, the importance of teamworking, and the role of dental nurses in students' experiential learning.

Evaluation of affective learning in a gamified pharmacy simulation

Introduction: Pharmacy students must achieve learning in the affective domain to attain the professional values that underpin patient-centred practice and self-directed, lifelong learning. An array of learning and teaching activities, including gaming and simulation, are used to achieve affective learning. The aim of this research was to evaluate affective learning in participants of an extended, immersive, gamified pharmacy simulation. Methods: Student teams managed simulated pharmacies, assuming the role of autonomous pharmacists to complete regular, scaffolded, pharmacy-related tasks and safely provide medicines and counselling. The 3-week gamified simulation was designed to develop teamwork and collaborative skills, while enhancing students’ professional identity, confidence and competencies. Affective learning was assessed via analysis of student reflective journals. Final-year pharmacy students completed debriefing and reflection at specific timepoints during participation in the 3-week gamified simulation. The validated Griffith University Affective Learning Scale (GUALS) was used by trained external assessors to evaluate the highest levels of affective learning detected in student reflective journals. Quantitative analysis of GUALS scores was conducted using SPSS 25. Means were computed per student for each week, regardless of journalling frequency, and changes over time compared. Results: From 2016 to 2018, 123 students participated in the simulation, generating 734 reflective journal entries for analysis. Overall, affective learning was evident, and its level increased over the course of the simulation. This was primarily associated with the improvements of female students. Conclusion: An extended, immersive, gamified pharmacy simulation induced and enhanced affective learning in final-year pharmacy students.

Ready Coder One: Collaborative Game Design-Based Learning on Gifted Fourth Graders’ 21st Century Skills

The purpose of this research was to describe the impact of digital game building on fourth grade gifted and talented students’ problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration skills. Increasingly, there has been a call to involve students in real-world experiences through projects that explore authentic issues using technology. Game design-based learning with its unique set of affordances may offer a path to integrating technology, computer science education, creativity, and problem-solving. Increasingly, the ability to create rather than just consume technology has gained attention linking creativity and collaboration to using coding language. In this study, data collection included student reflection journals, classroom observations, classroom video recordings, a focus group interview, and students’ games. Participants came from two GT classes ( n = 45). Qualitative analysis identified five themes: overcoming challenges of group work, developing a culture of collaboration, creating narrative, and connecting science, problem-solving in Scratch’s coding environment, and reflecting on learning. Findings indicated involving gifted students in game design-based learning in science had a positive impact on student perceptions of problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration.

Construing virtual intercultural experiences: A transitivity analysis of pronominal use in students’ reflective journals

In this paper, we explore how intercultural virtual experiences can be construed at the level of students’ language use. We aim to explain how participants in a virtual intercultural project belonging to diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Canada, Italy and Hong Kong S.A.R.) linguistically enact their personal intercultural experiences when they reflect on them in writing using English as a lingua franca. Drawing on the Transitivity framework in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), we investigate the experiential meanings of pronouns in a corpus of 60 student Reflective Journals and we explain how beliefs, identities, values, curiosity, expectations, similarities and differences of the writers, their partners and their collective self are construed at the level of lexico-grammar.

Teacher-Student Interaction for English-Medium Instruction (EMI) Content and Language Learning and the Effects of Implementing Multimodal Input of Classroom Interaction: University Students’ Perceptions

The discourse of interaction, Initiation-Response-Feedback (I-R-F) gained its popularity by fostering discussion between the teacher and learners but received critics for developing interactive communication in a controlled manner. With an attempt to provide pragmatic implications for EMI instructors, the study probed into perceptions of students (n=42) from different majors on how two pedagogical approaches (i.e., the I-R-F and the multimodal input of classroom interaction) differed in one EMI Cross-cultural Communication course in one middle-ranked university in Taiwan. The comparative, quasi-experiment research firstly investigated these students’ perceptions of teacher-student interaction for EMI content and language learning and secondly compared their perceptions on the implementation of the multimodal input of classroom interaction against the conventional baseline, the I-R-F. Both quantitative (i.e., survey) and qualitative (i.e., post-lesson student reflection journals and audio recordings) research methods were used. The survey results showed that these students were inclined to engage in extensive and substantial verbal output, expressed the importance of teacher-student interaction for learning the content of the course, and expected chances of lengthy verbal output and corrective feedback from the instructor. The results from students’ journals yielded that the instructor’s use of the multimodal input of classroom interaction significantly outperformed the use of the I-R-F in the categories of effectiveness, the level of student engagement, and the effectiveness of helping them learn the content. Ultimately, it was found that the use of the multimodal input of classroom interaction had triggered their higher-order of cognitive processing more (i.e., analyzing, evaluating, and creating).

Collaborative project-based learning to train students for conducting the training project for older adults

This research aimed to study the results of collaborative project-based learning by students studying the training technique course to conduct training programs for older adults in state home care in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The population consisted of 40 undergraduate students from different faculties and years. The instruments used for data collection consisted of the lesson plan of the training technique course, student behavior form, journal form after teaching, student products, student reflection journals, the questionnaire to gauge the level of satisfaction of students, writing and presenting reflections on students’ learning, and training evaluation based on the level of satisfaction of the older adults. The research separated students into two groups based on different faculties, each group was composed of 20 students, and they could learn better in a small group. Data were analyzed by using content analysis, statistical calculation, and percentage, and were presented in the form of a description and table. The findings showed the results of the collaborative project-based learning to train students for conducting training projects for older adults successful. The students had a change in their attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, skills, and experience in conducting training, their satisfaction showed at the highest level (97.50%). Students were satisfied with the project-based learning at the highest level (90%), and especially the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience from conducting training programs at the highest level (95%). The older adults’ satisfaction from participating in two training programs conducted by the students was at the highest level (100%) too.

The process of developing a hybrid interprofessional education initiative for graduate students

ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study using document analysis was to explain the process of developing an interprofessional education initiative at a public university in the northeastern US. The aim of the initiative was to provide interprofessional education to graduate students. Documents, including a descriptive timeline of the initiative; student discussion posts, reflective journals, and announcements; emails; and a syllabus, were analyzed to determine successes and challenges encountered throughout the initiative. Process theory, as used in project management research, was employed as the conceptual framework of the study. The analysis revealed nine themes for successes and seven themes for challenges. Implications for the future design and implementation of interprofessional education opportunities across masters and doctoral programs relevant to these themes are discussed. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are also provided.

Streaming in Esports: Lessons Learned From Student Reflection Journals

Feedback and lessons learned from personal reflection journals submitted by students in an Introduction to Esport course. Students were responsible for marketing, creating content, problem solving (troubleshooting), and streaming a minimum of 30 minutes for an esport game title of their choice. Students were then asked to submit a link and reflection journal of their experiences. This exercise was completed by students four times over the course of a semester.

Learning of empathy among first-year medical students

Empathy is one of the core competencies that doctors must possess. Teaching empathy is carried out since students are in undergraduate medical education. One of the learning activities that can be used to improve empathy skills is reflection. Many studies have reported on the empathic abilities of medical students. In addition, there have also been many scientific articles discussing the factors that affect the ability of empathy. However, how medical students learn empathy is still unclear, especially for first-year students who have just been exposed to medical science after graduating from high school. This study aimed to understand how first-year medical students learn empathy. A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was carried out. We selected randomly, a total of 30 medical student reflection journals were analyzed using content analysis techniques. There are three themes, namely stimulus, process, and effect. Medical students learn empathy driven by internal and external stimuli so that a thinking process occurs through several learning activities. The existence of this stimulus and process influences both the self and the patient/client. The whole process of empathy learning can show how early-year students learn and the factors that influence student empathy learning. This study supports other research that discusses the learning process and factors that affect medical students' empathy. This result can encourage curriculum planners to design appropriate empathy learning for students.

Clinical judgment and decision-making of the Undergraduate Nursing students.

Clinical judgment and decision-making are essential competencies in nursing, emerging as expanding learning areas of nursing education. Aiming to characterize the types of clinical judgment and decision-making adopted by nursing students in clinical education, we designed a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study, with data collection obtained through documental analysis of nursing student's reflective journals, in clinical education settings. Data analysis was performed according to Bardin using the webQDA software. Thirty-four students participated in the study, while attending the Clinical Learning Curricular Unit: Caring for Clients with Increased Vulnerability and Families in Transition, producing a total of 40 reflective journals. Of the 248 identified registration units, we highlight the evaluation decision-making with 45 registration units and the intervention decision-making, with 55 registration units. It is concluded that student´s reflections in the context of clinical teaching, are mainly about the assessment of the care situation and the decision-making related to the action. This study is intended to guide the learning of these competencies in nursing education.

Influence of Self-Assessment on the English Language Learning Process

Assessment is considered to be a reliable and valid means through which the effects of both teaching and learning can be measured. The lack of research studies in relation to self-assessment in the English Language Teacher Education Program (henceforth ELT Education Program) targeted in this study evidence that no policy determines how learners can self-assess their learning process. For that reason, we conducted this qualitative-descriptive case study that relies on principles of postmodern perspectives and constructivist theories that advocate the construction of learners' knowledge. The main objective was to determine how self-assessment influences the language learning process of a group of students from the ELT Education Program. To respond to this inquiry, we collected data through student reflective journals, focus group discussion commentaries, and an interview to analyze participants' reflections upon their English learning process. The results showed a positive response from students towards reflection. According to their comments, self-assessment evaluates more profound aspects of the self, such as autonomy, self-recognition, critical thinking, persistence, and self-efficacy. They also highlighted the role of reflective journals and focus group discussions as facilitators to self-evaluate deeply and promote collective reflection.

Experiential Service Learning: Promoting Competency-based Education for Gerontology Students

Service-learning is an effective pedagogical approach meant to deepen learners understanding of course content by linking scholarship and social action when structurally organized based on attainment of professional core competencies. The recent COVID-19 pandemic caused a rethinking of the way service learning practicum is delivered, especially as it relates to training health professionals who engage collaboratively with older persons (individuals aged 65 years and older). This poster examines the challenges faced by gerontology students as they transitioned to fully virtual learning and practicum format, the lessons learned, and how to close the gap between theory and practice for better programmatic processes. The data used to gather students experiences include; student reflective journals, class discussions and survey questions to students (n=44). The analytic framework utilized is the Social Cognitive Theory, (SCT)- which explains how individuals can master concepts through verbal and physical persuasion, including peer modelling. The goal is to promote leaners self- regulatory skills to achieve the course learning objectives, as obtained from the SCT six strategies for setting achievable goals, through: Feedback, self-instruction, self-monitoring, use of support and goal setting. Some of the lessons learned suggest students benefit more from service learning when they receive continuous feedback about how to develop intergenerational relationships with older adult partners assigned to in the community (68%), than from goal setting strategies (24%). The implication for practice is: there is a need to develop structured service-learning guidelines for undergraduate students in gerontology program to be prepared to better serve older adults.