reflective essay on higher education

Learning as Interpretation, as [Re]Writing: A Philosophy of Teaching and the Function of the Writerly

This reflective essay makes the case for a “writerly” framework for teaching and learning in higher education that offers new ways to conceptualize student engagement and interaction. Writerly teaching and learning, based on the work of literary theorist Roland Barthes, aims to make students more than just consumers, positioning them instead as producers of their learning and the curriculum. The writerly leads us to think about active learning and student engagement not as vague abstractions, but rather as something that happens purposefully in the moment, in the “just after” when a student experiences new ideas about the content, where students are prompted to creatively produce new meanings and understandings.

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• Teaching and Learning
• Reflective Writing

Reflective Writing in the Higher Education Context

Reflective writing is a process of examining an experience, exploring how it affected you and what you learned from it.  Thus, reflective writing is not only an activity of focus on the past but also in shaping future actions. It can deepen your reflection by writing down your thoughts and feelings. More importantly, “writing reflectively involves critically analysing an experience, recording how it has impacted you and what you plan to do with your new knowledge”. (Cambridge University Libraries, 2024).

Your writing approach is different to other forms of writing in that it is situated as part of reflective practice.  Therefore, instead of simply describing what happened, reflective writing requires you to analyse the reasons and implications of an experience. By doing so you continually question the meaning and significance of your experience.  Think about it, when we write, it forces us to think. More importantly, you can reflect more deeply by writing about your experience and how it made you think and feel.

Generally, reflective writing is characterized by self-awareness(reflection), provision of evidence and coherent narrative written in a style that values your own voice and agency.   You are encouraged to own the text, the experience and the demonstration of evidence and for this reason, this will be an opportunity to write in first person, “I” for example. I know you may have been taught against this style of writing but for sharing your reflective account, this is generally accepted and encouraged.  Reflective writing in academia goes a step further by using theories and other sources to support an argument or viewpoint. More importantly, the writer also relates their learning objectives or aims to their own story of how they learned from the experience and how it changed their thinking or outlook. This is a metacognitive and evaluative element of the reflective turn that brings relevance to the academic reflective writing. The key to reflective writing is to be analytical rather than descriptive. Always ask why rather than just describing what happened during an experience.  

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We have designed a tutorial to help you develop critical thinking and self-awareness through reflective writing techniques. Whether you’re new to reflective writing or looking to enhance your skills, we believe this tutorial will offer valuable insights and tools. Take a moment to explore the tutorial content by clicking below. 

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

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Reinforcing Reflective Practice through Reflective Writing in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Reflective practice provides positive reinforcements for students in higher education to develop reflective writing skills, allowing them to enhance academic performance, self-reflection, decision-making and problem-solving strategies. This systematic review aims to describe essential aspects of reinforcing reflective practice through reflective writing and the contributions of reflective practice to the praxis of the students’ reflective writing skills in higher education. Using 20 of 745 peer-reviewed articles published from 2018 to 2024 in Scopus and Web of Science-indexed journals, this research applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to underpin the data search and identification criteria, data selection and data analysis procedures. The findings show that reflective practice embedded in reflective writing can enhance students' academic performance, particularly reflective writing skills, self-reflection and appreciation of diverse cultures, shared beliefs and values and other practices across disciplines. Such vital aspects contribute to the praxis of effortful reflective writing skills developed to implement the processes of writing essays reflectively while concentrating on collaboration, critical thinking skills, deep learning and feedback. This reflective practice assists students in reinforcing their enthusiasm to keep writing reflective essays regardless of challenges and hindrances they encounter. The more time they spend on reflective writing skills, the more they will likely appreciate reflective practice that cultivates the powerful values behind writing activities.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.23.5.24

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