The Technique
Early in my teaching career, I had long discussions with students who felt frustrated with the expressive limitations of formal academic writing. Though they recognized the importance of developing formal writing skills, they lamented the fact that there was no room in their assignments to engage with the course material in personal ways and to express how they felt about what they were studying and/or how it intersected with their lived experiences or with material they were covering in other classes.
The challenge, of course, was how to provide a meaningful space for personal reflection while also fulfilling my obligations as a teacher of formal, critical-analytical writing skills.
Working in consultation with my students, I began by inviting them to write a reflective conclusion to their papers rather than a formal conclusion. This was soon expanded by the students themselves to include things like reflective footnotes, creative responses, and running commentaries. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and I have since integrated a reflective component into all the writing assignments for each of my courses, regardless of the year level or the length of the assignment.
Though I expect formal academic writing for the rest of the assignment, the reflective component of the paper has no expressive boundaries. Colloquial language and slang are allowed, and some students have chosen to express themselves in artistic ways, such as through drawings, poetry, music, and film. The sky really is the limit, I tell them. What is it that you want to say about what we are studying? For example, does it resonate with you? Does it open up new perspectives on the past – or the present? Does it challenge what you know – or thought you knew? Does it puzzle you? Inspire you? Infuriate you? Is it relevant in some way to your lived experiences or to other courses you are taking or other things you have learned in the past?
A word of caution about implementation: This pedagogical technique requires a teacher to think outside the box and to move beyond conventional assignments that privilege formal academic writing at the exclusion of all other forms of expression. There is also an element of risk involved as we have less control over what students might express in their reflective sections.
A suggested aid: Provide clear instructions up front to students and include examples of previous reflections (with student permission) that help students appreciate the “‘openness” of this activity.
How I Use It
Early in the course, I outline the requirements for the assignments and discuss the freedom they will have in the reflective component of their written work. I ensure students that I really do want to know what they are thinking and how they feel about the material we are covering. I remind students that we still need to “do the work” required of academic writing but, in the reflective component, they are free to adopt a style that is most authentic to them.
To support this and to model the kind of reflective thinking I am encouraging, I make time for informal discussions during lectures for learners to comment on how a particular topic overlaps with their own lived experiences and/or how it intersects with current events or with what they may have been taught in the past and so on. This is a key step for learners to communicate their views in ways that align with who they are and how they see the world. The modeling that occurs in these classroom experiences demonstrates that I really am interested in what they have to say, and it has definitely contributed to the richness of the reflective writing I’ve received to date.
Key elements of my implementation:
- Each course requires at least two or three written assignments, and each of these assignments must provide space for free-form reflection.
- The reflective component is not marked, per se. My only stipulation is that students include a reflective section. I make it clear, however, that students who do not wish to engage in personal reflection are welcome to write a formal conclusion or formal commentary instead
Feedback from Learners
Because students have permission to communicate in any form they choose, the inclusion of the reflective component into formal writing assignments has had some wonderfully unexpected results. I was particularly inspired early on when one student embraced this opportunity by pioneering the reflective footnote and when another asked if she could divide her pages into two columns in order to provide a running commentary on the formal analysis she was writing.
Yet another student in my History of Fascism course indicated that the topic we were covering gave him an idea for a dystopian novel he was writing, and so he asked if it would be possible to write part of a chapter from his book in place of the reflective conclusion. Though his formal academic writing was at a “C” level, his fictional prose was wonderful and engaging, and his dialogue was brilliant. What he offered in lieu of the reflective conclusion made it clear that he had a very sophisticated grasp of the material we were covering. I would not have known this if I had not provided him with this reflective space in the assignment.
Though I have no quantitative data to support this, the quality of the academic writing has improved since I began including a reflective component in the formal writing exercises I assign. Students are more engaged with the assignment and, for the most part, jump at the opportunity to share with me how they feel and what they really think.
A Short Task to Challenge You!
PART A – Consolidate knowledge on the topic [the use of live holiday tree]
[The following overview was sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree]
PART B – How do you feel about the use of real or cut trees?
Do you have any strong feelings one way or another about the use of real trees for seasonal celebrations? Have you ever had this discussion in your own family? Does the holiday tree question perhaps resonate with other debates surrounding this or other holidays, or any other issue? Please use the space below to reflect on whatever thoughts this issue might provoke.
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One Final Task
Is this something you can use in your classroom? How might you utilize it? If you share your results somewhere on social media, share a link to this lesson for context.