1. ASSESSING REFLECTIVE WRITING CAN WE? / SHOULD WE?

2. THE CONTEXT OF WRITING WE WRITE IN A CONTEXT – LETTERS, E MAILS, PERSONAL DIARIES, FORMAL ESSAYS, EXAMINATIONS - DIFFERENCES IN STYLE

3. THE PURPOSE OF WRITING WE WRITE FOR A PURPOSE – TO COMMUNICATE, TO RECORD INFORMATION, FOR A GRADE, TO CONFORM TO AN ACCEPTED SITUATION.

4. WRITING TO LEARN REFLECTIVE WRITING – THE CONTEXT AND PURPOSE HAS ALTERED ACADEMIC BOUNDARIES HAVE BEEN ALTERED IS THIS AN UNFAMILIAR SITUATION? DOES THIS SITUATION INHIBIT LEARNING?

5. NEGATIVES 4 POINTS TO MAKE: THE INSTITUTIONAL CONDITIONING OF WRITING TO ACHIEVE HIGH GRADES (1) AND A RELUCTANCE TO ‘SHARE’ PERSONAL INFORMATION (2) WITH A PERSON OF PERCEIVED POWER (3) WHO MAY READ THE JOURNAL, RESULTS IN THE STUDENT UNDERMINING THE PURPOSE AND CONTEXT OF USING A REFLECTIVE JOURNAL AS A LEARNING TOOL. LILLIS (2001) IDENTIFIES HOW SOME FORMS OF WRITING CAN ACTUALLY ‘EXCLUDE’ STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE ONLY FAMILIAR WITH ESSAY OR NARRATIVE WRITING AND SUCH A SHIFT OF EXPECTATION FOR THE STUDENT RESULTS IN A NEGATIVE RESPONSE UNLESS THIS FORM OF WRITING IS EMBEDDED INTO PRACTICE (4)

6. POSITIVES 7 POINTS TO MAKE: A WRITTEN JOURNAL GIVES THE STUDENT A ‘VOICE’ (1), WHICH HELPS THE INDIVIDUAL TO LOCATE THEMSELVES IN THE WIDER CONTEXT OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM (2) AND INDEED LIFE, THUS HELPING THEM TO CREATE A PERSONAL IDENTITY (3) (BURKE, 2008). STUDENTS OFTEN COPE WITH OR UNDERSTAND THE POWER RELATIONSHIPS (4) AND EMOTIONAL SITUATIONS (5) THAT OCCUR IN EDUCATION AND BY HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE DOWN THEIR EXPERIENCES AND FEELINGS AS A WAY OF INQUIRING INTO THEIR OWN PRACTICE THEY START TO UNDERSTAND THEIR POSITION WITHIN (6), AND THE CONSTRAINTS OF, THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT (7).

7. CONSIDERATIONS 3 POINTS TURNING A NEGATIVE RESPONSE TO A POSITIVE EFFECT OR PROVIDING A PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN THE EXPERIENCE AND THE WRITING, WHERE A STUDENT TEACHER COMES TO TERMS WITH THE FEAR OF A FORTHCOMING EVENT (AHMED, 2004). (1) AN INDIVIDUAL’S ADJUSTMENT TO THE RANGE OF EMOTIONAL CONTEXTS HELPS THE INDIVIDUAL TO CONSTRUCT AN IDENTITY (BURKE AND JACKSON, 2007) AND CONTROL THEIR OWN LEARNING (2) HOWEVER THE BEHAVIOUR EXPERIENCED FROM EMOTIONAL FEELINGS SUCH AS FEAR AND ANXIETY OF SHARING AN EXPERIENCE MAY ACTUALLY RESTRICT REFLECTION. (3)

8. MOVING FORWARD A FORM OF WRITING THAT IS CONSTRUCTED AS A ‘VOICE’ FOR THE STUDENT TO INCLUDE ALL THOUGHTS AND THE UNDERLYING REASONS FOR ANY ACTIONS TAKEN. BURKE AND JACKSON (2007) LOOK AT ‘OTHER’ WAYS OF WRITING, THE ADVANTAGES OF USING DIFFERENT FORMS OF WRITING AND HOW WRITING COULD BE USED TO ENHANCE CONNECTION AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE LEARNING PROCESS (LILLIS, 2001). THIS SHIFT IN STUDENT EXPECTATION RESULTS IN THE STUDENT VALUING THE REFLECTIVE JOURNAL AS A WRITTEN PIECE OF WORK WITHOUT ANY FORM OF EXTERNAL APPROVAL OR ASSESSMENT.

9. THEREFORE RICHARDSON (2000), LILLIS (2001) AND BURKE (2008) AND I SUGGEST THAT IF WRITING IS TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR LEARNING, THE STUDENTS NEED TO ACCEPT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS FORM OF WRITTEN WORK WITHIN THE ACADEMIC SETTING.

10. REFERENCES AHMED, S. (2004). THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EMOTION. EDINBURGH: EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS LTD. BURKE, P. (2008). ‘WRITING POWER AND VOICE: ACCESS TO AND PARTICIPATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION’. CHANGING ENGLISH 15 (2), 199–210. BURKE, P. AND JACKSON, S. (2007). RECONCEPTUALISING LIFELONG LEARNING – FEMINIST INTERVENTIONS. LONDON AND NEW YORK: ROUTLEDGE LILLIS, T. (2001). STUDENT WRITING: ACCESS, REGULATIONS, DESIRE. LONDON: ROUTLEDGE. RICHARDSON, L. (2000). ‘WRITING: A METHOD OF INQUIRY’. IN DENZIN, N.K. AND LINCOLN, Y.S. (EDS.), HANDBOOK OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH. LONDON: SAGE.