Toward Accuracy, Depth and Insight: How Reflective Writing - Reflective Writing-to-Learn Assignments Can Address Multiple Learning Objectives

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa

Writing-to-learn uses low-stakes, informal writing to help students reflect on course concepts and improve engagement with course material. Reflective writing is presented as a specific subgenre within writing-to-learn, with research indicating benefits for learning and performance on summative assessments. The discussion explains how reflective assignments can be tailored across STEM, professional programs, and the social sciences and humanities, and how to manage instructor grading and feedback tensions in both small and large courses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Writing-to-Learn and Reflective Writing

Subgenre Benefits

Practice, Feedback, and Skill Acquisition

Engagement and Integration

Toward Accuracy, Depth and Insight: How Reflective Writing 20c1ewl5t.CuwEwwLiTnsllr.V.ccaaIII Assignments Can Be Used to Address Multiple Learning Objectives in Small and Large Courses Dr. Kristie R. Dukewich University of Toronto Dr. Deborah P. Vossen St. Francis Xavier University Writing-to-learn involves the use of low-stakes informal writing activities intended to help students reflect on concepts or ideas presented in a course. Writing-to-learn can be a flexible and effective tool to help students understand and engage with course concepts, and past research has shown that writing-to-learn activities can substantially improve performance on summative assessments. Not only is coherent writing helpful for learning, it is also a skill that students are expected to acquire during their degree. However, it can be a challenge to provide writing opportunities that are both interesting to students and easy for instructors to implement and grade, particularly in courses with a large number of students. Reflective journaling is one method that can address these learning objectives. The versatility of reflective writing means that it can be adapted to suita number of different disciplines. In this essay, we will explore reflective writing as a subgenre of writing-to-learn activities, summarizing some of the benefits associated with these assignments that have been described in the pedagogical literature. We will then describe how to tailor the assignments to different kinds of disciplines, including STEM courses, professional programs, and the social sciences and humanities. We will provide some guidance on how to resolve tension around marking and feedback for such an assignment. Finally, we will describe our individual experiences with using this kind of assignment in two courses. As there were a number of contextual differences between the two courses, including size and discipline, our commentary is advanced within the specific context supplied by each. Reflective writing: Situating the subgenre and its benefits Writing acrmovemensnthehigchuerrriecduluucamtioisn a pedagogical rooted in the strategy of engaging students in writing outside of composition-based courses (Bazerman et al., 2005) . Numerous studies have shown that engaging students in writing can have a positive impact on their overall course performance (Cisero, 2006; Drabick, Weisberg, Paul, & Bubier, 2007; Soysa, Dunn, Dottolo, Burns-Glover, & Gurung, 2013), suggesting that writing can help students integrate new content into existing knowledge structures (Emig, 1977) . Not only is informal writing helpful for learning, but it is also a skill that students are expected to acquire during their degree. However, it can be a challenge to provide writing opportunities that are both interesting for students and practical for instructors to implement and grade, particularly in large courses. While writing across the curriculum has often been framed as a way to train students in discipline-specific writing conventions (Bazerman et al., 2005), engaging students in formal writing activities that reflect the discipline’s literature, writing across the curriculum also includes writing-to-learn activities – low stakes, informal writing activities designed to help students clarify and engage with course concepts through their own writing (McLeod, 1992) . There are a wide variety of activities that fall under the writing-to-learn rubric including specific prompts, annotations, reading summaries, 1-minute papers, and reflective writing assignments (Kiefer, n.d.) with the last of these establishing the foundation of this essay. Broadly defined, reflective writing is a form of low-stakes writing that involves adding personal reflection on the meaning of a concept, event, or situation. While reflective writing shares some important benefits with other writing-to-learn activities, it also has some benefits that are unique to this subgenre. Because reflecti

FAQs

What is writing-to-learn and why is it used in courses?

Writing-to-learn involves low-stakes, informal writing activities that help students reflect on concepts or ideas from a course. It supports understanding, engagement, and can improve performance on summative assessments.

What makes reflective writing a distinct subgenre within writing-to-learn?

Reflective writing is defined as low-stakes writing that adds personal reflection on the meaning of a concept, event, or situation. While it shares benefits with other writing-to-learn activities, it also offers unique advantages in how students connect ideas to their own perspectives.

How can instructors implement reflective writing assignments across different disciplines?

The document outlines tailoring strategies for STEM courses, professional programs, and the social sciences and humanities. It also addresses guidance for resolving tensions between marking and feedback for these assignments.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa