The use of reflective diaries in summative assessment

Anne Tierney, School of Life SciencesEamonn Butler, School of Social & Political Sciences

Karen McCluskey, Careers ServiceKaren Sawyer, School of Social & Political Sciences

Kerr Gardiner, Learning & Teaching Centre

BackgroundUse of reflective portfoliosPerceptions of reflective writing

The ProjectMaharaCourses

• Requirements• Comparison• Evaluation

OutcomesPosition within the literature

• Reflective writing• Community-building• Generative writing

Graduate Attributes

A student view

Conclusions and further work

Reflective diaries – overview

Background

Use of reflective portfolios

Professional/vocational courses

– Education, Medicine & allied professions [see IMS CP; Richards, online]

• Requirement for professional development

• Professional focus

Perception of reflective portfolios

Not common in non-vocational courses

– Lack of focus makes reflective portfolios:• Difficult to assess

• Not academically rigorous

• Subjective

• Informal

Reflective writing

Jennifer Moon (1999: 188-194)Benefits

“To deepen the quality of learning, in the form of critical thinking or developing questioning attitudes”

“To enable learners to understand their own learning process”

“To increase active involvement in learning and personal ownership of learning”

“To enhance creativity by making better use of intuitive understanding”

“To provide an alternative ‘voice’ for those not good at expressing themselves”

“To foster reflective and creative interaction in a group” 

University of Glasgow Learning & Teaching Strategy

(2006-10)

“We will engage them [students] with teaching and approaches to learning which support their development as motivated learners, independent and critical thinkers, and promote confidence and awareness in their skills, knowledge and understanding. We will promote a learning environment that develops and values these attributes.”

University of Glasgow Learning & Teaching Strategy

(2011)Fostering Investigative learning through Research-led teaching

“We will engage them [students] with teaching and approaches to learning which support their development as subject specialists, reflective learners, independent and critical thinkers, and encourage their awareness of and confidence in their skills, knowledge and understanding. We will promote a learning environment that develops and values these attributes.”

Graduate Attributes

QAA Scotland Enhancement ThemeFrom Melbourne model (Nicol, D. 2010)

Five domains:

– Academically excellent

– Knowledge across disciplines

– Leaders in communities

– Attuned to cultural diversity

– Active global citizens

The Project – Reflective writing in summative assessment

Online tool - MaharaUniversity of Glasgow approved pdp software

– Offers

• Privacy for users (no hierarchy cf. Blackboard or Moodle VLEs)

• Any user can create or join groups

• Blog, forum, messaging facility

• Make public via ‘Views’

http://portfolio.gla.ac.uk/http://www.mahara.org

Admin for Mahara GroupTypical Mahara viewGroup Admin has control over:

•Type of group

•How members join

•Who can join

•Forum

Group Admin has no control over:

•What individual group members write

•Who they make it available to

•columns

•tables

•text

•pictures

•links

Course Business & Bioscience Perspectives on Security Since 1945

Student type Bioscience Social Science

Student year 4th year honours; MSc (MRes) 3rd & 4th year honours

Mahara experience Little/None Little/None

Mahara training given Yes Yes

International students included

Yes Yes

Length of course 2 weeks 2 semesters

Diary entry submitted Daily Weekly

Diary assessed Yes (10%) Yes (25%)

Peer assessment of diary No Yes (formative only)

If students miss session, how do they complete diary entry?

From peer group From reading and peer group

The ProjectEvaluation (Handout)

Diaries

– Evidence of reflection

Focus groups

– Themes– Identify areas of

– agreement– divergence

Outcomes

Position within the literature – Reflective writing (Moon, 1999) Students from both courses showed evidence of

– Understanding their own learning– Increased involvement with learning and ownership of learning– Enhanced creativity and intuitive understanding– “Alternative voice”– Reflective and creative interaction in the group …in interviews

Only students from PSS45 showed evidence of– Developing critical thinking

Does that mean that Bioscience students are not critical thinkers?

Outcomes

Position within the literature – Community building

(Wenger, 1999; Naisbett, 2001)

Students showed evidence of– The emergence of a community of practice– Sharing and collaboration– Acknowledgement of others’ experience and expertise– Existence both online and face-to-face

Outcomes

Position within the literature – Generative & free writing

(Elbow, 1998); Removal of academic constraints (Graff, 2004)

Students showed evidence of – Ability to write– Acknowledgement of ‘ease’ of task– Acknowledgement of academic nature of task

Outcomes

Mahara Students from both courses agree

– Mahara is not intuitive– Training is required– Early start (First year)

– Despite these reservations, students also agree• Mahara has its place

• They would consider using it for other tasks

Outcomes

Graduate attributes Melbourne model (Nicol, D., QAA Scotland, 2010)Academically Excellent– Reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem

solving and communications– Be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning– Be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and

communication technologies

Knowledge across disciplines– Have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar

problems

Leaders in communities– Initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions

and workplaces

A student view

Karen Sawyer, School of Social and Political Sciences

Took part in Perspectives on Security Since 1945 in 2009/10

Conclusions and further work

•Diaries are a legitimate form of summative assessment•Use as assessment to encourage students to start writing

•Support students as they explore new topics and areas of interest

•Diaries contribute to the intellectual development of the students by:– Developing a reflective, critical approach to learning– Supporting collaboration– Allowing students to take control of learning

ScotPID– Support from QAA Scotland and HEA – PDP case study

References•Elbow, P. (1998) Writing without teachers, Oxford University Press•Glasgow (2006) The Learning & Teaching Strategy. Available at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_89688_en.doc•Graff, G. (2004) Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind, Yale University Press•IMS CP for Medical Skills-based Reflective Diary (based on Tomorrow’s Doctors) JISC-funded project, available online at: http://www.elframework.org/projects/spws/medical-logbook.zip/view•Moon, J. (1999) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development. (London: Kogan Page)•Naisbett, J., Naisbett, N. & Philips, D. (2001) High Tech, High Touch: Technology and our Accelerated Search for Meaning•Nicol, D. (2010) The foundation for graduate attributes: developing self-regulation through self and peer-assessment Graduates for the 21st Century: Integrating the Enhancement Themes, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)•Richards, J. C. (online) “Towards reflective teaching”, The Teacher Trainer, available online at: http://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/File/back_articles/Towards_Reflective_Teaching.pdf•Wenger, E (1999) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity (Learning in Doing: Social Cognitive and Computational Perspectives) Cambridge University Press