Toward the Development of a Quick, Reliable Assessment Tool for Reflective Journals

April W. Garrity, Casey Keck, Janet L Bradshaw

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Reflective practice, including reflective writing, can facilitate enriched learning, especially when implemented as part of a service-learning (SL) experience. Reflection is a central component of service-learning (SL) experiences. Students’ reflective abilities are often measured through reflective journaling; however, assessment of students’ reflective journals is not always efficient and straightforward. The goal of the present study was to establish a simple, reliable, and relatively quick tool for use by busy college instructors seeking to encourage students’ deep learning through reflective writing. A total of 258 reflective journals from 43 graduate students in speech-language pathology were evaluated by three raters using a three-tier assessment framework ( nonreflection, reflection, and critical reflection ) after Mezirow (1990) and Plack et al. (2005). Although previous studies found moderate to high interrater agreement and reliability, the current study did not support this finding. Strengths and weaknesses of the assessment framework and qualitative observations of the assessment process are discussed.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalTeaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders
Volume3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2019

Disciplines

  • Medicine and Health Sciences
  • Rehabilitation and Therapy

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