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Building connections through reflective writing.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

One important challenge liberal arts teachers in all disciplines face at the post-secondary level is to help students see the larger connections of a course. Teachers can integrate a strand of reflective assignments, such as reflective letters or essays, research journals, or response papers, to help students connect content with both prior experience and life beyond the classroom. This essay establishes the problem, explains a sequence of reflective letter assignments, and shares the discoveries of composition students who completed those assignments.

Introduction

One of the most important challenges liberal arts teachers in all disciplines face at the postsecondary level is to help students see the larger connections of a course--to understand how a discipline interconnects not only with other disciplines, but within students' lives. Teachers know that students learn best when they are connected to the subject matter--when they develop a personalized value for and understanding of the material. Teachers are also often aware of the never-ending stream of private and public sector anecdotes about businesses wanting to hire "well-rounded" individuals. Whether from the pedagogical perspective of wanting to create an energetic classroom of dedicated learners, or the practical perspective of wanting to help students become more appealing job candidates, teachers in all disciplines understand that the connection between and among student and disciplines must be established.

The problem in establishing this connection however, is that colleges and universities often pay lip service to the idea without implementing institution-wide programs and strategies to make it a reality. College and university mission statements, both for whole institutions and liberal arts programs, emphasize development of the whole individual. For example, West Virginia University Admissions & Records (2004) justifies the university's Liberal Studies program by noting that "[i]n our world of rapid economic, social, and technological change, universities recognize that a broad educational foundation is necessary for the life-long learning that makes meaningful careers and other goals attainable." They further assert that "[g]eneral education helps students to become thoughtful participants in a democratic society and to achieve the intellectual integration and awareness they need to meet changes and challenges in their personal, social, political, and professional lives.'" Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2005), a four-year teaching university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, argues that "Liberal Studies provides the broad vision and understanding that enable individuals to enjoy full, rich lives and to play constructive roles in their communities." Finally, Gordon College aligns its purpose with other two-year schools in the Georgia System. Their goal is "to educate the whole person" and provide "practices and programs that embody the ideals of an open, democratic society" (2004, p.2). These examples from diverse yet representative public institutions all make the same argument: participation in a range of disciplines helps students engage the real world throughout their lives. However, it is not merely the exposure to a range of disciplines that helps students engage the world; students must recognize and construct meaningful connections among the disciplines and between the disciplines and their own lives to fully grasp the value of a liberal education.

Although there are a few pedagogical strategies for achieving the stated goals of a Liberal Arts education, such as requiring cross-disciplinary writing activities or presenting content from a multi-disciplinary perspective, most of these are often situated in specialized programs such as Honors Colleges or Interdisciplinary Studies programs with smaller class sizes and specific demographics, separated from the larger academic population. Reflective writing, however, is an easy way for teachers in any discipline to encourage this connection building. In my composition classroom, a reflective strand of writing assignments has helped students understand the role of writing in their other courses as well as in their daily lives.

Reflective Assignments

In my College Composition courses, I ask students to do three assignments that I present as reflective activities:

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