scholarly journals Perceptions of student nurses on the writing of reflective journals as a means for personal, professional and clinical learning development

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazel T. Mahlanze ◽  
Maureen N. Sibiya
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Journal Writing ◽  
Student Nurses ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Clinical Learning ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Constructive Feedback

Background: Reflective journals are used by the students to voice their views on the daily activities during clinical placement. Reflective journals are aimed at helping the student to observe and record as many facts about daily practice as the student finds relevant. Reflective journal writing can therefore be used as a tool to evaluate that clinical learning is actually taking place and what challenges students are experiencing which may influence their learning. Findings by Harris (2006:460–461) are encouraging that through journaling students will develop ability to identify and analyse their difficulties, make suggestions for solving problems and ask and pursue questions on their own. Some of the participants confirmed improved values clarification, self-valuing and personal growth. Bulman & Schutz (2008:172) recommends journal writing for recording processes the student observe, copy and internalize in her journey towards professional development.Objectives: This study aimed to determine student nurses' perceptions of reflective journal writing as a means for personal, professional development and clinical learning development.Method: A quantitative and descriptive survey was conducted in September 2013. Forty participants were recruited from second year student nurses of a University of Technology in uMgungundlovu District of KwaZulu-Natal. Purposive convenience sampling strategy was used. A structured questionnaire was designed by the researcher from literature reviewed. The questionnaire was piloted and modified, then used after permission had been granted by the Ethics Committee of the university concerned. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 17) programme was used for data analysis.Results: Results indicated that the participants generally experienced writing of reflective journals to be a valuable tool enhancing personal development, professional growth and clinical learning. A significant number (n = 24/60%) confirmed that they improved in making proactive decisions and taking on the spot corrective actions; 52% (n = 21) of the participants were empowered to examine their attitudes and perspectives to a given situation and 55% (n = 22) participants increased in active involvement and ownership of their learning.Recommendations: It is recommended that clinical staff be reminded of their responsibility as role models for student nurses so as to enhance their personal, professional development and clinical development. The writing of reflective journals must be encouraged in nurse education and students given guidance and constructive feedback.

scholarly journals Graduate Students' Reflections on Technology in Language Learning and Teaching: A Qualitative Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed A. A. Farrah
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Integrated Theory ◽  
Academic Year

This study aims to analyze the experiences and perceptions of a group of graduate students regarding an MA Technology in Language Learning and Teaching Course at Hebron University, Palestine. Specifically, the study addressed the aspects of the course that were perceived as the most useful for them and how graduate students perceive their professional growth as a result of the course. The study took place during the second semester of the academic year 2016/2017. The researcher employed a qualitative research to achieve the aims of the study. The participants wrote reflective journals and described how the course integrated theory and practice. The results revealed that the students benefited from the different elements of the course. Particularly, they benefited from the practical projects. The experience helped them in their professional development. Finally, the students offered a number of suggestions for improving the course. The researcher concluded with a set of recommendations.

scholarly journals VIETNAMESE EFL STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING VIA REFLECTIVE JOURNALS IN EFL LITERATURE CLASSES

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (6B) ◽  
pp. 91-115
Author(s):  
Bình Thị Thanh Nguyễn ◽  
Ngọc Thị Thanh Trần ◽  
Ngọc Thị Lê Hoàng
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
British Literature ◽  
Journal Writing ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Cognitive Levels ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Reference Tool

Critical thinking has been recently recognised as an important skill in Vietnamese education and in EFL field. However, research on critical thinking practices or critical thinking development in Vietnamese EFL classes is still rare. This study investigated some Vietnamese EFL students’ critical thinking via their reflective journals in American-British Literature classes.30 reflective journals of 15 students were analysed to look for the evidence of the students’ critical thinking. Seven students (out of 15) were then invited for a semi-structured interview to further understand their thoughts in their reflective journals and to get their opinions about the role of reflective journal writing for opportunities to express or develop critical thinking. Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001) cognitive levels and Barnett’s (1997) criticality domains were combined to form a framework for analysing the data in this study.The study found that the students demonstrated their critical thinking by being able to analyse, evaluate and create not only literary knowledge but also themselves and the world. Reflective journal writing was found to assist the opportunities to develop students’ critical thinking. It is implied from the study’s findings that the critical thinking framework which combines Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001) cognitive levels and Barnett’s (2015) criticality domains can be used as a reference tool to develop and assess critical thinking or to design teaching contents with the integration of critical thinking. Reflective journal writing activity can be widely used in EFL content classes in general and in EFL Literature classes in particular to promote students’ critical thinking.

scholarly journals The power of reflective journal writing for university students from the EFL perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1061-1079
Author(s):  
Anselmus Sudirman ◽  
Adria Vitalya Gemilang ◽  
Thadius Marhendra Adi Kristanto
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Journal Writing ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Metacognitive Skills ◽  
Order Unity ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Self Discovery ◽  
Learning Logs

English as a foreign language (EFL) university students use reflective journals as learning logs to express or capture their ideas within a scientific conceptual framework. The objectives of this research are to (1) describe the power of reflective journal writing in communicating ideas, and (2) identify the aspects of reflective journal writing that aid learning in an EFL context. The reflective journals were written by 21 EFL university students. This research takes a qualitative approach, with the primary data coming from several reflective journals (N=124) while the secondary data coming from EFL students’ interviews (N=15). The research results showed that reflective journals were useful for students to make critical reflections and self-discovery responses to writing topics. The students learned to focus on writing components such as order, unity, coherence, cohesiveness, content, and organization of ideas through reflective journal writing. The students’ perspectives on aspects of reflective journal writing were primarily concerned with macro-and micro-level linguistic issues, as evidenced from the interview results. Writing a reflective journal necessitated their ability to reformulate thoughts, provide details, and solve problems. Furthermore, critical thinking, metacognitive skills, and self-reflections became increasingly important in helping the students to develop their ability to write reflective journals.

scholarly journals ENHANCED LEARNING: THE HIDDEN ART OF REFLECTIVE JOURNAL WRITING AMONG MALAYSIAN PRE-REGISTERED STUDENT NURSES

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-79
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Haji Seyed Abolghasem ◽  
Juliana Othman ◽  
Shanina Sharatol Ahmad Shah
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Journal Writing ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Student Nurses ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Enhanced Learning

Background and Purpose: Although the impact of reflective journal writing (RJW) on enhanced learning has a long history, studies on this pedagogical tool for enhanced learning are never exhausted.  This study attempts to highlight enhanced self-directed learning through the use of reflective journal (RJ) among Malaysian diploma nursing students.   Methodology: For this study, eight purposefully selected pre-registered student nurses (PRSN) from a public college contributed over 54 reflective journal entries over two months. Through a qualitative content analysis, the journals were analyzed using a model devised by Mezirow (1990) that was previously used by Kember (1999), Chirema (2007), and Kear (2013) to identify the students’ levels of reflection of content/descriptive, process/practical, and premise/critical reflection resembling Transformative Learning Theory (TLT).   Findings: The findings suggested that RJ helps learners become in control of themselves from the early stage of a clinical environment. They expressed their appreciation towards collaborations and are grateful to be able to express their feelings and emotions of “fears” and “trust”. Further, they indicated their mindfulness to appreciate their levels of knowledge and skills through reflection upon the nursing tasks as they make themselves ready to be a future nurse. Furthermore, it was highlighted that feeling competent and being able to work independently and to make sound decisions would not be realized if they could not think critically from the initial stage of clinical environment.   Contributions: This research confirms that PRSN become more self-directed and highly motivated to develop critical thinking to dispose for their better lifelong learning through the use of reflective journals.   Keywords: Content reflection, levels of reflection, premise reflection, process reflection, reflective journal writing.   Cite as: Seyed Abolghasem, F., Othman, J., & Ahmad Shah, S. S. (2020). Enhanced learning: The hidden art of reflective journal writing among Malaysian pre-registered student nurses. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 5(1), 54-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss1pp54-79

scholarly journals Exploring the characteristics of capable healthcare professionals

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Nominal Group Technique ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Nominal Group ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Knowledge And Skills

Background: In order to negotiate complex clinical environments successfully, healthcare professionals must be more than competent – they must demonstrate an ability to adapt to dynamic situations and continually improve performance. However, emphasis on knowledge and skills alone may ignore opportunities for professional development that enables students to become practitioners.Objectives: The aim of this study was to ascertain what clinical experts believe are the essential characteristics of capable healthcare professionals that go beyond academic and technical competencies.Method: This study used a nominal group technique (NGT) to gather data from a panel of South African and international clinical experts, using open-ended questions and qualitative data analysis to determine emergent themes. The NGT is an interpretive research method that can be used to explore poorly defined topics, in this case to develop an understanding of the characteristics of health professionals that go beyond knowledge and technical skill.Results: Panel members highlighted the importance of knowledge and skills for competent practice, but also explored other aspects of the learning process as part of developing professional identity. These included self-evaluation as part of professional development,building relationships with patients, and the importance of acknowledging students’emotional responses to the clinical environment. Panel members also discussed the challenge of inappropriate role-models in the clinical context, who may have a negative influence on the development of professional practice.Conclusion: By including the concept of capability alongside competency in undergraduate healthcare curricula clinical educators can help students develop a sense of being that emphasises professional growth alongside knowledge and technical skills.

scholarly journals Students’ Perceptions on Reflective Journal as Self-Assessment to promote writing skills in EFL Class

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 626-632
Author(s):  
Hanna Novariana Azizah Ni'ma ◽  
Sumardi Sumardi ◽  
Sri Samiati Tarjana
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Journal Writing ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Assessment Technique ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Writing Practices

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ perspectives on best practices to promote writing skills by using self-assessment technique named reflective journal in EFL class. The method of this study is qualitative research. The data collected and analyzed from this study to compromise a better understanding of students’ perspectives on how reflective journal writing of self-assessment promotes their writing proficiency. In this study, the writer collected the data by using semi-structured interviews and focused on twelve students from high school who taught by using reflective journal in Surakarta, Jawa Tengah. The finding of this study identified how students’ perspectives on reflective journals to promote their writing proficiency. The result of this study indicated the positive impacts of reflective journals in enhancing students’ writing proficiency. Nevertheless, there were several difficulties students faced during learning process. There were also some challenges such as students’ lack of motivation. However, both the teacher and the students were actively involved in overcoming those problems. In sum, students thought that reflective journal makes their writing practices exciting, enjoying, and motivating.

Understanding and promoting students’ well-being and performance in university studies – effects of a 7-week Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based course (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henna Asikainen ◽  
Nina Katajavuori ◽  
Kirsikka Kaipainen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
University Students ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pharmacy Students ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Commitment Therapy ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment ◽  
And Performance

BACKGROUND Internationally there have been many studies showing that the number of university students suffering from mental illness is growing and this problem should be addressed OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine 41 pharmacy students’ experiences of a small Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) -based intervention that was implemented as a 7-week course with weekly online modules. METHODS Students’ well-being, experiences of stress, organised studying and psychological flexibility were measured with questionnaires at the beginning and end of the course. Students’ experiences of the effectiveness of the course and were analysed from open-ended responses and a reflective journal. RESULTS The results show that students’ well-being and ability to manage time and effort increased during the course(p≤0.003). In their reflective journals, students described how their ability to manage stress in their studies, cope with their thoughts and feelings, focus on the things that are more important to them, and manage their time in studying and their well-being had improved. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that it is possible to foster students’ well-being in their studies. More research is needed to identify the long-lasting effects of these kind of interventions.

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