The personal learning experiences of students are recorded in the form of reflective journals. Often, tutors ask students to record their learning-related incidents using a journal format. Sometimes these records are maintained during learning, whilst mostly the right time to talk about personal experiences is after completing the coursework. The journals include entries and learning logs in the form of questions asking different parts of course content. Additionally, these entries are also related to experiences with assignment submission, exams, and even class-related activities. Later, these reflective journals are submitted to the tutor for feedback.
The best part about writing reflective journal assignment is that students can use informal language to share their learning-related records. However, if you want to make your reflective assignment a guide for students so they can know about a particular subject or content, then all these informal entries must be converted into formal entries. Moreover, to turn an informal draft into an informal one, you must add correct terminologies, facts and figures and establish the connection between different parts of the coursework.
All in all, reflective journals give students an opportunity to note down some biggest events and thoughts of their lives. It’s up to you whether you want to share a bad or a good experience with your audience. Addition of the feelings showing what a particular event means to you and how it affects your life in a reflective journal assignment also helps you serve its purpose.
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Reasons For Writing A Reflective Journal Assignment:
As described earlier, reflective journals are commonly used to share a detailed description of a particular event and thought. Thus, adding details of the events like what happened, how it happened, some common causes of an event, and what was your feeling at that particular time is all about some important aspects of reflective journal assignments. Moreover, the following are some of the most important reasons for writing a reflective journal:
- To tell people what may have happened to them
- To share reasons with people about how something may happen
- To help people make vital decisions about how their future experiences
- To help important information come out of your mind
Steps of Writing A Reflective Journal Assignment:
The following is a brief description of a few steps that one needs to take to write a perfect reflective journal assignment:
Step # 1: First, Make The Journal
The first step in writing a reflective journal assignment is to make a learning log or journal. Moreover, the questions in this journal may include the following:
- What’s unique in your experience?
- Who is the main character in the event other than you?
- How did the incident make you feel?
- How do you rate your experiences out of five?
- Describe what’s next.
All these entries in the journal will help you know how to use only relevant information in your assignment.
Step # 2: Keep The Journal Nearby
Once you have made a journal, then writing a reflective journal assignment will not be a difficult task for you. Journal entries can serve the purpose of the outline, so by elaborating on each, you can complete the reflection. Thus, all you need to do is to keep the entries or, in other words, the journal in front of you while completing such assignments.
Step # 3: Make Good Entries
As explained earlier, in reflective assignments, the most important thing is the journal. The better the entries, the more authentic and focused information your assignment will contain. Moreover, to increase the quality of the assignment, it is necessary that journal entries must be made regularly and keenly.
Step # 4: Brainstorm An Event To Be Discussed In The Assignment
It is the point where you need to think about your assignment structure and format. The reflective assignment must involve you as a central character, so it’s you who can decide what will be the most appropriate event to be discussed in the assignment. Thus, at this point, all you need to do is to select the event that you would like to share in this literary task.
Step # 5: Make Notes And Apply Any Reflective Model To Start Writing
After barnstorming the event, the next step must be to make notes and select an appropriate reflective cycle. Though there are many reflective models, Gibbs’ model of reflection or Kolbs’ model of reflection are among the most sought-after ones. Using the predefined step proposed by these reflective cycles or models, you can complete the reflective journal assignment without missing any vital components.
Step # 6: Proofread And Submit The Assignment To The Tutor:
The majority of the students take proofreading for granted; most probably, it is because they are tired enough and fail to get the courage to complete the writing task. Even if this is the case or you are not willing to proofread your work, you must hire someone to proofread it. You can also proofread it on your own to confirm whether the work fulfill your tutor’s requirements.
Tools for Writing Reflective Journal Assignment:
Using journals or learning logs is only one tool to write reflective journal assignments; however, you can also use diaries, jotting notes, portfolios, mind maps, tables, lists, and even bullet points and many more. Additionally, voice recording, informational groups, and fieldwork are also among some of the common tools that one can use to complete a reflective assignment.
Final Thoughts:
In summary, a reflective journal assignment, like all other writing tasks, has a specific purpose of writing, which is to tell the audience about your personal learning experiences. However, it uses specific journal entries to start writing on. By updating the entries or regularly recording them on learning logs, you can easily complete any reflective assignment. Still, the application of any reflective cycle of your choice will help you confirm the availability of all vital components of an assignment so it can score well.
