Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T22:26:52.340Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Don't Argue, Reflect! Reflections on Introducing Reflective Writing into Political Science Courses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2005

Jim Josefson
Jim Josefson
Affiliation:
Bridgewater College
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

In this article, I discuss an alternative way of conceptualizing and structuring essay assignments in political science courses. Generally, political science teachers have tried to encourage critical thinking about political issues by assigning essays that ask for argumentative writing. An argumentative essay format asks students to present several positions or concepts covered in a course, analyze them, and argue for their own position on the issues at hand. A better format, I suggest, is to ask students to engage in reflective writing. Reflective writing has four basic stages. First, students are asked to explain course materials. Next, they are challenged to reflect explicitly on how this material calls into question their preconceptions about the topic. Third, they analyze the conflicts, confusions, or questions that arise from engaging their preconceptions. And finally, they formulate plans to use the knowledge gained by the reflective process. In short, reflective writing invites students to search for the truth rather than develop rhetorical skills. My case for reflective writing is made here in the form of a reflective essay, so readers can take from this essay both a demonstration of the reflective process as well as an explanation. Thus, I will explore my pedagogical preconceptions and experiences with student writing, explain my initial understanding of reflective writing and my first attempt at using reflective writing in an introduction to American government course, and, finally, refine my pedagogy by analyzing the success of the assignment in light of a deeper reading of John Dewey and other theorists of reflective reasoning.

Type
The Teacher
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , October 2005 , pp. 763 - 767
Copyright
© 2005 The American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnett, R. 1997. Higher Education: A Critical Business. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Bob, Clifford. 2001. “A Question and an Argument: Enhancing Student Writing through Guided Research Assignments.” PS: Political Science and Politics 34 (September): 653–655.Google Scholar
Brock, Kathy L., and Beverly J. Cameron. 1999. “Enlivening Political Science Courses with Kolb's Learning Preference Model.” PS: Political Science and Politics 32 (June): 251–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canfield, Kimberley P., and Grant Reeher. 1998. “Encouraging the Better Angels: On Designing the Introductory Course in American Politics.” PS: Political Science and Politics 31 (March): 43–47.Google Scholar
Dewey, John. 1931. Democracy and Education. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Dewey, John. 1963. Liberalism and Social Action. New York: Capricorn Books.Google Scholar
Dewey, John. 1998. “The Place of Judgment in Reflective Activity.” In The Essential Dewey: Ethics, Logic Psychology, vol. 2, eds. Larry A. Hickman and Thomas M. Alexander. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Ehrlich, Thomas. 1999. “Civic Education: Lessons Learned.” PS: Political Science and Politics 32 (June): 245–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eldridge, Michael. 1998. Transforming Experience: John Dewey's Cultural Instrumentalism. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.Google Scholar
Garrison, James W. 1998. “John Dewey's Philosophy as Education.” In Reading Dewey: Interpretations for a Postmodern Generation, ed. Larry A. Hickman. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Hepburn, Mary A., Richard G. Niemi, and Chris Chapman. 2000. “Service Learning in College Political Science: Queries and Commentary.” PS: Political Science and Politics 33 (September): 617–622.Google Scholar
Hildreth, R. W. 2000. “Theorizing Citizenship and Evaluating Public Achievement.” PS: Political Science and Politics 33 (September): 627–632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kember, David, et al. 2000. “Development of a Questionnaire to Measure the Level of Reflective Thinking.” Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 25: 381–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Terry. 2003. “Development of Student Skills in Reflective Writing.” Unpublished web manuscript. www.csd.uwa.edu.au/iced2002/publication/Terry_King.pdf.Google Scholar
Mezirow, Jack. 1991. Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.Google Scholar
Moon, Jennifer. 1999. Reflection in Learning and Professional Development. London: Kogan Page.Google Scholar
Patterson, Amy S. 2000. “It's a Small World: Incorporating Service Learning into International Relations Courses.” PS: Political Science and Politics 33 (December): 817–822.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodgers, Carol. 2002. “Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking.” Teachers College Record 104 (June): 842–866.Google Scholar
Schön, Donald A. 1983. The Reflective Practitioner. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Scoggins, Jane, and Richard Winter. 1999. “The Patchwork Text: A Coursework Format for Education as Critical Understanding.” Teaching in Higher Education 4 (October): 485–499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeiser, Pamela A. 1999. “Teaching Process and Product: Crafting and Responding to Student Writing Assignments.” PS: Political Science and Politics 32 (September): 593–596.Google Scholar