by Caitlin Wilson, Intern Summer 2014
I distinctly remember learning to take notes in school, because I hated
it. We were introduced to a two-column style of note-taking in fourth
grade, which meant writing summaries or important points from readings
in one column and questions about the material on the other. It wasn’t
until the end of high school that a teacher mentioned the questions
didn’t necessarily have to address confusion about the material, but
could include speculation about further applications of ideas or
personal notes connecting class reading to other information. What a
relief—and what a shame I’d spent nearly eight years inventing questions
I already knew the answers to, just to fill up that second column. I
didn’t realize it then, but my teachers were describing the process of
reflective learning.
Reflective learning, on a basic level, means exactly what you would
expect it to mean: analyzing what you’ve been taught after learning it.
On a more complex level, reflective learning has gained many staunch
adherents in the past decade; it has also been the subject of a great
deal of research attention in an attempt to determine whether using
reflective learning techniques results in a quantitative difference in
student achievement. Professors at Harvard Business School conducted a study
with results that suggest learning is indeed most effective when a
hands-on approach is combined with reflection on that action. The
study’s outcome also provides support for the idea that reflection can
improve students’ confidence, thus increasing their chances of
performing well.
There is a wide variety of resources available to students and
teachers seeking to employ reflective learning techniques; one such
resource is from Thompson Rivers University in Canada and is in the form
of a guide [PDF link]
that provides instructions on keeping a reflective journal, freewriting
and mind mapping. A reflective journal allows students to track not
only their acquisition of knowledge, but also the thought processes that
led them to their conclusions. Freewriting, on the other hand, is
intentionally unstructured, allowing students to look back after writing
and analyze possible solutions to problems without the pressure of
directly seeking a solution. Mind mapping is just as it sounds—a central
idea, problem or word is used as a starting point, and related concepts
or words are arranged around that point to create a visual
representation of the idea or problem. There is software available for
digitally making mind maps as well, such as XMind and Lucidchart, among many others. Exeter University offers a series of examples [PDF link]
of reflective essays along with analyses of how and why they are
effective, allowing students to see a variety of ways to use reflective
learning to their advantage.
Although I struggled with two-column notes, I did grow to appreciate
the usefulness of reflective techniques, especially when I started
working with more complex texts in college. I found that the practice of
asking questions—sometimes even questions I felt I knew the answers
to—often led me to a deeper understanding of the text I was working
with. Even the process of creating questions was useful in spending more
time contemplating the work in front of me, which seems to have been
the intent all along.
Did You Know?
According to Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory,
there are four distinct styles of learner: the diverger, the
assimilator, the converger and the accommodator. Each style is
associated with a particular set of characteristics; for example,
divergers often prefer to watch and gather information and tend to have a
broad variety of interests. Assimilators like using logic and
organization to approach problems and tend to be good at dealing in the
abstract, while accommodators like setting definite goals and working in
a hands-on, intuitive learning environment. Convergers tend to be good
at finding practical solutions to problems and excel at technical tasks.
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