REFLECTIVE LEARNING AND WRITING SKILLS

Reflective Learning and Writing Skills

Reflective Learning and Writing Skills

Introduction

They are not just a set of basic skills people are taught at school. Writing and reading are an integral part of each educated individual's life since they are the basis of written communication. Written communication, in its turn, is another tool for people to express their ideas, and learn about those of others. Reading skills serve as a foundation for writing. Developed and mastered, effective reading skills give people the opportunity to learn new information about the world, people, events, and places, enrich their vocabularies, and improve their writing skills. (McAlpine, 2000)

Reflective Learning and Writing Skills

Application essays, CVs, cover letters, and even e-mails often have to represent an individual. In such cases the person's writing is to form the reader's opinion about the individual's personality and abilities.

* Excellent writing is sure to earn respect. Poor writing will, on the contrary, be difficult to understand, and will leave a bad impression about the individual.

* Writing structures and crystallizes one's thoughts, improving learning in such a way [2].

* Writing improves the effectiveness of the person's word usage in both written and oral speech [3].

* A survey conducted among 64 American companies revealed that half of them pay attention to writing when considering a person for employment or promotion [4].

* According to Roger Howe, a former chairman and CEO of U.S. Precision Lens, the majority of the successful people are clear and persuasive in their writing [5].

Developed reading skills lead to the development and improvement of writing skills. Regular readers' comprehension skills (ability to compare and contrast, evaluate and summarize, identify specific features and genres, make analogies) serve as a basis for good writing. (McAlpine, 2000)

In learning style theory, the Index of Learning Styles measures an individual's distinctive learning preference. The index includes measurements for visual-verbal, sequential-global, sensing-intuitive, (McAlpine, 2000) and active-reflective styles. People who have a reflective learning style absorb new information best through passive rather than active curriculum. Educators can utilize their knowledge of the reflective learning style to plan and implement activities that encourage analysis and personal exploration. The reflective learning style consists of absorbing, rather than acting on, new information. A reflective learner requires time to think through an idea and its ramifications, while an active learner prefers to jump in and test theories immediately. Reflective learners often enjoy working independently, at least before doing a group activity. Note that reflective learners are not passive learners in the sense that they only want to receive information. On the contrary, they wish to cognitively process and reason with educator input so that it conforms to their particular intellectual framework. (Atherton, 2010)

Reflective learners eschew rote memorization and repetition for a deeper type of learning. They review new information, form questions and consider real-life applications of theory. They enjoy summarizing, writing critiques, creating drafts of projects and papers, and tracking progress on a project. When given the proper amount of time to consider the diverse aspects of a concept, ...