Scholars and teachers within the field of composition have long heralded the merits of reflective writing. Whether written intermittently throughout a course or near the end (typically in the genre of portfolio cover letter), reflective writing assignments are thought to promote cognitive development by helping students become more aware of their…

While writing pedagogy instructors assign their students a range of writing tasks, often as central or repeated features of the course, a crucial question has not yet been addressed: does it matter what new teachers write? If pedagogy students are being assigned writing in part to further develop their attitudes and practices related to teaching…

Describes learning log assignments for college students in a developmental studies program. Notes that the assignments call for students to reflect on specific cognitive aspects of learning giving them the opportunity to explore their own thinking, evaluate their own progress, and promote metacognitive awareness. Describes learning log assignments…

Viewing writing as a way to heal wounds and even reconstruct past experiences also helps heal the composition discipline's dichotomy between the academic and the personal, the self and the institution. Academicians are not the only writers undermined by this perceived separation: most incoming university students, in particular basic writers,…

Reiterates the appropriateness and validity of using student journals in social studies instruction. Differentiates between personal and content area journals, the latter focusing on responses to issues raised in the classroom and readings. Maintains that journal writing increases critical and metacognitive thinking. (MJP)

Discusses the use of writing to enhance learning in mathematics from a conceptual development perspective. Shuell's phases of learning are described as a general model for conceptual development and subsequently matched with Britton's categories for transactional-informative writing. Sample mathematics assignments for each writing category are…