The University of Sydney has introduced a program of engaging engineering students throughout their degree program in diverse forms of exposure to, and engagement with, professional practice. As part of this program students are required to write detailed reflections on each activity. These reflections provide a rich source of information…

With society increasingly valuing soft skills and competencies, reflective practices are more commonly adopted in higher education, particularly for experiential learning. As reflective writing is becoming a part of official assessments in many courses, an overarching question arises as to how teachers are currently assessing reflections. This…

Referencing skills contribute much to the emergence of voice in students' academic writing. Such skills have a bearing on the identity of learners as writers. In referring certain ideas to certain sources, the writer is able to distinguish voices of others and, in doing so, provide space for the hearing, or establishment, of their individual…

This paper reports on the opportunities for transformational learning experienced by a group of pre-service teachers who were engaged in service-learning as a pedagogical process with a focus on reflection. Critical social theory informed the design of the reflection process as it enabled a move away from knowledge transmission toward knowledge…

This paper traces the development over several years of an initiative involving student journals that was introduced into a tertiary science education course for pre-service teachers to promote enhanced learning of how to teach science. Very soon after introducing the journals into course work the lecturer began engaging in "unplanned"…

This paper explores the design and assessment of reflective journals in a course on spirituality and management in a tertiary institution. The purpose of reflection in education is to develop students' self-awareness and inner leadership. Yet, such assessment poses challenges in terms of design, content and grading. This paper explores the…

Presents practical teaching strategies used in an Australian undergraduate business-communication class that have succeeded in encouraging student classroom interaction to the mutual benefit of both local and international students. Data on the techniques' effectiveness were collected using an open-ended student questionnaire, observation,…

Student journals are recommended as a technique for encouraging college students to take a deep approach to learning. Literature on their use is reviewed, and considerations in their classroom use are discussed, including the physical form of the journal, grading, error correction, comments, style, privacy, when to use journals, when to read them,…

A course in academic writing for international graduate students at Flinders University of South Australia was found to enhance students' written expression and structure. However, participants continued to produce high error rates in grammar and show weakness in developing an argument. Journal entries suggest participants began with…