Reflective journaling and metacognitive awareness: insights from a longitudinal study in higher education

ABSTRACT

This mix-methods study sought to assess the effect of semi-structured and unstructured reflective journaling (RJ) on 97 undergraduate students’ perceptions of their metacognitive awareness, classified into two main components: knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition. Students’ entries were analyzed based on a guiding scheme. The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) was administered to the participants before (pretest) and after (posttest) a 13-week intervention. Multiple levels of reflective engagement were evident in the semi-structured RJ entries, whereas the unstructured entries were largely descriptive, and mainly related to students’ short-term learning experiences. Semi-structured RJ was found effective in nurturing students’ perceptions of their regulation of cognition. The present study adds to past work by showing how prompting questions might enable students to perceive themselves as self-regulated learners.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflective journaling
• metacognitive awareness
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dorit Alt

Prof. Dorit Alt is specialized in the field of lifelong learning in the information era. Her work includes research on digital and media literacy, constructivist learning environments, and the measurement of the connection between these environments and psychological, behavioral, cultural, social, and ethical aspects. Her research papers have been published in leading scientific journals such as International Journal of Educational Research, and Computers in Human Behavior. She is also a reviewer for various scientific leading journals in the field of teaching, learning and assessment. Prof. Alt is currently leading an ERASMUS+ project ASSET (assessment tools for higher education learning environment 2017–2020).

Nirit Raichel

Prof. Nirit Raichel is a leading professor at and the academic designers of the undergraduate Education and Community Department at Kinneret Academic College, and in the Department of Graduate Education at Gordon College of Education. She has previously headed the Department of Inclusive Education and Community Studies at Oranim College of Education, and also served as the academic dean of Ohalo College of Education and Sport. Her main interests cover issues of the Israeli educational system; teachers identity; the figure of the ‘good educator’ and his training and transfer of educational ideas from the western world to Hebrew education; social education of immigrants: multicultural teacher training; and vocational education in Israel. Prof Raichel is an active member of the Israeli Association of Historians of Education and in the Association of Professional Development Schools. Prof. Raichel has been highly involved in the Kinneret College group of Lifelong Learning in Applied Fields (LLAF) Tempus funded joint project, and ERASMUS+ project ASSET (assessment tools for higher education learning environment 2017–2020).