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Don't Argue, Reflect! Reflections on IntroducingReflective Writing into Political Science Courses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2005

Jim Josefson
Jim Josefson
Affiliation:
Bridgewater College
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Extract

In this article, I discuss an alternative way of conceptualizing andstructuring essay assignments in political science courses.Generally, political science teachers have tried to encouragecritical thinking about political issues by assigning essays thatask for argumentative writing. An argumentativeessay format asks students to present several positions or conceptscovered in a course, analyze them, and argue for their own positionon the issues at hand. A better format, I suggest, is to askstudents to engage in reflective writing.Reflective writing has four basic stages. First, students are askedto explain course materials. Next, they are challenged to reflectexplicitly on how this material calls into question theirpreconceptions about the topic. Third, they analyze the conflicts,confusions, or questions that arise from engaging theirpreconceptions. And finally, they formulate plans to use theknowledge gained by the reflective process. In short, reflectivewriting invites students to search for the truth rather than developrhetorical skills. My case for reflective writing is made here inthe form of a reflective essay, so readers can take from this essayboth a demonstration of the reflective process as well as anexplanation. Thus, I will explore my pedagogical preconceptions andexperiences with student writing, explain my initial understandingof reflective writing and my first attempt at using reflectivewriting in an introduction to American government course, and,finally, refine my pedagogy by analyzing the success of theassignment in light of a deeper reading of John Dewey and othertheorists of reflective reasoning.

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Type
The Teacher
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PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , October 2005 , pp. 763 - 767
Copyright
© 2005 The American Political Science Association

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