Using Journal Entries and Assigned Writing to Promote Students’ Critical Thinking

Authors

  • Syaadiah Arifin Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. Hamka
  • Hamzah Fuadi Ilyas Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. Hamka
  • Maula Sukmawidjaya Universitas Trisakti

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29408/veles%20journal.v4i1.2020

Keywords:

Critical thinking, Journal entries, Assigned writing

Abstract

This research aims to determine the ability of journal entries and assigned writing to foster students’ critical thinking. A total of six components, namely, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation were used to carry out this study. Data were obtained from a total of twelve (12) students majoring in English Education from one of the universities in Jakarta by using semi-structured interview and text-analysis. Journal entries submitted by the students as a course prerequisite were evaluated and analyzed by two raters. The result showed that many students lack important critical thinking skills required for a successful study, and to acquire good employment after graduating from college. In addition, the use of journal entries and assigned writing has the ability to promote this skill level to varying degrees.

References

Abdullah, T., & Sharadgah, A. (2014). Developing Critical Thinking Skills through Writing in an Internet-Based Environment. 4(1), 169–178.

Arslan, R. S., & Yildiz, N. (2012). ENHANCING CRITICAL THINKING AT THE TERTIARY LEVEL THROUGH A LITERATURE-BASED CRITICAL THINKING PROGRAM. Ç.Ü. Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 21(2), 19–36. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/ArslanYldzukurovamakle.pdf

Arter, M. L., Wallace, L. N., & Shaffer, T. L. (2016). The Use of Reflective Journals to Stimulate Critical Thinking in the Academic Internship. Journal of Criminal Justice Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2015.1109132

Bahmani, S. (2016). Improved Critical Thinking in Students Using Current Events Journaling. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 36(3/4). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-04-2015-0038

Ballantyne, R., & Packer, J. (1995). The role of student journals in facilitating reflection at doctoral level. Studies in Continuing Education, 17(1–2), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037950170104

Bouanani, N. (2015). Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills through Reflective Writing Intervention among Business College Students. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME), 5(1), 50–55. https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-05135055

Brookfield, S. (2012). Teaching for Critical Thinkin. San Fransisco: JOSSEY-BASS A Wiley Imprint.

Cisero, C. A. (2006). Does Reflective Journal Writing Improve Course Performance? College Teaching, 54(2), 231–236. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.54.2.231-236

Connor-Greene, P. A. (2000). Making Connections: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Journal Writing in Enhancing Student Learning. Teaching of Psychology, 27(1), 44–46. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328023TOP2701_10

El Soufi, N., & See, B. H. (2019). Does explicit teaching of critical thinking improve critical thinking skills of English language learners in higher education? A critical review of causal evidence. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 60(August 2018), 140–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2018.12.006

Ennis, R. H. (1989). Critical Thinking and Subject Specificity: Clarification and Needed Research. Educational Researcher, 18(3), 4–10. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X018003004

Estrada, F. F., & Mariam Rahman, A. (2014). Reflective journal writing as an approach to enhancing students’ learning experience. Brunei Darussalam Journal of Technology and Commerce.

Facione, P. a. (2015). Critical Thinking : What It Is and Why It Counts. In Insight assessment. Retrieved from https://www.insightassessment.com/CT-Resources/Teaching-For-and-About-Critical-Thinking/Critical-Thinking-What-It-Is-and-Why-It-Counts/Critical-Thinking-What-It-Is-and-Why-It-Counts-PDF

Facione, P., & Facione, N. (1994). Holistic critical thinking scoring rubric. Retrieved July, 19, 2007. Retrieved from http://aacu-secure.nisgroup.com/meetings/pdfs/criticalthinkingrubric.PDF

Fuller, D. (1997). Critical thinking in undergraduate athletic training education. Journal of Athletic Training, 32(3), 242–247.

Gelder, T. Van. (2005). Teaching Critical Thinking: Some Lessons From Cognitive Science. College Teaching, 53(1), 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3047631

Guiller, J., Durndell, A., & Ross, A. (2008). Peer interaction and critical thinking: Face-to-face or online discussion? Learning and Instruction, 18(2), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.03.001

Hogsette, D., & Glazer, F. (2012). Tips From Innovative Teaching at UWF : Develop Critical Thinking Skills through Journal Writing. (7), 7–8. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/3708624/Develop_Critical_Thinking_Skills_through_Journal_Writing

Hughes, J. (2014). Critical Thinking in the Classroom. In ELI (pp. 1–27). Retrieved from https://cdn.ettoi.pl/pdf/resources/Critical_ThinkingENG.pdf

Indah, R. N. (2017). Critical Thinking, Writing Performance and Topic Familiarity of Indonesian EFL Learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(2), 229. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0802.04

Khatib, M., Marefat, F., & Ahmadi, M. (2012). Enhancing critical thinking abilities in EFL classrooms : Through written and audiotaped dialogue journals. 7(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.5829/idosi.hssj.2012.7.1.1104

Klein, P. D. (2004). Constructing scientific explanations through writing. Instructional Science, 32(3), 191–231. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:TRUC.0000024189.74263.bd

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2001). Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 35(4), 537. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588427

Lang, R., & McNaught, K. (2013). Reflective practice in a capstone business internship subject. Journal of International Education in Business, 6(1), 7–21. https://doi.org/10.1108/18363261311314926

Loo, R. (2001). Journaling: A Learning Tool for Project Management Training and Team-Building. 33(4), 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/875697280203300407

Lyons, J. (1999). Reflective education for professional practice: Discovering knowledge from experience. Nurse Education Today, 19(1), 29–34. https://doi.org/10.1054/nedt.1999.0607

Mardjuki, M. S. (2018). Learner Autonomy: Gender-Based Perception Among EFL Indonesian Students. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 3(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.21462/ijefll.v3i1.46

Moon, J. A. (2006). Learning Journals A Handbook for Reflective Practice. In Routledge (2nd Editio, Vol. 52). https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17752682

Moore, B., & Parker, R. (2009). Critical Thinking (Ninth Edit). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1867.tb00425a.x

Moore, T. (2013). Critical thinking: Seven definitions in search of a concept. Studies in Higher Education, 38(4), 506–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.586995

Nabhan, S. (2016). Students’ journal writing: Promoting reflective learning on students’ perception and comprehension towards students’ self-awareness and critical thinking development in english as foreign language classroom. Proceeding of the 7th International Conference on Educational Technology of Adi Buana (ICETA-7), (March), 449–456.

Nentl, N., & Zietlow, R. (2008). Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to teach critical thinking skills to business students. College and Undergraduate Libraries. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691310802177135

Ningsih, H. K. (2016). Multilingual re-instantiation : Genre pedagogy in Indonesian classrooms (PhD Thesis). (February). Retrieved from http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Print/Theses/HKartika-Ningsih_thesis.pdf

Norris, S. P. (1985). The Choice of Standard Conditions in Defining Critical Thinking Competence. Educational Theory, 35(1), 97–107. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1985.00097.x

Nuri, A. R. U., Sajidan, S., Oetomo, D., Prasetyanti, N. M., & Parmin, P. (2019). Improving Indonesian Senior High School Students’ Critical Thinking Skill through Science Integrated Learning (SIL) Model. Tadris: Jurnal Keguruan Dan Ilmu Tarbiyah, 4(2), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.24042/tadris.v4i2.3144

Quitadamo, I. J., & Kurtz, M. J. (1993). Curriculum & Leadership Journal _ Skills for the 21st Century_ teaching higher-order thinking. CBE - Life Sciences Education, 6, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.06

Reinertsen, P. S., & Wells, M. C. (1993). Dialogue Journals and Critical Thinking. Teaching Sociology, 21(2), 182. https://doi.org/10.2307/1318641

Shaarawy, H. Y. (2014a). The Effect of Journal Writing on Students’ Cognitive Critical Thinking Skills A Quasi-Experiment Research on an EFL Undergraduate Classroom in Egypt. International Journal of Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v3n4p120

Shaarawy, H. Y. (2014b). The Effect of Journal Writing on Students’ Cognitive Critical Thinking Skills A Quasi-Experiment Research on an EFL Undergraduate Classroom in Egypt. International Journal of Higher Education, 3(4), 120–128. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v3n4p120

Sinaga, P., & Feranie, S. (2017). Enhancing critical thinking skills and writing skills through the variation in non-traditional writing task. International Journal of Instruction, 10(2), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2017.1025a

Stanton, A. D., & Stanton, W. W. (2017). Using journaling to enhance learning and critical thinking in a retailing course. Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education.

Threlfall, S. J. (2014). E-journals: towards critical and independent reflective practice for students in higher education. Reflective Practice, 15(3), 317–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2014.900012

Velayati, N., Muslem, A., Fitriani, S. S., & Samad, I. A. (2017). An Exploration of Students’ Difficulties in Using Critical Thinking Skills in Reading. Al-Ta Lim Journal, 24(3), 195. https://doi.org/10.15548/jt.v24i3.298

Walker, S. E. (2006). Journal writing as a teaching technique to promote reflection. Journal of Athletic Training, 41(2), 216–221. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1472640/

Wicaksono, V. D. (2006). Critical Thinking Skills Enhancement Through Reflective Journal of Civics 5th Graders in SDN Ngenep 5. The First International Conference on Child - Friendly Education, 209–215. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11617/7215

Downloads

Published

2020-04-24