UCLAN MD4058 Study Skills Module: Academic Paper Assignment Report

This report analyzes two journal articles related to self-reflection in education, fulfilling the requirements of the MD4058 Study Skills Module assignment. The report begins by presenting the evidence found in each selected journal article, focusing on their methodologies, participant selection, and research validity. It then compares the two articles, highlighting similarities and differences in their approaches to self-reflection, particularly in the context of students and teachers. The comparison includes an examination of the articles' aims, research methods, and the perspectives they offer on the importance of self-reflection in learning and teaching. Finally, the report includes a reflection section, detailing the author's personal learning experiences, challenges faced during the assignment, and how the process has influenced their approach to learning and critical thinking. The report emphasizes the value of self-reflection in both students' and teachers' development, and the importance of interaction between them for fostering effective learning and teaching techniques.

MD4058 STUDY SKILLS
MODULE

Table of Contents
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
THE EVIDENCE.............................................................................................................................3
COMPARISON...............................................................................................................................3
REFLECTION.................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

MAIN BODY
THE EVIDENCE
The first selected journal article is written by Joke H. van Velzen (van Velzen, 2015). In
this journal article the authors have selected the participants based on the purposive sampling
method where the students of the Class 11th in the University of Amsterdam were selected, and
they were made to answer three open-ended questions prompting them towards self- reflection.
A qualitative data analysis was performed on the responses thus collected because of the
exploration of self-reflective and critcal thinking levels of the participants selected. The writer of
the journal article Joke H. van Velzen works as a visiting faculty in the University of Amsterdam
proving the validity of the research paper. Since the paper is published by the renowned Journal
Taylor & Francis Online under the Reflective Practice section, it shows the reliability of the
research paper. Lastly, the research paper is not only beneficial for the intended audience of
professors and teachers, but they can be studied by students and other audiences as well thus
proving to be generalized.
The second article selected for the report is “Reflection and Resistance: Challenges of
Rationale-based Teacher Education” written by Todd Dinkelman (Dinkelman, 2009). Under this,
the researcher has used his own experiences integrated with the literature review of the
previously published articles and 12 different themes or categories have been developed. These
categories are either related to explanatory frameworks that can be further expanded under the
research on teacher education, or they are based on the common reflections on the scenarios that
occur in the university classrooms. These themes act as a starting point for further research
related to the one prominent question that author highlights, i.e. what are the teachers teaching
for. The validity can be ascertained by position of the authors Todd Dinkelman as Associate
Professor in the University of Georgia. This research paper is reliable because it was published in
the Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education thus proving its reliability. Additionally, the
paper also portrays a wide scope for further research in the field related to teachers perspective
on self- reflection therefore making it generalized as well.
COMPARISON
The intended aim of this essay is to develop a contradiction and identify the similarities
together related to the use of self- reflection in the context of students and the teachers. The
journal articles that have been selected for fulfilling this purpose analyse the use and integration

of such self- induced self- reflection for both teachers and the students. The essay will compare
the different aspects of both the journal papers and also identify the points of similarities.
Further, there will be a reflective section where the major findings and the analysis of such
findings will be presented along with adequate learning for the future i.e. contribution of this
essay will be highlighted.
The findings form the first journal article states the use and importance of reflection from
the students' perspectives where the author uses the technique of open-ended question while
evaluating the selected sample of students (Durall and et.al., 2017). This article detailed the
perspective of the students i.e., what they think about the importance or impact of reflection in
their learning. The purpose of using such open-ended questions was to align the methods with
the intended research objective i.e. to explore the notion of the students rather than the expected
understanding i.e. rather than what they are taught. However, the second article differentiates on
the first article on one major point. It takes into consideration the perspectives of the teachers
rather than that of students where the reflective theme used by the researcher forces the teachers
to critically evaluate themselves, i.e. whether they are fulfilling the purpose of their teaching.
The different categories that the researcher developed targeted that whether teachers are adopting
a rationale based educational approach rather than the traditional one. Both the journal papers
presented widely different perspectives on the same area, i.e. the importance of self- reflection or
evaluation in the field of their educational perspective.
In the first journal article, the researcher, has highlighted the importance of the two
different perspectives, i.e. he argued that knowing self-reflection is one thing and then using that
self-reflection in the process of knowledge are completely different things (Nurmi, Michelsen
and Norlander, 2019). The author emphasized that students acknowledge the difference between
these two points and use both of them differently i.e. mere knowing of the importance of self-
reflection is not adequate and the students should integrate the practice in their learning as well
so that they can develop better understanding. Similarly, the second author also highlighted that
do teachers understand the importance of reflecting the knowledge that they are imparting i.e. is
it challenging the status quo that has been established or are they supporting the same status quo.
The author promotes the use of a rationale based teaching where he asks teachers to stop
conforming to the standards that have already been established, and rather reflect on the current
trends and integrate such reflection on their teachings that they impart to the students.

On the other note, the first article has conducted an exhaustive use of the secondary
research papers that have been published where they have taken reference from a variety of
published resources. Additionally, they have also compared the findings of the different
published research papers with either their own findings or with each other. However, the second
journal article does not formulate the secondary research as their major part of the research paper
they have published. The author has published the research paper entirely from the perspectives
of the teacher as an individual (Bol and et.al., 2016). The secondary references have been made
in research but it is mostly used in the contexts where there is an introduction or defining of a
concept as a whole. Therefore, both the research papers are contradictory at this note where one
has extensively used the secondary literature review and another has abstained from it majorly.
Although, thorough study of both the articles point out that the authors have remained
true to their purpose, i.e. both have tried to develop a model where the teachers and students have
been encouraged to exchange the findings with each other. In the first article, the author
emphasized that students should increase their exchange with the teachers where teachers can
guide them whenever they experience barriers in the integration of the reflection with their study
(Nurmi, Michelsen and Norlander, 2019).
The author illustrated that, at times, even the teachers, especially the pre- service teachers
can either act as a hinder or also pose an opportunity to teach their students about the importance
of self- reflection. Similarly, the research paper published by the second authors also emphasized
on the act of teachers engaging with the students where they can identify that whether the
students are understanding the perspective that the teacher is trying to present or not (Thwaites
and et.al., 2017). The authors of the second article emphasized that this will help the teachers in
improving their existing practice where they will be able to analyse their own teachings and
evaluate the areas where they need to improve.
The above analysis of both the selected journal articles helps in concluding that both the
articles have emphasized the use of reflection with the knowledge gaining and development
process whether the intended audience is teachers or the students (Soriano, Mann and Friesen,
2019). The authors have collectively emphasized that interaction between the teachers and the
students is an integral part for the integration of reflection where they emphasized that this
interaction helps both the parties in achieving their motives of establishing reflective teaching
and learning techniques. However, the articles differed on the aspect where the first authors i.e.

Joke H. van Velzen have extensively used the reference of the literature published by secondary
sources and on the other hand, the second author did not prefer to use such secondary resources.
They emphasized the use of reflection and perception in the detailing of the different aspects
related to the importance of reflection.
REFLECTION
During the entire process of completing this essay, the most important learning was
related to the topic itself i.e. how is self- reflection such an important aspect of the learning
(Brockbank, McGill and Beech, 2017). I was able to learn about it in detail where I was forced to
think that whether I integrate such use of reflective practices in my studies or not, and I was
motivated to enhance the use of reflection in my learning process.
However, I found it extremely difficult to go through each of the reading and especially
the part where I had to select a second journal article was a very time-consuming process for me.
I had to go through the multiple references that the author had done in their report and then
reading the different research papers published by multiple authors was a very exhaustive task
(Thwaites and et.al., 2017). However, reading a wide array of research papers helped me in
developing different perspectives that were associated with the concept of self-reflection and its
importance.
The enhancement in the use of reflection, especially for the teachers was a very
enlightening aspect for me because I always deemed to think that the teachers are the pillars of
knowledge but reading the second article presented a different perspective before me where the
need of the teachers to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate themselves and their teaching habits
was highlighted before me (Panadero, Klug and Järvelä, 2016). Similarly, the first article helped
me in recognizing that earlier I was only familiar with the concept of self- reflection and its
importance in education. I was not using this in my knowledge gaining process and the study of
all these articles collectively helped me in restructuring my learning approach so that I could
build an extensive and updated knowledge base rather than a redundant one that is stuck at the
status quo and is exactly in accordance with the one that is expected.
I could further say or reflect that the undertaking of this assignment has altered the way in
which I will undertake the education from now on. This essay has altered my way of learning
where I will try to make it more theoretical and less practical, and it has also helped me in
ascertaining the importance of indulging in regular conversations with the teachers (Durall and

et.al., 2017). I have decided that now I will try to enrol in after class sessions with teachers where
I can discuss my problem s or the difference in opinion regarding any topic that is taught so that
my critical thinking abilities can also develop.
Now I understand the importance of failure or more importantly I acknowledge the fact
that it is alright to get checked by your teachers every, now and then because these can help in
resolving the faults in the understanding and the faulty developments o f wrong concepts can be
avoided thus benefiting in the longer term.
Collectively, I can conclude that this assignment has helped me in inculcating the
practices of time management where I now acknowledge the importance of shortening the
research time by doing smart work (Horgan, 2017). I have learnt that whenever a journal article
is to be selected, reading the abstract helps in giving an overview of the entire research that is
conducted by the author and the relevant article can be identified and selected easily. If I had
learnt this technique earlier, most of my time could be saved in the selection of the current
journal, i.e. the second journal that I had to select (Ajayi, 2016). This has helped me in
developing myself as a better individual where I have become inspired or motivated to regularly
acknowledge and evaluate the different strengths or weaknesses that I possess and thus I have
been able to enhance my entire learning process all over.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Dinkelman, T., 2009. Reflection and resistance: Challenges of rationale-based teacher education.
Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education. 2(1). p.6.
van Velzen, J.H., 2015. Are students intentionally using self-reflection to improve how they
learn? Conceptualising self-induced self-reflective thinking. Reflective Practice. 16(4).
pp.522-533.
Ajayi, L., 2016, January. How intern teachers use classroom video for self-reflection on
teaching. In The Educational Forum(Vol. 80, No. 1, pp. 79-94). Routledge.
Soriano, L., Mann, D. and Friesen, M.R., 2019. ENHANCEMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING
THROUGH SELF-REFLECTION. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education
Association (CEEA).
Bol, L. and et.al., 2016. The effects of self-regulated learning training on community college
students’ meta-cognition and achievement in developmental math courses. Community
College Journal of Research and Practice. 40(6). pp.480-495.
Nurmi, B., Michelsen, C.S. and Norlander, T., 2019. The Importance of Reflection: An
Exploratory Analysis on How Prospective Psychotherapists Learn Self-Determination.
The Open Psychology Journal. 12(1).
Durall, E. and et.al., 2017. Reflection in learning through a self-monitoring device: Design
research on eeg self-monitoring during a study session. Designs for Learning. 9(1).
Brockbank, A., McGill, I. and Beech, N., 2017. Reflective learning in practice. In Reflective
learning in practice (pp. 18-28). Routledge.
Horgan, J.J., 2017. Using Critical Incident Analysis to Develop Form 11 English as a Foreign
Language Students’ Self-Reflection Skills and Conditional Phrase Usage Incident. In
Rural Environment. Education. Personality.(REEP). Proceedings of the International
Scientific Conference (Latvia). Latvia University of Agriculture.
Thwaites, R. and et.al., 2017. Self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) as a training strategy to
enhance therapeutic empathy in low intensity CBT practitioners. New Zealand Journal
of Psychology. 46(2).
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Panadero, E., Klug, J. and Järvelä, S., 2016. Third wave of measurement in the self-regulated
learning field: when measurement and intervention come hand in hand. Scandinavian
Journal of Educational Research. 60(6). pp.723-735.
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