Through Reflective Lenses: Enhancing Students’ Perceptions of Their Media Writing Skills

Abstract

Many national reports have documented students’ writing deficiencies and the need to develop rigorous writing curricula that moves the needle forward in training young professionals to write. The quasi-experimental study described herein explains the effect reflection had on journalistic writing students’ media writing self-perception scores. We found that students who participated in metacognitive reflection exercises after each major journalistic writing assignment scored significantly higher on the writing self-efficacy construct and the overall media writing self-perceptions scale. Reflection was one way the students in the study began to perceive themselves as media writers and transform from novices to professionals.