Wikipedia:School and university projects/Kentucky portfolio reflective writing

Overview

Reflective Writing is one of the four required types of writing that students must include in their Kentucky Writing Portfolio. For the portfolio, the reflective piece should focus on how the student has grown in his or her writing ability through the acquisition of literacy skills. Reflective writing serves as a self-assessment for the student. In the reflective writing requirement for the portfolio, students personalize the piece to discuss their growth as a writer and also examine any areas in writing in which they feel they need improvement.

For the reflective writing piece, literacy refers to the student's ability to understand language in reading and writing, and more broadly, use language to communicate with others. Reflection refers to the act in which a student gives "serious thought" or "contemplation" to a subject matter. ¹ A careful reflection on the student's literacy skills is the main purpose behind the reflective writing requirement.

Purpose of Reflective Writing

Reflective writing allows students to give ample consdieration to a subject. According to the Kentucky Writing Handbook, good reflective writing involves the student focussing on an event or events from the past and then examining the significance of that event as they write.¹ Because reflective writing involves analysis of events, this form of writing serves as a good means for students to practice thinking critically.

Because reflective writing acts an an assessment by which the student can examine the impact of a past event, it is a type of writing that should and can be used all year-round in all content areas. Reflective writing can be used as a form of writing to learn, writing to demonstate learning, and also as writing for publication.¹ Regardles of type of writing, the purpose for the reflective writing piece in the portfolio remains that students use their writing to examine their growth as a writer.

Characteristics of Reflective Writing Requirement

The Kentucky Writing Handbook offers the following list of possible characteristics of the reflective writing requirement for the portfolio:

• • Can come from any content area class
  • Can refer to other portfolio pieces, though not required
  • Can be addressed to a variety of audiences, most likely someone with an invested interest in the student's growth as a writer
  • Can reference content knowledge when discussing growth of literacy skills
  • Can be in a variety of forms, including but not limited to a personal essay or letter
  • Should be personalized to the writer's own experiences¹

Characteristics of a Strong Reflective Portfolio Piece

The following traits are offered by the Kentucky Writing Handbook as traits of a high-scoring reflective piece.

• • Demonstrates specific literacy experiences that show impact/growth in writing
  • Demonstrates significance of literacy experiences through insightful analysis of learning events
  • Targets a specific audience and shows careful consideration of audience’s needs to clearly communicate the purpose of the piece
  • Demonstrates careful idea development and makes connections to writing by way of literacy growth experiences
  • Demonstrates clear organization with insightful connections through analysis and reflection
  • Demonstrates narration of experience for the transactive purpose of analyzing growth in literacy to show impact on writing and learning (may narrate an event for the transactive purpose of informing)
  • Demonstrates careful choice of form given purpose and audience
  • Is very individual to the student and his/her learning experiences
  • Demonstrates student clearly understands his/her literacy goals²

References

¹ Kentucky Department of Education. (2007). Kentucky writing handbook. Retrieved December 12, 2007, from http://education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/High+School/English+Language+Arts/Writing/Kentucky+Writing+Handbook.htm.

² Kentucky Department of Education. (2007). Reflective sample grade 12. Retrieved December 12, 2007, from http://www.education.ky.gov/users/jwyatt/writing/ReflectiveWriting/Reflective%20Sample%20Gr%2012.pdf.

See Also

Kentucky Department of Education. (2007). Grade 12 reflective sample a tale of two towers. Available at http://www.education.ky.gov/users/otl/WR07mat/Summer%202007%20Training%20Materials/Gr_12_ReflectiveSample_ATaleOfTwoTowers.pdf.

Kentucky Department of Education. (2007). Grade 12 reflective sample following the yellow brick road. Available at http://www.education.ky.gov/users/otl/WR07mat/Summer%202007%20Training%20Materials/Gr_12_ReflectiveSample_FollowingTheYellowBrickRoad.pdf.

Kentucky Department of Education. (2007). Reflective writing. Available at http://education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/High+School/English+Language+Arts/Writing/Kentucky+Writing+Handbook.htm.

Wikipedia:School and university projects/Kentucky Writing Portfolio