Advanced academic writing techniques and strategies

¶ … Learning Journals in Higher and Continuing Education (2002), Arthur M. Langer of Teacher's College at Columbia University, examines in-depth and with great authority the issue of utilizing learning journals "as vehicles for encouraging critical reflection among non-traditional students" and for comparing "variances with studies among traditional students" (2002, p. 337). In this case, non-traditional students are those who have not attended an institution of higher learning in many years or have never attended such institutions, mostly comprised of adults over the age of 50 (Petersen, 2005, p. 224). Overall, Langer's main focus is to clearly understand how adult students in a "technical computer class responded to the requirement for learning journals" in a classroom setting, while the qualitative research provided in this article focuses on whether "learning journals have been proven to be an effective teaching tool" in science-based classes (2002, p. 337). Therefore, the basic research question asked by Langer concerns "how the use of journals has impacted the learning process of adult students" and how this impact "compares to those of traditional students" (2002, p. 337).

As to the article's literature review, Langer provides a rather long and detailed analysis of former and existing literature on the subject of using learning journals in higher education. Most of these share common themes concerning "their use as learning tools" and focus on three major areas of research-first, the overall value that such journals contribute to the student learning process in the fields of science, engineering and higher mathematics; second, how learning journals offer a transition between theory and practice; and third, how the various kinds of learning journals have been used in the past "to facilitate critical reflection in student learning" objectives (2002, p. 339).

Langer also provides some examples related to a computer technology curriculum, such as J.A. Moon's suggestion that there are clear indications "of the manner in which learning journals have been used to facilitate learning" in the above-mentioned disciplines and the fact that learning journals have been shown to initiate the replication of facts and ideas in students enrolled in science classes (2002, p. 339). In addition, it has been demonstrated that science students who maintain learning journals, being "much like a diary in which a student writes down what has been learned and any new ideas that deserve some exploration" (Wilson, 2004, p. 245), have improved upon their personal learning and communications skills at all levels, particularly in the disciplines of science and mathematics (Langer, 2002, p. 339).

In regards to data collection/research methods, Langer employs two approaches, an evaluative review of the learning journals kept and submitted by students and an interview process of selected students that completed a specific course. With the first approach, Langer utilized researchers to read and evaluate all of the submitted learning journals for style, content and subject matter and then examine these journals with a critical eye, looking for common themes and learning concerns (2002, p. 342). With the second approach, Langer solicited student volunteers to be interviewed with the objective being "to gain an understanding of student perceptions related to journal writing assignments" and the overall effects of these journals on student learning and comprehension (2002, p. 342).

The results of Langer's explorations into the effectiveness and benefits of learning journals is based on an analysis and two summaries of data collected from the individual journals and the interviews. Langer then compares the data to past and current literature related to the application of learning journals in higher educational environments, especially at the university level. One result is that in spite of being told how to record a journal in the context of an independent format, most students used a format preferred by the teacher which demonstrates a possible "lack of proficiency with reflective writing" (2002, p. 343), meaning that almost all of the students were not at all familiar with reflective writing techniques and decided to adhere to a format more in line with what the teacher expected or preferred. Another result is that 55% of the submitted journals appear to have become more critical and self-reflective toward the end of the course, an indication that these students had actually become more proficient as reflective writers as a result of keeping a record of their thoughts and achievements.

As to strengths and weaknesses related to the article, it is clear that Langer is a master of academic extrapolation, due to his ability to write about and discuss rather complicated data and information. However, his writing style is not so overwhelmingly congested with extrapolation to the point of becoming unreadable, as is the case with other academic essays written by some very prominent scholars. Langer also chose to use bullet headings as a way of separating his basic ideas from the rest of the text, such as in the first section of his research methods.

Langer also includes some of the questions that were asked of the students during the interview process, one being their reaction to the requirement to keep a learning journal-

"reactions were mixed and sometimes prejudicial. . . one student felt insulted," feeling that journal writing "seems better suited children" (2002, p. 344). As to weaknesses, after a very close reading of Langer's article, there appears to be none, due to the fact that Langer's academic style provides all of the proper data and information needed to understand his argument without cluttering up the page with redundant facts and figures.

Reflectively speaking, Langer's excellent article provides a new glimpse into how important it is for students at the university level to record their thoughts, ideas and concepts in a journal. Obviously, this technique could also be utilized in high schools and even at the intermediate level which would give students a sort of jump start on what to expect at a university, especially if their major is in one of the hard sciences, such as computer technology, engineering and medicine.