Effects of Reflective Thinking On Deep Learning in Theoretical Linguistics Classes

Abstract

It has been reported that some teachers mainly lectured while teaching online and students only listened and took notes. As a result, students did not develop high-order thinking skills. The study examined the effects of reflective writing, one of the deep learning approaches on students’ learning outcomes. Participants were 103 undergraduate students studying phonetics and phonology at a private university in Vietnam. Students had to submit 481 reflective writings over a ten-week period and did the mid-term and final tests. Five students participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that there was a positive correlation between the number of assignments and their mid-term and final scores. The group that completed more assignments had higher scores. The study also revealed the impact of reflective writings on students’ retainment of the lesson content and utilization of higher-order thinking skills. The findings suggest some pedagogical implications for teachers to sustain students’ deep learning.