Reflective Quizzes and the Development of Dispositional Autonomy

Abstract

The project aims at transformative learning by using reflective essays for the development of dispositional autonomy. The goal of education should be to offer students more than mere details and facts they could gain from reading a textbook. Success in education should include the result of the student being able to apply material he/she deems important to his/her life. This study emphasizes that through reflective writing assignments students generate a stronger grasp of dispositional autonomy. This later translates into self-awareness, critical thinking, and empathy through inquisitive introspection. During phase one participants were recruited from my mentors two general psychology courses, with total participants not exceeding 85. Everyone in these classes completed the assessments, but only those that provided consent were included in the study. Each student completed the course which included one reflective writing assignment each week. A sample question of the reflective one-page papers would be,“Imagine your life if you beat your worst fear, what would it be like?” The reflective quizzes were collected and graded by the professor as is currently done as a part of his pedagogical approach and are not a part of this study. At the end of the course students will complete the assessments completed on the first day. Analyses will be ran to identify whether or not the reflective papers were useful in increasing scores of autonomy.