Reflection for learning: understanding the value of reflective writing for information literacy development

Reflective writing has long been acknowledged as an important aspect of personal and professional development. There is increasing evidence of the use of reflective writing assessments and activities in the context of information literacy education, particular in Higher Education. Writing reflectively can help students to understand their own information literacy development and engage in deeper learning. Students on an undergraduate Business Intelligence module at the University of Sheffield iSchool completed a piece of reflective writing about their information literacy development as part of the assessed work for the module. This writing was mapped against a model of reflection and a model of information literacy to understand the depth and spread of reflection offered by these students. The results showed that students had chosen to reflect in some but not all areas of Information Literacy, and the depth of reflection was variable. However the aspects of information literacy where students were reflective illustrated that the learning outcomes of the module had been met. Mapping reflective statements against models of reflection was found to aid in the analysis and assessment of the reflective writing. The analysis undertaken by the researchers supported their own reflective practice as Scholars of Teaching and Learning.