Volume 46, Issue 4, December 2023
Andrew P. Mills
Pages 507-530
https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil2023821187
Making Philosophy Personal
Reflective Journals in the Philosophy Classroom
Reflective journals are characterized by their expressive freedom and their intent that students explicitly connect course material to their own life experiences, emotions, beliefs, and feelings. Drawing on research on the use of reflective journals and on the reflections of students in my philosophy courses, I demonstrate how philosophy professors can use reflective journals as a tool to help their students achieve important learning outcomes. By making philosophy personal for students, reflective journals allow students to practice philosophy as a way of life, achieve important metacognitive outcomes, and (drawing on constructivism in learning theory) increase their knowledge and understanding of course content.