Reflective writing (such as minute papers, journaling, or blogs) may help students monitor and self‐regulate their learning throughout the progression of a course. In addition, instructors may assess the development of student metacognition and their understanding of the subject matter through evaluation of this writing. Previously, the researchers examined how the use of “blogs” (online journals) in an upper level human anatomy course may improve student metacognition in understanding human anatomy. The original sample was small (20 students) but indicated students became more cognizant of their strengths and weaknesses in mastering anatomy as the semester progressed. This current research examines another cohort of students (36 students) in the same undergraduate class. These students reviewed 10 radiology online cases each throughout the semester and then reflected about their understanding of the anatomy, pathology and medical imaging interpretation in online blogs. Researchers scored each line of each blog, using the codebook that was developed from a grounded theory approach. As with the pilot study, the students in the larger sample also became more confident and assessed their skill in identifying anatomical structure more positively as the semester progressed. Early in the semester, student blogs expressed more anxiety and confusion about the anatomical material, and students tended to rely on guessing to solve the cases. By the end of the semester, guessing was replaced by methodical deduction for solving the cases and students were able to accurately assess their understanding of anatomy. The use of blogs (reflective writing) allowed the researchers to evaluate the improvement in student metacognition using a grounded theory approach.

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Undergraduate students often struggle with understanding the theories of Bourdieu, but they are essential for understanding how power and privilege are reproduced in society. Revealing students' complicity in this system is a powerful teaching moment, but it is often difficult to make the lesson and advanced theory accessible without triggering students' defense mechanisms. Discussions of oppression often generate reactions of resistance, paralysis, and rage. This article describes a simulation designed to thwart student passivity while also being cognizant of pushing students too far emotionally. By having students adopt an identity during play and then analyze the results of their simulation, students were able to identify with structural oppression and learn Bourdieu's principles of cultural capital and reproduction.

This paper explores the relative value of "permanent" working groups versus "ad hoc" groups in large introductory level anthropology courses. The aim is to manage tutor workload while simultaneously enhancing students’ attainment of the learning objectives. In addition, a main learning objective was for students to practice critical thinking and develop an understanding of cultural relativism. We argue that one effective experiential approach to teaching such concepts is collaborative learning with others in diverse learning groups. We explore the factors enhancing such learning experiences. Based on our survey research we conclude that ad hoc groups are better for exposing students to diverse perspectives and permanent working groups are better for fostering an intimate learning experience within a large class. Although our original goals for using groups were mainly pragmatic, our research on teaching methods shows that it exposes students to diverse perspectives. We find this particularly appropriate for courses in anthropology aiming to teach the meaning of diversity and other related concepts. Therefore, we recommend that tutors/instructors choose their collaborative learning strategy based both on their intended learning outcomes and their learning environments.