Effects of students’ self-reflection on improving essay writing achievement among Ethiopian undergraduate students: a counterbalanced design

Abstract

Reflection in education has seen an upsurge in research interest since as reported by Dewey (How we think, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, 1991) ground-breaking work, which plays an integral role in fostering students’ self-reflection and demonstrable learning skills. However there have not been enough studies to determine whether writing instruction from the perspective of self-reflection before action improves undergraduate students' essay writing achievement. This article investigates the effects of Ethiopian university-undergraduate students’ self-reflection before action on their essay writing achievement through the mediation of teaching writing instruction. The study's methodology involved two phases of intervention in a counterbalanced design. The participants were 47 male and female students aged 19–22, from Arba Minch University. They were assigned to a control group and an experimental group using the matched sampling technique. During the first phase, the experimental group (Group A) was instructed to engage in self-reflection-based course activities over a period of two months while the control group was not. In the second phase Group B was engaged in self-reflection-based course activities over a period of two months while Group A was kept under control. To collect data, preliminary students’ self-reflection was provided using an open-ended questionnaire, and pre- and post-tests of writing were given to both groups. Mean and standard deviation statistics were applied after the thematic analysis of the qualitative data. Additionally, a univariate analysis of variance was performed to answer the query regarding the impact of self-reflection on students' essay writing performance. The findings demonstrated that, despite the students encountering numerous difficulties during their essay-writing exercises; the self-reflection-based instruction had a significant positive impact on the participants' essay-writing achievement. In conclusion, the findings have some implications for teaching essay writing instructions.

Teacher-Students Collaboration: Using Guided-Writing Instruction to Assist Learners with Writing Difficulties and Low Motivation to Write

“…Therefore, teacher-student collaboration through guided-writing instruction has a positive impact on helping students with writing difficulties and low motivation. This demonstrates that writing education can yield better results when given sufficient attention and implemented with proper instructions (Gebremariam & Asgede, 2023; Sahle et al, 2023). Based on the new findings of this study, it can be concluded that there is a need for more attention to the response of teacher-student collaboration through guided-writing instruction.…”

“…Wondim et al (2023) investigated whether children who are able to produce quality writing with good handwriting in early learning stages can understand the value of writing and successfully practice it. However, high school and undergraduate students are unaware of the importance of writing and regularly receive low scores on their writing achievements (Gebremariam & Asgede, 2023; Rao, 2017). Therefore, further research is needed to understand the writing achievements and motivation to write in these failed writing products.…”

“…The fact that language teachers mostly use traditional teaching methods in the classroom, with students primarily doing textbook exercises and focusing solely on correcting their results, has influenced students' writing motivation and skills (Aminatun & Ngadiso, 2018). The teaching method is one of the factors that influence students' skill development in writing instruction in the classroom (Gebremariam & Asgede, 2023).…”