To Prompt or Not to Prompt? That Is the Question for Student Journaling
Location
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
Description
PURPOSE: Despite many opinions, there has been minimal definitive research to distinguish which style of journaling is most beneficial for data collection or pedagogical reflection. This study aimed to assess culture shock and worldview changes through journaling for nursing students on a two-week trip to Ghana. This provided better understanding of reflective journaling strategies. SUBJECTS: Three groups of GVSU students producing journal entries from a two-week trip to Ghana. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This was a descriptive qualitative study. Reflective journaling was used as an educational and data collection tool for nursing students in Ghana. Data was collected from three separate travel groups over the course of three years. ANALYSES: Journal entries were read and coded for common topics using Atlas.ti. RESULTS: An unexpected trend was discovered from varied journaling formats. The first and second year, students were assigned open-reflective journaling with no questions. The third year, students were given questions to answer for every journal entry to help guide student reflections and ease data collection. The prompts created shorter, one-word or one-sentence entries with less rich and reflective substance compared to the paragraph formats of open-reflective journaling. CONCLUSIONS: Prompted journaling, a commonly recommended form of reflective journaling, inspired shorter, less rich, and less introspective journal entries compared to unprompted, open journaling. Further research is needed regarding an informative and educational journaling format for cross-cultural experiences.
To Prompt or Not to Prompt? That Is the Question for Student Journaling
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
PURPOSE: Despite many opinions, there has been minimal definitive research to distinguish which style of journaling is most beneficial for data collection or pedagogical reflection. This study aimed to assess culture shock and worldview changes through journaling for nursing students on a two-week trip to Ghana. This provided better understanding of reflective journaling strategies. SUBJECTS: Three groups of GVSU students producing journal entries from a two-week trip to Ghana. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This was a descriptive qualitative study. Reflective journaling was used as an educational and data collection tool for nursing students in Ghana. Data was collected from three separate travel groups over the course of three years. ANALYSES: Journal entries were read and coded for common topics using Atlas.ti. RESULTS: An unexpected trend was discovered from varied journaling formats. The first and second year, students were assigned open-reflective journaling with no questions. The third year, students were given questions to answer for every journal entry to help guide student reflections and ease data collection. The prompts created shorter, one-word or one-sentence entries with less rich and reflective substance compared to the paragraph formats of open-reflective journaling. CONCLUSIONS: Prompted journaling, a commonly recommended form of reflective journaling, inspired shorter, less rich, and less introspective journal entries compared to unprompted, open journaling. Further research is needed regarding an informative and educational journaling format for cross-cultural experiences.