Reflective Practices in the Composition and Literature Classroom:

Strategies to Encourage Imagination and Self-Assessment

Laura A. Metzger

(Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, TX, USA)

Abstract: One’s imagination is opened from a young age; parents begin encouraging their children to use their imagination for entertainment early in life, yet when children enter primary and secondary school, students are encouraged to embrace technology and use their imagination and creativity to use technology to complete assignments successfully; however, when students begin to enter higher education, simple assignments that do not require the use of technology astound them. How is it that a simple task of taking understanding of a text to complete an assignment just using one’s imagination is more difficult for students when technology is not involved? How can instructors not only encourage students to use reflective practices to assess their own learning and increase imagination but also implement reflective practices to assess teaching style to improve student retention and engagement in the classroom to increase student success? 

Key words: imagination and self-assessment, reflective practices, meditation, critical thinking, writing across the curriculum