Reflective journal review

Contemporary scholarship on tertiary education emphasises assessment not only as a means for certification and accreditation, but also as an instrument that can enhance motivation and improve learning and teaching (Boud & Associates 2010; Schwartz & Webb 2002). Assessment defines what is important for learning and different modes of assessment guide learning by establishing an agenda for learning and directing attention to what matters. An important part of assessment is to develop students' abilities to make informed judgements; that is, it should support the construction of reflexive learners and inform the process of fostering new practitioners (Boud & Associates 2010). Ideally, assessment should lead to deep, rather than surface, learning, and through assessment students should develop a questioning attitude and critical thinking skills, as well as the abilities of integration and synthesis. This is at the very essence of reflective journal review, which, as noted by Waldo and Hermanns (2009), provides a methodological approach through which students may discover new insights that can be applied to daily practice.