A framework for scaffolding academic reflective writing in dentistry

Introduction Being able to demonstrate reflection on clinical practice is a key competency required of undergraduate dental students and registrants alike. Academic reflective writing (ARW) is an increasingly widely used genre of writing which evidences reflective practice. ARW is complex, as students need to achieve balance from a challenging mix of personal, academic and evaluative writing. The aim of this study is to analyse four student ARW tasks from a UK Dental School in order to make recommendations regarding the systematic development of student ARW through the dental curriculum. Methods In this study, a detailed linguistic analysis of high-scoring examples of two first year and two fourth year ARW tasks was undertaken, complemented by comments from interviews with markers of the tasks. Results The linguistic analysis of high-scoring student ARW revealed five consistent reflective aspects common to all tasks, viz description, feelings, analysis, evaluation and conclusion and action planning. Entry-level and final-year ARW showed a different balance between reflective aspects. Markers' expectations in the lower years were found to equate to high-quality technical reflection, whereas markers in the higher years expected students to have shifted their perspectives to achieve critical reflection. Conclusion Whilst this study is limited in its generalisability due to its small-scale exploratory nature, it is hoped that the five reflective aspects, and the categories of reflection put forward here will be useful in stimulating discussion about how to scaffold the development of student ARW (and associated reflective thinking) longitudinally through the dental curriculum.