Exploring evidence of reflective thinking in student artifacts of blogging-mapping tool: A design-based research approach

Reflective learning can assist a learner's purposeful and conscious manipulation of ideas toward meaningful learning and knowledge integration. Blogs have been used to support reflection, but Blogs usually do not provide overt mechanisms for students to make connections between different parts of an experience, which is integral to reflective activity. A blogging-mapping tool was designed to support the reflective learning process. The tool allowed students to write blog posts, attach up to five keywords to each post, and link the keywords on a concept map. This study aimed to seek patterns of participants' use of the tool, including evidence of reflective learning, identified as integration between concept maps and blogs. Nine graduate students participated in the study for a semester. Data analysis included examining concept maps for knowledge integration over time. Participants' various mapping activities implied different levels of thinking. Some participants' final concept maps showed signs that they tried to integrate knowledge around the content area. Yet, the inconsistent and inconclusive patterns of participants' concept mapping activities signaled that more strategies were needed to sustain their commitment.