A framework for scaffolding academic reflective writing in dentistry.

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Reflective Practice
• Academic Writing

Background:

• Demonstrating reflection on clinical practice is crucial for dental students and professionals.
• Academic reflective writing (ARW) is a key method for evidencing reflective practice.
• ARW requires balancing personal, academic, and evaluative writing components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze student ARW tasks from a UK Dental School.
• To make recommendations for systematically developing ARW skills within the dental curriculum.

Main Methods:

• Linguistic analysis of four high-scoring ARW tasks (two first-year, two fourth-year).
• Interviews with task markers to complement the analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified five consistent reflective aspects: description, feelings, analysis, evaluation, and conclusion/action planning.
• Observed differing balances of these aspects between entry-level and final-year ARW.
• Found marker expectations evolved from technical reflection in early years to critical reflection in later years.

Conclusions:

• The five reflective aspects and proposed reflection categories can aid curriculum development.
• Scaffolding ARW development longitudinally through the dental curriculum is recommended.
• This study aims to stimulate discussion on enhancing reflective thinking in dental education.