Preparing Students for the Blog Experience

One important consideration outlined in the literature was the need to ensure that students have the requisite skills for successful implementation of a blog.  Ladyshewsky and Gardner (2008) state that students in their study identified a need for blogging to be introduced earlier in the curriculum.  The students also indicated that it would be beneficial to have the opportunity to create their blogs while still at the University. 

In addition to the recognition that students must be acquainted with the use of blogs before using them in a context, several authors emphasized the importance of preparation for reflection.  Beatson and Larkin (2010) maintain that reflective practice is not an innate ability but rather is a skill that students must be trained to implement effectively.  Larkin and Beatson (2014) provide a comprehensive guide to fostering reflective skills that advocates for providing workshops throughout an academic term which introduce students to reflective practice and progressively scaffold their ability to think reflectively.  

They focus their reflective curriculum on what they identify as the 4Rs Model of Reflective Thinking with the 4RS representing:  reporting and responding, relating, reasoning, and reconstructing.  They indicate that the on-campus workshop model provides the opportunity for progressive guided practice in developing the ability to reflect effectively before having to apply that skill in completing critical analysis in a reflective assessment.  The workshops provide the opportunity for students to benefit from both faculty guidance and the support of other students by engaging in group activities (Larkin & Beaston, 2014).  Wolf (2010) states that in her study, the students were provided with a Blogging Guide in order to support the blog activity along with an orientation seminar prior to the placement.