A vital part of my teaching pedagogy involves metacognition and reflective writing. The following are excerpts from mid-course and final reflective letters written by students  in the USA and Finland who have taken my courses. Click the course title to view its syllabus; click the students' names to visit their course blogs and to view each quote's original source. Feedback is available from the following courses (note: complete feedback for courses, student and peer, is available on my CV page):

• CRITICAL INFO MANAGEMENT/PROFESSIONAL WRITING (ESL, GRADUATE)
• INTRO TO WORLD LITERATURE
• RESEARCH WRITING
• FRESHMAN COMP/COLLEGE WRITING
• ACADEMIC WRITING, READING & COMMUNICATION (ESL, GRADUATE/UNDERGADUATE)

CRITICAL INFO MANAGEMENT/PROFESSIONAL WRITING (ESL, Grad)

"I have found this course more useful than perhaps either of us imagined. It surprised me, how much of a false sense of security you can lull yourself into when convincing yourself something is correct.  This course has been tremendously useful if I only take away being able to write a literature review properly and effectively (there is more I learnt obviously).  Even if I read back on what I have written I know that it is not free of “bias” or “error” but I can see most of the errors and even how I can further improve my writing.  I can't thank you enough for the confidence this has given me in my own writing and hopefully I can get my master's thesis published now that I am much more critical of my own writing and how I can improve it!" Kate, JYU

"I was very impressed by the way the instructor freely expresses himself. I have always had problems speaking out my thoughts, but this course has boosted my expressive ability a lot. I am proud to say that my expectations and the course´s expectations were met in the sense that I actually gained some confidence in expressing myself, I can now choose a challenging research topic and carry out the necessary critical assessment required to complete the research. It is important to point out that, I also came to understand the main differences qualitative and quantitative research. In general I gained more from the course than I anticipated." Bisong, JYU

"It really has been an enriching experience for me to be part of this course. Mostly because we had the experience to talk about certain things that as a student you're suppose to know but no one tells you on the way and some times it gets a little hard to figure it out by your own. The course completely change [my] idea when I read the name for first time. It totally surpassed my expectations from what I thought it was going to be about. In a personal opinion and as a kinesthetic learner, for this course I had the opportunity to put my hand on the fire just to experience how the real writing of the thesis is going to be.  The most useful experience is that you give us an idea about what it is expected from us in the future when we do professional writing and a lot of tips about what to be careful when writing and to lose the scare to start writing." Fabian, JYU

"Firstly, I would like to thank you for organizing this wonderful course for us. I really enjoyed it, especially the lecture, the interaction among us during the class, the atmosphere, everything. It was so free, active and interesting. You just threw us into a very relax environment to make us think about the critical issues. That was a very good way for us to know something and to learn something. This course was so helpful for our thesis writing in the future, at least I thought. All the skills or ideas we got during the lectures such as critical thinking and evaluating, resources searching and judging, and academic writing were really useful and practical. Every assignment and each step was just necessary. That was what I understood after all the lectures. They were gradually introducing and guiding us how to implement a critical idea into an academic essay." Ming Mei, JYU

INTRO TO WORLD LITERATURE (Undergrad)

"So many people think English is all about reading books; it is in fact a large part of English classes but you have shown me that reading, writing and films really are about more than entertainment. Through this class it has been made apparent to me that there is a lot to be learned about ourselves and others from the stories of others' lives." Amanda, IUP

"I thought the heroic journey theme of the class worked very well and it definitely had a major impact on the way that I think about literature.  It got us thinking about our own lives and at least planted a seed of interest in finding our own myth and drive which Campbell talks about quite extensively.  As that old quote goes on about how "the unexamined life is not worth living", this class put us a step in the right direction. This format encouraged the students to actually interact with the work and apply or compare it to their own lives." Stan, IUP

"I like how you can take complete control of a classroom and are able to relate with all of us as individuals not just students. Seems like there is not a subject or topic you could not discuss and make it interesting or funny. It was good to see you have a lot of discipline in your class, don't get me wrong I would love to see you handout A's but the fact that we have to work for them and that I'll know I earned it is much more beneficial to me in the long run than just going through the motions," Walter, IUP

RESEARCH WRITING (Undergrad)

"I also think that the way you go about this kind of class, which ends up being hours and hours of work, research, revision and drafting, made it palatable in a way that was not overwhelming and seemingly impossible. They way our projects were broken down into distinct sections, all with purpose and a place in the final product, was innovative and exemplary of the way you are constantly trying to forge a better connection with your students." Dan, IUP

"The only concern I have ever had with the class is the amount of work. That being said, I've found that having all these assignments has helped me immensely with my time management skills and planning for my other classes. I never thought that an English class would also encourage me to sit down and read, for example, a Microbiology book, but it has. I have learned how to really analyze my text, and absorb information and all of this is because of your class." Megan, IUP

"If you had not pushed me as hard as you did or given me so many great opportunities, I would not have been able to accomplish as much as I have. Earlier in the year, probably around the first week of classes, I had a “pep-talk” with a member of the faculty… I asked him what all I would need to accomplish to ensure acceptance to the grad school of my choosing, and what he said made my head swim. I felt completely unprepared. Fortunately for me, I had you as a teacher. Not only did you assist me in completing well over three-quarters of what my professor suggested, but you also helped me obtain things that he said were extra and looked outstanding for my future applications. To find this out was incredibly relieving. I truly have you to thank for all of this." Andrew, IUP

 FRESHMAN COMP/COLLEGE WRITING (Undergrad)

"All of my friends say that they hated writing and hated taking the time to express themselves through the mundane forms of writing, but after taking this class I know what they are truly missing out on. They are missing out on a chance of a lifetime to show the world what they have to say….Having that chance to publish something even as simple as a blog, gets yourself out there to express who you truly are. I am going to tell all of my freshmen friends to take [your] class because I think that they will gain not only a sense of English and writing, but ultimately a sense of self and self awareness from all of the essays that they will complete. Going into this class I heard that [you] had given a lot of writing homework but in the end it was so worth it. Taking not only knowledge of M.L.A. style writing and knowledge of genres, but I'm taking a part of my life that had made me see who I truly am and how I express myself through writing. " Kylie, IUP 

"I learned a lot about the writing process in this class. I learned that it is okay to have a bunch of rough drafts before your polished piece. Professional writers go through the same process we do and that gives me comfort when I sit down to write a paper. Not only did I learn about how others write, but I learned about myself; about my own writing process. I found out that I work better under pressure and that is when my mind does not wander. Silence kills me. I need some sort of sound while I'm reading or writing. I cannot believe it took me this long to realize how I need my environment around me to be while I work. Another thing about the class I liked was having peer editors. That not only gave me feedback from someone my age, but also gave me the chance to read over someone else's. It helped me see that other students have the same troubles I do in writing, and it also gave me the first hand experience at what readers look at in a piece of writing." Amanda, IUP

"Never before this class have I ever had to challenge myself as a writer with the task of choosing a genre and shaping it the way I wanted to. It is for this reason, however, that I feel as if I have learned about myself and about writing more than I have in any other class. The design of this class is to get students thinking about how they can, as writers, tap into a side of them that rarely comes out in writing; in other words, this class is designed to make an individual voice come out in every student. Within this voice, for me, I have started to use my true feelings, emotions, and senses to develop my writing into something that is truly an original piece. How have I grown or what have I learned about myself through this course? The answer to that question, unfortunately, is not very apparent. I cannot look into a mirror and see a different shaped head or different color eyes. The way that I have changed, in fact, is much more complex. It is hard to explain, but what I can say is that I now know of a place within me that blocks out all distractions and cares about nothing other than my feelings on a topic. Before, I never wrote about how I felt, or incorporated how I felt into a paper. Now, though, this is one of my must-dos because as I said earlier, in order to write well, I have to feel towards the subject." Patrick, IUP

ACADEMIC WRITING, READING and COMMUNICATION (ESL, Grad/Undergrad)

"When I took this course I expected it to be as any language course, and focus to be more in the language, but the course turned out to be quite different, in a positive way. I feel that I've learned very much about doing a research, gathering information and writing a research paper. And I'm proud of myself, because this is the first study I've done, and I'm only a second-year undergraduate student who hasn't even started doing her bachelor's thesis yet. So that's just reaaaaally cool. " Annika, JYU

"I've learnt a lot during this course: How to plan and carry through a research? What kinds of congresses there are and how to find them? How to write a research paper for international audience? How to search information about a topic? etc.. I can't really take just one sector that I found out most useful because every smaller part ofthe course interacted with each other. Thank you for the inspiration you gave me," Jenni, JYU

"For me the most useful assignments were definitely the presentations because I wanted to improve my English presentation skills and be more confident about speaking in English. I think this course has increased my self-confidence on my English skills a lot. I liked especially the interactive way of your teaching although at first I was scared of speaking in English in the class room….  I liked the blog writing and that the homework was done by using Internet. Above all, I want to thank you for being so considerate, inspiring and motivated teacher." Uulrika, JYU

"I think my English has improved in all areas, speaking, reading and writing. I find especially academic writing  much easier after this course. During the course I had to do things that I haven´t done before, for example reading academic journals in English, use the APA style, do a presentation in a small group etc. You are one of the most motivated teacher that I´ve ever had, and that helped to keep my interest in this course." Reetta, JYU