INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Writing abilities are one of the four macro skills that are typically linked to
the English language. Nowadays, some people are fond of writing especially
when they write about their thoughts like journaling and diary. A lot of people
improve their writing skills when they express their ideas and feelings. But when
it comes to writing in a reflective essay way by criticizing the photo provided by
the person, you will start to create a meaning and start to construct your idea.
You can examine your progress at education and build academic abilities, as well
as better grasp the subject of your studies, by writing a reflective essay. You
might be required to write some reflectively as part of a course assignment. The
objective of this study is to know if the students will create a meaningful photo in
making a reflective essay. According to research, encouraging reflective
practices in health professional education might help students become more
adept at making clinical decisions and do better in class. Improving reflective
writing in health education has been at the forefront of published literature. All
health practitioners would benefit from having the capacity to reflect more deeply.
To improve future clinical practice and clinical reasoning, reflective capacity is
seen as an ability to promote learning from prior information and experience.
Writing reflectively in particular can be a strategy for improving reflective ability.

A reflective essay is a chance to learn about oneself. A means of

increasing your understanding and clarity of the material you are learning. A
chance to improve and strengthen writing abilities. A strategy for giving the
material you learn the meaning. Writing reflectively is a crucial tool for enhancing
your learning power. Learning to reflect who we are as a whole rather than just a
segment of who we are, helps to integrate our cognition and logical reasoning by
how we think and how we behave. According to Tsingos-Lucas C, Bosnic-
Anticevich S, Schneider CR, and Smith L. an author and journalist for the
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education that despite the value put on the

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acquisition of reflective-writing skills in health professions education, some
researchers have found "conflict" between what students will write when asked to
write honestly about their experiences and what they will write if a grade is
attached to the task.

Therefore, it may be argued that having strong reflective writing abilities

can be a tool for encouraging deeper comprehension and learning, which in turn
improves clinical decision-making abilities and academic success. According to
research, the capacity for reflection can be learned via a variety of tactics, role
models, and principles. Additionally, it has been stated that the growth of
reflective ability is essential for active learning in the practice environment. Thus,
in both undergraduate and graduate health professions educational programs,
establishing and evaluating this core skill should be a concern, and further
fostering these skills in practical settings may help both immediate and long-term
reflective learning.

With the established background and research gap, the present

researcher would like to determine the use of photos in making reflective essays
for students currently enrolled in Agusan National High School, at least the
perception of the students towards the aspect mentioned.

Theoretical/ Conceptual Framework

The three regarding constructing meaningful sentences; Second,

Cognitive Development emphasizes thinking logically in creating a reflective
essay; lastly, the learning theories serve as the foundation for this research
investigation. First, the Active Learning Theory stresses the importance of
experiential learning Behaviorism Learning Theory the feedback of the students
in constructing their essay if it is good or bad.

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Active Learning Theory

The Sociocultural theory of development, which Lev Vygotsky developed

to explain the connection between cognitive processes and social activities,
contends that learning occurs when learners address problems above their
current developmental level with the assistance of their teacher or their peers.
The active learning theory holds that people learn through making connections
between new information and what they already know. Active learning expands
on this idea. This is a broad term, and Bonwell and Eison explicitly acknowledge
that a variety of activities might be included within it. They recommend a range of
techniques to encourage active learning, from the most straightforward (such as
interrupting lectures to let students discuss their thoughts with neighbors) to the
most difficult (e.g., using case studies as a focal point for decision-making). The
distinction between active learning and formative assessment is hazy and difficult
to draw, according to Handelsman, Miller, and Pfund in their book Scientific
Teaching. After all, instruction that encourages students to engage in active
learning requires them to do or produce something, which can then be used to
gauge their understanding (2007).

Cognitive Development

The cognitive development idea put out by psychologist Jean Piaget is a

significant one. This hypothesis is frequently used in child development and
psychology. The core tenet of Piaget's theory is that children experience many
phases of cognitive development, each of which is unique and is impacted by
both nature and nurture. A person's brain will explore a lot of things that will help
to think logically and create a better understanding of learning. Four stages of
cognitive development contribute to a person's development, especially how to
think and solve problems. According to the researchers namely Robert M.
Kliegman MD, in Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, The process by which

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individuals accumulate, categorize, and acquire useful knowledge is known as
cognitive development. The two topics discussed in this article are "what
develops," or the content of knowledge, and "how knowledge develops." The
discussion of "what develops" focuses on concepts, the mental groupings of
similar objects, and other entities that serve as the foundation for organizing
knowledge of experience. Knowledge development is referred to using the
processes of memory, problem-solving, reasoning, and executive function. The
focus of the article is on the critical developmental period for cognition, which is
from infancy to middle childhood (2020).

Behaviorism Learning Theory

A field of thinking known as a behaviorist learning theory is founded on the

premise that behavior may be studied scientifically without taking cognition into
account. The main premise is that only physical factors, such as reinforcement
from the environment or specific materials, have any impact on learning.
Behaviorist views contend that reactions can be predetermined and conditioned
and that the role of mental factors should be discounted. Ivan Pavlov, John B.
Watson, and B. were important individuals who contributed to the development of
these theories. F. Skinner. The central tenet of behaviorism is that all actions are
acquired through interactions with the environment. According to this learning
theory, environmental circumstances have a much greater impact on behavior
than innate or inherited traits.

Statement of the problems

Most students nowadays are losing interest in writing. With the help of
photos in making a reflective essay, they will express their ideas and their
perspective on their insight on that photo. Particularly, this study aims to answer
the question:

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  Does the use of photos in making reflective essays benefit students?
 What are the things that benefit students in terms of making a reflective
essay?

Significance of the study

Students can express themselves, justify their arguments, and share their
knowledge through writing, which could be evaluated. Writing is the key to
making this feasible since there is an essential need for educators to work to
combine core and optional courses and to let students explain their knowledge
from different perspectives. The findings of this research study could particularly
become beneficial, especially to the following:

Teachers, as a facilitator of learning, encourage the students to learn

especially in writing skills. There is a lot of process in writing but with the help of
teachers, the learners will be able to learn and benefit. Teaching facilitates
learners in acquiring critical social and emotional learning abilities. The teacher
encouraged and provide information, especially in writing skills on how to create
an essay that is better quality and organized well.

Students, as a center of learning, will be able to benefit from the teachers'

assistance in the process of writing. The progress of the learners comes from the
teaching of the teachers. This learning will give them insights that the use of
photos in making reflective essays is the guide for them to be able to create a
better quality essay where their ideas and own perspective they understand in
that photo is given.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

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 The research study will focus on the area of the student's writing skills
using a photo in making a reflective essay. It tackles the way students' writing
skills in constructing meaningful sentences. With the given problem by the
knowledgeable, the mind of the person will start to construct and start to react to
what they feel about the activity. The target participants of this study are the
Grade 11 General Academic Strand (GAS) students who are currently enrolled in
the first semester of the academic year 2022-2023 at Agusan National High
School only from Agusan Campus.

The researcher identified this particular group of students as their

research respondents for the reason that they were able to take subjects that
related to English connected in making a reflective essay, especially since this
strand has lots of tasks to do in writing. These students have also utilized making
a reflective essay enhancing their writing skills, to showcase their talent in
journaling. This study is limited to the Grade 11 GAS students only and does not
include the other year levels and other strands.

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 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The supporting arguments from relevant studies and literature will be

included in this chapter to give the reader a greater understanding of the
researcher's viewpoint on the necessity of conducting this research study.

Related Literature and Studies

This study by the researchers namely Tsingos-Lucas C, Bosnic-Anticevich

S, Schneider CR, and Smith L. to discover if academic achievement is related to
reflective writing abilities. Reflective comments were completed by 236 students
participating in a pharmacy practice course. To ascertain whether reflective-
writing abilities were linked to academic success in various assessment forms,
including written, oral, and video assignments, regression approaches were
used. Reflective-writing abilities were discovered to be a predictor of academic
achievement in certain assessment forms, including written exams, oral
assessment tasks, and total unit scores (UoS). In the video assessment
assignment, academic performance was not found to be predicted by reflective
writing abilities. . Good reflective-writing abilities were linked to better academic
performance. It is advised that more research be done to determine how
reflective skill development affects academic performance standards in other
health education.

Additionally, the current study set out to determine whether reflection

journal writing helped encourage self-reflection and learning and whether
students would improve their capacity for self-reflection if they wrote in their
journals regularly. To achieve this, the reflection journals of 690 first-year applied

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science students at a nearby polytechnic were analyzed using automated coding
techniques. Data was gathered twice: first at the start of the school year and
again toward the end. The results of the textual content analyses showed that
students had thought critically about both the process and the subject matter of
their learning, including instructional practices and reflections on what had been
learned. Strong to moderate correlations between the textual categories and the
student's test scores on knowledge acquisition and classroom performance was
revealed by correlational analyses. When considered as a whole, the results
show that, if only partially, self-reflection on both how and what students have
learned does increase academic achievement (Lew MD, Schmidt HG, 2011).

The current study aimed to assess whether there was an indication of

reflection in student-written diaries and to find out if students' reflective abilities
have improved as a result of journals. To that goal, an automatic coding process
was used to analyze the reflection diaries of 3460 first-year students enrolled in a
polytechnic. Students' journals for a full week, which were gathered once at the
start of the academic year and once more at the conclusion, served as the data
for the analyses. According to the results of the content analyses, there is
evidence of reflection in students' journals, and they appear to have reflected on
three major areas of their learning: critical evaluations of prior learning
experiences, cognitive learning strategies, and summaries of what was learned.
Nevertheless, according to the results, students' reflective abilities grew
throughout the school year. When the research is considered as a whole, it
suggests that students' learning and self-reflection can be encouraged by using
reflection journals (Duan Ning Magdeleine Lew & Henk G. Schmidt, 2011)

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 RESEARCH DESIGNS AND METHOD

Research Design

This study will make use of the descriptive research design because it
attempts to describe the use of photos in making reflective essays, especially in
the field of writing in macro skills. Descriptive research, according to Calderon
(2006), is a purposeful process of collecting, examining, categorizing, and
collating data about current conditions, practices, trends, and cause-and-effect
relationship issues and then providing a complete and accurate interpretation of
such data, either with or without other information. This study strategy aims to
respond to and address "what inquiries," not "why" and "how" ones. In this study
the researcher is aiming to answer the questions "Does the use of photos in
making reflective essays benefit students?" and "What are the things that benefit
students in terms of making reflective essays?" Thus, it is appropriate to use the
descriptive research design.

Research Participants

The research study will concentrate on the area of the student's writing
abilities when creating a reflective essay utilizing a photo. It deals with how
students can build meaningful sentences using their writing abilities. The
intelligent individual will pose a dilemma, and the person's mind will immediately
begin to construct and begin to react to how they feel about the task. The
students in Grade 9 who are currently enrolled of the academic year 2022–2023
at Agusan National High School are the study's target participants. This specific
group of students was chosen by the researcher as the research participants
because they were able to take classes that were connected to English and
create reflective essays, particularly given that this strand offers many writing-
intensive assignments. These students have also used a reflective essay to

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demonstrate their writing prowess and writing skills. The other year levels and
strands are not included in this study, which is just for Grade 9 students.

Research Instrument

To gather the needed data, the researcher has adapted the survey
research instrument used by the researchers namely Tsingos-Lucas C, Bosnic-
Anticevich S, Schneider CR, Smith L. (2017) in their study entitled "Using
Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment
Formats." The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of reflective
learning and the significance of taking into account the implementation of
reflective-writing skills into the curriculum for education. The study's
questionnaire will be in a Likert-scale format that would be decided by the target
participants. The research respondents will have to decide whether they strongly
agree = 4, agree = 3, disagree = 2 or strongly disagree = 1 with each statement
in the questionnaire.

Data Gathering Procedure and Ethical Considerations

This study will be conducted at Agusan National High School only for
Agusan students who are currently enrolled in the academic year 2022-2023
specifically Grade 9 students. The privacy of respondents' participation will be
confidential and not force them to answer the survey questionnaire. The
researcher will make sure that the privacy of those who voluntarily agree to
participate in the research will be safe.

Administration of the Intervention

This study is developing better quality writing skills in making a reflective

essay will enhance the student's ability to write and think critically based on what
they reflect and learn. Also to improve students' critical thinking skills.

1. Pre-Implementation Plan

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 The researcher's pre-activity was on teaching the students how to create
reflective essays using images. After offering a prayer, the researcher began the
class by counting the pupils present. The teacher began the lesson by asking
some pointed questions on the subjects that would be covered. The instructor
verbally questioned the pupils over the most recent material she had distributed.
At the beginning of the activity, the researcher introduced the use of a photo in
making a reflective essay technique for them. The technique is common for
students. The researcher told the students how they dealt with the technique and
explained each step in making a reflective essay in the picture given. While the
researcher was explaining the technique, the students listened carefully.
Moreover, at the end of this activity the researcher introduced the topic, and the
researcher flashed the photo on the T.V. screen. The students will start to
criticize the picture given and start making a reflective essay.

2. Implementation Plan

The researcher will introduce and apply a right method for creating a
reflective essay by using the picture provided with the step-by-step proper
formulation in every paragraph after the outcomes of the preliminary
implementation of the classroom-based action research. The main idea and
supplementary ideas are included in every paragraph to make the purpose clear.
Every paragraph in a reflective essay should have a different position in order for
the reader to fully understand and connect the vulnerable from beginning to end.
This is the topic that the teacher will cover in class.

3. Post-Implementation Plan

The researcher's concept will help the pupils fully comprehend how to
create a reflective essay using the straightforward instructions offered. To
completely link their purpose, the students will simply integrate the ideas in their

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own relevant ways, thus critical and writing abilities are crucial in this phase of
implementation.

RESULTS

A. Objective 1

To determine the impact of using individual activities to help second-

language learners’ writing abilities.

Table 1 Specification of Reflective

Skills
The research respondents will have to decide whether they strongly agree
= 4, agree = 3, disagree = 2 or strongly disagree = 1 with each statement in the
questionnaire.

1 2 3 4
I can be intelligent persuasive, instructive and 0 2 18 20
innovative in my writing.
I am well rooted in the event. 0 0 25 15
I can expose to the reader a clear connection 0 0 36 4
between the experience and the idea.
I can evaluate the event by looking at greater than 0 0 28 12
one angle.
I can examine an idea in personal and general 0 0 30 15
reflections.
In the reflection, I can elaborate using a variety of 0 0 10 30
techniques.
I can use particular concrete details to make my 0 0 20 20
reflection clear to the reader.
I can share my reflection without being preachy. 0 0 21 19
I can attain unity through a natural evolution of 0 0 18 22
thoughts.
I can utilize exact, concrete words. 0 0 25 15

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 Table 1 illustrates the growth of the students about writing and critical
skills in generating a reflective essay where they can construct their views. To
determine the impact of using individual activities to help second-language
learners’ writing abilities. To express their writing's objective emphatically and
join the concepts to produce something valuable. The students will be able to
provide better-quality English composition with the assistance of the teacher.

Table 2 Observation Guideline

NO. Observation Observation Points

Elements

 The lesson began after the

1 Pre Activity teacher welcomed the students.
 The instructor verifies student’s
attendance. 
 The instructor questioned the
students over the prior lecture.

The procedure of teaching the use of

photos in making reflective essays:
2 During Activity
 The first step is to criticize the
picture given.
 The second is reflection,
students will start to create a
reflective essay based on the
picture given.
 The last step is a review, the
teacher will review the output of
the students if they reflect the
picture given.

3 After Activity  After the activity is accomplished

by the students, the teacher will
review and evaluate the output of
the students if they follow the

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 steps introduced to them.

Results back up discussion

The outcomes of using images to create a reflective essay are displayed

in the table above. According to the data collected, the majority of the
respondents indicated that they strongly agree or agree. It would be easy for
them to find vital information while employing a photo in producing a reflective
essay.

This study looked at the correlation between academic performance and

the ability to write reflectively. These skills may be a predictor of academic
success in written essays and at the end of the semester, according to the
important findings. This may be because written skills were involved in
completing the reflective task. Furthermore, the small effect size may be a result
of the assessment methods' greater specificity and the marks given to content
knowledge, writing communication, and verbal communication skills rather than
grades designated particularly for reflective capacity. This work advances
understanding from earlier research.

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 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

Conclusion

Based on the research's findings, it is possible to draw the conclusion that

including images in reflective essays is thought to be a very successful individual
exercise for students who want to keep learning the English language. Finding
the necessary information and studying the English language on the students'
end became much easier, more flexible, and convenient thanks to the writing
abilities.

Further, the researcher concluded that reflective essay provides them with
much freedom to connect their ideas and construct meaningful learning. The
study indicates that the use of photos in making a reflective essay enables easy
goals for the students with the help of the teacher's guidance.

Recommendation

Based on the findings and conclusion drawn from the study, the following
recommendations are hereby proposed:

Students must continue to explore and need to improve their writing and
critical skills to help them construct meaningful learning. With the tips introduced
by their teacher, they can simply create and connect what they criticize. The
setup of the use of making a reflective essay is for students to simply understand
the purpose and reflect on the things that the learner understands.

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 Teachers must continue to teach what will be the possible needs of the
students so that the teacher will entertain and have time to explore the thing that
needs to develop. Also to make sure that their writing skills are better improved.
The students’ learning since it’s somehow found to be effective especially since
students find it easier and connect their ideas when using photos in making a
reflective essay and they find its usage more flexible on their end.

REFERENCES

 Tsingos-Lucas C, Bosnic-Anticevich S, Schneider CR, Smith L. Using

Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different
Assessment Formats. Am J Pharm Educ. 2017 Feb 25; 81(1):8. doi:
10.5688/ajpe8118. PMID: 28289298; PMCID: PMC5339594.

 Lew MD, Schmidt HG. Self-reflection and academic performance: is there

a relationship? Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2011 Oct; 16(4):529-
45. doi: 10.1007/s10459-011-9298-z. Epub 2011 May 5. PMID: 21544551;
PMCID: PMC3167369.

 Duan Ning Magdeleine Lew & Henk G. Schmidt (2011) Writing to learn:
can reflection journals be used to promote self-reflection and learning?,
Higher Education Research & Development, 30:4, 519-532, DOI:
10.1080/07294360.2010.512627
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2010.512627

 Shabiralyani, G· (2015) Impact of Visual Aids in Enhancing the Learning

Process Case Research: District Dera Ghazi Khan.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079541.pdf

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 Ballenger, HB (2014) Photography: A Communication Tool.
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1155&context=art_design_theses

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