Reflection Letter, Assessment Example

When I think about how my reading habits have changed since the term began, it strikes me that the changes are difficult to identify because they are ongoing processes.  I am aware of certain differences already, but I also feel that these are still evolving, and in ways that do not always relate to actual study.  For example, I was consciously aware of approaching reading differently as soon as the term began.  Study translates to concentration, and I was committed to actually making this effort.  However, depending on the material, I sometimes felt a different motivation.  When the reading truly absorbed me, I became aware of reading as an active thing, because my mind was challenging the material even as I took it in.  This was surprising to me because it was happening on a level I had not experienced before.

Similarly, I held to my usual reading patterns and environments, so that I could better concentrate on material.  I sought to more isolate the reading experience, which has always worked best for me. However, I still discovered that the text themselves “created” the environment for me, and that my concentration depended more on my level of interest.  I still study best in quiet, private places, but it seems that this factor is not what adds value to the study; it relies on my degree of engagement.  This feels like a change to me, if only because reading is taking on new qualities for me.  One interest generates another, and this in turn is leading me into a personal technique of “cross-referencing”.  That is, I consciously note how material creates in me a motive to investigate further, or even challenge what is before me.

In regard to reading goals for the future, I believe these will be evolving as well.  I had reading goals when the term began, but that process of interest growing in certain areas has changed those goals.  I met my specific ones, but others have been created in that process.  I also believe, and in a way I find very encouraging, that my capacities are continually growing, in terms of what I can absorb.  All of this adds an exponential element to how my reading habits and motivations are developing,