Writing as part of the learning process

Every semester i talk to my students about "writing" and "thinking" and the important connection between the two. Peter Elbow, a noted scholar on writing, "... meaning is not what you start out with but what you end up with." Following up that idea with John C. Bean in the book "Engaging Ideas", "Writing becomes an exterior sign of an interior thinking process. Writing is important because learning is improves when writing is part of the learning process. Writing forces the writer to become more careful and more engaged participants in the learning process." Writing is not just a communication skill but also a process and product of critical thought. I am fascinated by the connection between thinking and writing and how writing allows a much more thorough, richer, clearer and more systematic way of thinking. That is what I have been experiencing when I write the short, starkly simple and amateur poems based on my reading. It may not be great literature but it has helped me think more deeply and given me added insight into a passage. It is definitely a learning process which requires deeper thought and a much more engaged and interactive participation with the text.