Do you ever ask students to react to a research paper, theory, news article, or current event? Do you ever ask students to keep a running log of readings, vocabulary, or quotes? Do you ever ask students to synthesize thoughts on concepts, ideas, or themes through mind maps, charts, or sketches? Do you ever ask students to analyze and communicate their own problem solving process? Have you ever considered journals?

Journals

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A journal is a personal log of thoughts, insights, and reflections. Traditionally, students have kept written notebooks to record, organize, and interpret their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. In education, journalling is a vital tool in helping students connect learning outcomes to experiences. The art of journalling can take many forms from a small moments writing book to a picture collage or scrap book of inspirations or a creative monologue to a mind map. Value is in the documenting of the reflection of the shift from previous knowledge to new experiences.

VariationsNone.

ExamplesUse your imagination. What could your students journal about? What would be an appropriate reflective practice for your discipline? Only you know what would be authentic to your field of study, your curriculum, and your students. To get started, consider these ideas:

Visual Arts•Sketch book•Recorded monologue•Memoir•Collage

Health & Community Studies•Career visioning•Service learning•Teaching philosophy•Dialogue journal

Science & Technology•Mind map•Concept map•Journeyman’s log•Problem solving journal

Business Administration•Ethics diary•Inspiration notebook•Current trends journal•Travelogue

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Humanities & Social Sciences•Vocabulary log•Quotes journal•Reaction paper •Free writing

MeritsReflective practice builds insight, community awareness, and confidence. The process of identifying similarities, differences, and variations aids in solving problems (Bleicher & Correia, 2011). When there is a link to the learning outcomes to enhance the curriculum and assessment, journalling fosters ownership of learning and academic growth (Hudd, Smart, & Delohery, 2011). Feedback from the professor as well as peer sharing encourages deep critical and creative thinking (Bleicher & Correia, 2011). Whether authentic to the profession, part of an eportfolio, or simply part of the learning cycle, journalling has strong pedagogical value.

Build Confidence. As students gain insights into their own learning and experiences, they will feel more self-assured in their knowledge and skills. Capturing our stories through journalling organizes our experiences, shapes our emotions, and links our world experiences (Bleicher & Correia, 2011). When we analyze new knowledge against existing beliefs, we identify similarities and differences, create new connections, and make inferences leading to deeper understanding (Hudd et al, 2011). The ability to articulate and demonstrate one’s learning journey assures learners, educators, and future employers that learning has been met. This self-awareness serves to strengthen learning goals and achievements.

Solve Problems. Reflective practice can help students to identify variations. As students become more aware of possibilities, they can start to propose solutions. Through observations and contemplation, they can make sense of new knowledge and skills. By bridging their inner beliefs to the their outer experiences in and out of class (Bleicher & Correia, 2011). On a personal level, journalling can help students resolve internal conflicts in their art, academics, or field work (Hudd et al, 2011).

Collaboration. The classroom is a community. Writing is a social act that can be a powerful tool for social action (Hudd et al, 2011). Sharing one’s reflections changes the cognitive process to a social process. Guided instruction from the professor and peer sharing leads to high-order reflection (Bleicher & Correia, 2011). In fact, it can be valuable to model and demonstrate reflective practice by sharing your own journal and experiences with your students (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010).

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Accessibility. If students have options in how they present their journal, then it would engage various learning styles and abilities. For example, students can choose to write, record, illustrate, sing, or animate their reflections. Journalling can also help students who struggle with expressing themselves due to shyness, injury, or shock. Further, for international students, especially, those learning English as a Second Language (ESL), journalling may help to deal with culture shock, homesickness, or isolation. Incorporating mixed methods with an any time, any place, any pace nature of journalling would also engage adult learners in an online distance education course (CAST, 2012; Gardner, 2011; Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).

ChallengesNot everyone likes journalling. Reflection is hard. It takes time and deep critical thought. Some journalling pitfalls to watch out for include superficial writing, lack of engagement, lack of critical reflection, overuse, and dislike of journalling (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010).With guided instruction and clear expectations, students can learn the value of reflective practice.

Guided Instruction. To move students from surface learning to deep learning, it is important to provide a framework for journalling. Students need instruction on how to reflect; they need criteria on what to reflect on; and they need feedback on the substance of their reflections. The journal experience requires critique and feedback from the professor in equal amounts to the student reflection (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010). Feedback should include responding to queries, probing for deeper reflections, prompting with guiding questions, and sharing of anecdotes (Bleicher & Correia, 2011; Dyment & O’Connell, 2010). Informal prompts towards the learning goals also encourages more insightful formal work. As educators, reading our students’ journals can aid us in understanding what and how students learn as well as how they perceive the impact of their learning (Hudd et al, 2011).

Assessment. Students need clear directions and expectations with regards to journalling. Is it to record an experience, take ownership of learning, think critically, or problem solve? Do they need a special type of notebook or blogging software? The journal should align with the learning objectives and assessments (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010). When there is a purposeful link to goals and outcomes, journalling can be a powerful tool (Hudd, et al, 2011).

Engagement. Journalling should be a critical reflection, not a simple description. It is much easier to describe an experience than it is to review what the experience means. Students need to document new insights that shifted their viewpoints. Good journalling, truly, is quite

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difficult. Some students will simply not like the journalling experience (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010).

Overuse. Be selective about what and when students journal. Journalling too much or too often can become onerous, especially if it lacks deep reflection. A journal approach that scaffolds a singular experience overtime may be more powerful than several surface entries (Hudd et al, 2011). Small moments with deep entries foster richer reflection (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010). Remember, too, the more the students journal, the more you will need to mark.

Instructional DesignUse a backwards design approach. First, start with your learning outcomes. Second, create your assessments. Third, plan your instructional activities. Finally, choose a technology to enhance the lesson.

Design. Consider your curriculum; look carefully at your accreditation standards, graduate attributes, program learning outcomes, course learning outcomes, and lesson learning outcomes. Will a journal fulfill the learning outcomes? How will you evaluate what the students learn through a journal? What technologies will you and your students need to learn in order to keep a journal? Will a journal enhance the learning experience?

Develop. Review the kinds of reflective practice common in your field of study. Reflect on your own journalling practices in your academic and professional career. Research what technology platforms are common. If journalling is uncommon in your field, consider areas where reflection would benefit the students. Look at the kinds of abstract concepts, problem solving, or note taking that students might do in industry and link it to a reflective practice whether it be to develop career visioning, communication skills, or synthesizing information.

In education, Campus Pack provides four social assignment tools including a journal tool There are some advantages to using this software. One, it integrates with learning management system, so we can easily add our students. Two, students do not need to sign up for an account. Three, we can monitor the journals for participation and Netiquette, especially with students who may not be yet socially responsible online.

Deliver. Decide what students will do before, during, and after the journalling activity. Students can journal before, during, and after a lesson, project, or experience. Before an activity, students can anticipate what they think they will feel or experience. During an activity, students can pause to write or sketch their reactions. Afterwards, students can document their connections to theory and practice (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010). The journalling activity should be authentic, active, and applied.

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Plan how your will teach students to reflect. For example, students may connect theory to practice (Dyment & O’Connell, 2010); on the other hand, they may ask probing questions about a current event. Show students samples of good deep reflection versus superficial writing. To build trust between you and your students, provide encouraging feedback through strength-based questions and rubrics. Prompt students to move towards insights gained and away from simply describing events, writing to do lists, or summarizing lecture material.

Consider the Kolb (2014) experiential learning cycle:

1.What2.So what3.Now what

These simple three steps can frame a reflection to go beyond a simple description to a much deeper meaningful reflection.

As students go deeper into their reflective practice, consider the Four C's of Reflection:

1.Continuous2.Connected3.Challenging4.Contextualized

Reflection is continuous as we should write before, during, and after participating in activities, creating works, or setting and achieving goals. A good reflection connects the activity to the learning outcomes. Not everyone likes reflection; it is challenging to think critically, dive deep, and focus on the small moments. The type of reflection should mirror the discipline in the context of the field. Choose a creative approach that would be authentic to the workplace: mural, newsletter, poem, collage, pamphlet, or conversation (Eyler, Giles, & Schmeide, 1996).

750 Words

One Word

Penzu

EverNote

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TechnologyBrowse the Internet or app store for software for journalling like mind mapping or even the bookstore for paper books for sketching or writing. We can use the discussion forums or dropbox in the learning management system (LMS). Consider open source journalling sites. Use social media blogs, video or podcast sharing sites to feature journalling activities.

ReferencesBleicher, R.E. & Correia, M.G. (2011). Using a “small moments” writing strategy to help

undergraduate students reflect on their service-learning experiences. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 15(4), p.27. Retrieved from Sheridan College Library

Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). (2012). Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/index.html

Dyment, J.E. & O’Connell, T.S. (2010). The quality of reflection in student journals: A review of limiting and enabling factors. Innovative Higher Education, 35(4), p.233-244. Retrieved from Sheridan College Library

Eyler, J., Giles, D., & Schmeide, A. (1996). Practitioner's guide to reflection in service learning. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University.

Gardner, H. (2011). Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books.

Hudd, S.S., Smart, R.A., & Delohery, A.W. (2011). “My understanding has grown, my perspective has switched”: Linking informal writing to learning goals. Teaching Sociology, 32(2), p.179-189. doi: 10.1177/0092055X11401563 Retrieved from Sheridan College Library

Kolb, D.A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (2nd ed.). Canada: Pearson Education Canada, Ltd.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

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Written by Paula OggPhotography by Jonathan Eger

CreditsBookry Ltd

Common Craft LLC© Centre for Teaching & Learning 2016

Published by Sheridan College All rights reserved

No part of this material may be reproduced without express written permission

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