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Learning journal
Learning journal
A learning journal is a collection of notes, observations, thoughts and other relevant materials built up over a period of time and recorded together.
It is not about documenting formal courses, but about taking everyday activities and events, and writing down what happened, then reflecting on them to consider what you have learned from them, and what you could have done differently. It’s not just about changing: a learning journal and reflective practice can also highlight when you’ve done something well.
After each lesson you record your thoughts and feelings regarding the lesson.
Keeping a reflective journal – sometimes also called a learning journal – is a way to reflect through documenting ideas, feelings, observations and visions. It can be done on paper or on a computer. Keeping a reflective journal can help you to
- focus your thoughts and develop your ideas
- develop your voice and gain confidence
- experiment with ideas and ask questions
- organize your thinking through exploring and mapping complex issues
- develop your conceptual and analytical skills
- reflect upon and make sense of experiences and the processes behind them
- express your feelings and emotional responses
- become aware of your actions and strategies
- develop your writing style and skills, and explore different styles of writing
- develop a conversation with others.
Table of contents
Table of contents
About reflective practice
Personal Reflections
Learning Journal
Learning Journal
Feedback from others
Learning in networks
Tips
Tips
(from here)
When keeping a reflective journal, these tips may be useful:
- write for yourself, and write every day
- be informal, using language you are comfortable with
- write by hand if you prefer
- write in your own language
- be relaxed and comfortable
- try sitting in different places and positions
- use diagrams and drawings
- record not just events but reflection on process
- ask questions and challenge assumptions
- connect personal and professional experiences to concepts and theories.
More details on these and other tips can be found in Jenny Moon’s 2004 book A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning.
You can design your own journal or you can try one of the models described below to get started.
Describe, Reflect, Theorize, and Experiment
Describe, Reflect, Theorize, and Experiment
(from here)
Start by identifying a situation you believe could have been dealt with more effectively.
Describe the experience
Describe the experience
- What happened?
- When and where did the situation occur?
- Any other thoughts you have about the situation?
Reflect
Reflect
- How did you behave?
- What thoughts did you have?
- How did it make you feel?
- Were there other factors that influenced the situation?
- What have you learned from the experience?
Theorize
Theorize
- How did the experience match with your preconceived ideas, i.e. was the outcome expected or unexpected?
- How does it relate to any formal theories that you know?
- What behaviours do you think might have changed the outcome?
Experiment
Experiment
- Is there anything you could do or say now to change the outcome?
- What action(s) can you take to change similar reactions in the future?
- What behaviours might you try out?
Record, Review, Revise, Rework and Reassess
Record, Review, Revise, Rework and Reassess
(from here)
Start by deciding an area of practice you want to focus on. You can decide this by looking at data about how the group is doing, assessing individual learner performance or by thinking about how well certain aspects of the curriculum are working.
Record
Record
Log your reflections.
Log your reflections.
How will I assess my performance?
- Will this take the form of an observation, discussion or shared planning?
How will I record this?
- Will this be recorded by yourself, a peer or a student?
How will I log this?
- What documents will you use to record your reflections? For example, a journal, notebook or form provided by your school or institution.
When will I log this?
- Will your reflections be logged straight after the lesson, during or before the lesson?
- How often will you record these reflections?
Review
Review
Understanding your current teaching methods.
Understanding your current teaching methods.
What worked well and how do I know this?
- Consider what the students really understood and enjoyed about the lesson, and why. How do you know improvements have been made?
What did not work as planned?
- Consider what the students did not get involved with or find challenging, and why.
What could I try next time? How could you adapt the activity?
- Some practical ideas include introducing a different task, clearer instructions, time-based activities and activities which appeal to different learning styles.
Revise
Revise
Adapt your teaching by trying new strategies.
Adapt your teaching by trying new strategies.
What will I change or adapt?
- This could be a whole task or something specific about a task. Some practical ideas include changing the task from independent work to paired work, adding a scaffold to a challenging task, providing instructions step by step, and making activities time based.
Rework
Rework
An action plan of how you can put these ideas in place in a practical way.
An action plan of how you can put these ideas in place in a practical way.
How will I put this in place?
- Consider what will you need to do before and during the lesson to make sure your changes happen. What will the students be doing differently to make sure they make progress?
What materials do I need?
- What things will you need to put your revised ideas into practice?
- Some practical examples include coloured pens, larger paper, handouts, cut-up activities, specialised equipment.
Reassess
Reassess
Understanding how these new strategies affected learning.
Understanding how these new strategies affected learning.
How successful were the new strategies?
- Once you have redelivered the lesson, consider how engaged the students were. How well did they understand this time?
What changed?
- Consider the following areas of potential change: delivery, planning and assessment.
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