Chapter 10: Interactive Journals
Interactive journals are an effective strategy for students to write about important topics and reflect on what they have written. Research shows that students need to write daily in order to make real gains in their writing skill. Students are able to construct knowledge and understanding of important and complex topics by processing opinions, judgments, and evaluations through their own interpretation and writing. Interactive journals also allows students to “think about their own thinking” and write their thoughts, opinions, feelings, and epiphanies.
There are many reasons why Interactive Journals are an effective tool for learning. Some of the benefits of using them include:
Assists in the development of language development, communication, and writing
encourages them to think independently
helps students to think critically and form opinions
Learn to improve organization
allows them to express themselves
allows students to be creative and use their imagination and serves as a creative outlet
skills of metacognition...they think about their own thinking through reflection
becomes an archive of information about themselves
creates high intrinsic motivation
can be incorporated into any subject
text, pictures, graphic organizers, concept maps, videos, can be inserted into their journals
Can be use as an authentic assessment of students: cognitively and emotionally