Encouraging Deep Reflection

Many students have experienced journal writing, keeping a folio or a scrapbook. While for some this is a positive experience many see it as an onerous task which they perform for the teacher rather than something which they value for themselves, where they can make personal meaning of their experiences, explore who they are and how they feel, and express themselves freely. Many teachers have particular aims in mind when they ask students to reflect, expecting students to stick to the task or a particular format – asking pragmatic questions like “What have you done, seen or read?”, “What have you learnt?” or “What do you plan to do?” While questions like these are important in fulfilling assessment requirements they often limit the potential of the journal.

So how do we encourage and give permission for students to go deep, be playful, explore, follow loose threads, use their imagination, to wonder, to bring in their life questions, make connections, be heartfelt? How can a journal be a transformative journey of self-realisation? How can it be fun and stimulating? How can it be a powerful tool for learning?

What might be the role of the teacher in all this? How might the teacher become part of the dialogue and share the journey? How might you use a journal in a class you never would have thought of as being suitable for journal writing – like an ‘I wonder’ journal for science?

What questions might you use to get students started? What modes of expression might enable freedom to explore, and encourage snowballing of ideas and deeper understanding?

The following are possible suggestions for inclusion in a journal. Students can be given a journal guideline sheet that they paste in on the front cover to remind them of what they can put in (see some examples below). Or teachers can give focus questions for a particular week.

Modes of Expression – By enabling many modes of expression students can initially capture nebulous, complex or conflicting thoughts. Their writing may not initially make sense but it enables them to process these tangled thoughts, often bringing them up again and again as they reflect and refine, moving into more organized modes of expression.

Examples: Narrative, word association, poetry, prose, imaginary dialogues or debates, cartoons, pictures, stories, concept maps, scripts, multimedia, mythic stories (yourself as hero), using key characters, reviews, humour, dreams.

2. Deep experience – students learn best when their learning has physiological, emotional and spatial components – it relates to their whole body. Students can be encouraged to choose a significant moment and write deeply of their lived experience of it – how it felt, the sounds, smells, visual images, their sense of space, time, self and others. This develops the quality of attention they bring to each experience.

Feelings - Students should be encouraged to write with passion and emotion - this will encourage them to write in their journal as well as generating creativity . It is important that students feel comfortable in being able to express their concerns, their doubts, fears, longings, high, lows. By writing them down students are able to see their ways through obstacles and difficulties. Students could be encouraged to use symbols, like a number of smiley faces, or drawings/cartoons to express how they are feeling within themselves and with their learning progress. They could see themselves as a number of different voices or selves - such as logical, imagining, feeling or task orientated selves - each represented by different characters who can comment on something one of the others have just written.

3. Sense of wonder and curiosity – When we are small children we have a joyful curiosity which is very often dulled later in life. Ask students to imagine they are experiencing with a child-like mind. What appears wonderful? What are they wondering about? Can they do this for a whole day or week? What are their big and little questions now? How have they changed? What bothers them? What would they like to know? How can their personal questions fit into the course? Is there room to explore them? By getting students to infuse their study with their own questions it increases their investment in the process of learning. By stimulating a curious attitude of mind which they are encouraged to constantly practice, they soon find they can't turn it off - it is brought to everything they do.

4. Being excited – What inspires them, what moves them, what intrigues them, what surprises them? What has been significant for them? These questions speak directly to our souls and draw out our humanity. They connect us to the world. They can be targeted specifically to the learning experience or to students’ lives in general.

5. Using the imagination – taking an idea (hopefully stimulated by one of the above questions) and exploring it – hypothesising, extending it, merging it with another, trying it on. Have several ideas on the go and notice how they interact and play with each other. Use different forms of expression – ideas as characters debating, poetry, writing as if what they imagine has come to pass, etc. Ask students to look for things that spark ideas – articles, pictures, quotes and include them in the journal. Encourage weirdness and lateral thinking. Students could signpost moments of fantasy with “No logic allowed here” followed by pretend critical reviews. Encourage students to notice how their ideas and understanding change as a result of this play. While students’ ideas might appear weird and untenable, this is an important process for students in finding insightful understanding as well as developing creativity.

6. Making connections – looking for patterns and connections in experiences, between different subjects, in life. Encourage students to connect learning experiences to their personal experience since this deepens their learning. Ask students to look for meaning in places they wouldn’t normally look. Encourage them to review their journals where they look for connections between earlier experiences and thoughts. Encourage reflection on what things are meaningful for them and what helps them make connections.

Sense of self and learning – Who is this person that is learning and growing? How have they changed? How have their purposes changed? What helps them learn? What helps them think creatively and communicate effectively? What helps them be motivated? What do they value about particular activities or working with particular people?

Reflections on how one learns are very empowering, enabling student control over their learning processes as well as encouraging responsibility. A student's journal can give invaluable information to teachers to help them modify and adapt teaching approaches, which in turn helps the student feel valued and listened to.

The Teacher’s Role in Responding to Journals

When journals are mainly tools for students to reflect on the task in hand, in a prescribed format, the role of the teacher is one of reviewing whether the student has fulfilled the task requirements and writing comments accordingly – a fairly straightforward job.

However, when the journal becomes much more personal it requires a different approach from the teacher who may inadvertently step on fragile egos which are tentatively coming out of their shells. When students are in the process of making meaning and giving their imagination free reign their ideas may be in conflict with the content that the teacher is trying to teach. Some students write stuff that is incredibly personal and very emotional, ignoring the task aspects of the journal. Some students can reveal relationship problems with people in the class. So what do you do? How can you be tactful, empathic, problem-solving, supportive, guiding, critical, getting them back on task, etc?

The teacher has a number of strategies that they could use. The most important of these is seeing this as a process of growth not only for the students but for the teacher as well.

Be up front to the whole class about the dilemmas you face as a teacher in responding to their journals. Ask the students to discuss what they would like your role to be – how they would like you to respond... they probably won’t know until they have had a go first. Get them to think of strategies they could use to make things clearer. Eg. Each one could write you a letter in their journal about how they would like you to respond. Since this might change over the course, you might like to get them to do it regularly. They could flag sensitive bits and ask you to read them in a certain way. They could have the option to have a “Sealed Section” for very private stuff. They could signpost stuff that they are exploring which they know is weird “Beware: Extremely weird stuff”. They could give you feedback on how you are going - the effect of your responses on them… you could all see it as a journey together. Ask them if they see their journal as something that only has their stuff in it or is it a dialogue with you – can you play as well?

When reading the journals be aware of the state of mind you are in. If you have just marked a whole lot of assignments, is your mind too critical? Perhaps do an activity that centres you first, putting you into a receptive and caring state of mind. For example, when reading about their exploration of ideas and sense of wonder, remember your own child-like curiosity. Allow your sense of wonder to enable you to respond playfully to what the student is thinking. Try to give one part of your response not as teacher to student but as soul to soul.

Ask to see journals regularly so you can pick up problems quickly. Keep up a verbal dialogue with students. Ask permission of the student before you intervene on perceived problems.

So now expect to be amazed, stimulated, saddened, distressed, as well as intensely privileged at being invited into the inner life of your students.

A personal learning tool - explanatory, fun, dynamic, visually interesting, memorable, thoughtful, questioning, provocative, creative, reflective.

"I had a very bad feeling about writing in journals. I've had to do it for other classes and I hated it. But I have really enjoyed writing in my journal this year - there is no right or wrong. I can get my ideas and thoughts down without thinking of what the teacher will think. I have often been amazed at myself. I realise now how I really need to go off on a tangent and say really dum things before it all works out in my head."

"My journal literally saved my life this year. I used to have a personal journal when I was in primary school but forgot what it was like. Writing again in a journal this year, in this way, reminded me how important it is for me to express myself on paper. I started a personal journal again which helped me through a big crisis in my life."

"I feel that you are the only teacher who really knows me, and I guess that is a result of my journal and the conversations we have been having in it and as a result of it."

"I was scared initially because I am not a feeling sort of person. But I realised that is exactly what I need to develop. When I look back through my journal I can't believe how I've changed and what I have been able to say."

Holistic Education Network of Tasmania, Australia
www.hent.org
Free to use for educational purposes but please acknowledge source.

Reflections on Learning	What helps me learn? What helps me think creatively and communicate effectively? What helps me be motivated? What do I value about particular activities or working with particular people?
Explorations	What are the key concepts and processes that I have struggled with or grasped recently? How has my knowledge changed?
Ideas	What inspires me? What intrigues me? What surprises me today?
Play	Play around with ideas through: multimedia, poetry, prose, imaginary dialogues, cartoons, pictures, stories, concept maps, scripts...
Questions	What are my current questions? What bothers me? What would I like to know? (about this subject, the universe or life...)