UCD TEACHING AND LEARNING/ RESOURCES

ASSESSMENT

Learning Journals and Logs

Author: Jennifer Moon

Email: J.Moon@Exeter.ac.uk
Date: 20th January 2010

www.ucd.ie/teaching

Learning journals, logs and reflective diaries are terms often used interchangeably.
However,thepurposesofthemmaydifferslightly.Whenkeepingalearningjournal,the
emphasisisonmakingexplicitandrecordingthelearningthatoccurs.Reflectivediaries,
as the name suggests, are more concerned with demonstrating reflection on an
experience,whilelogsarearecordofeventsthathavehappened.Theyusually,however,
allhaveanaspectofreflectioninthem.

For the purposes of this document they will be dealt with together, under the title of
learning journals, but while reading please bear in mind that the terms can be used to
distinguishbetweensimilarbutdifferentdocuments.

ThesolecontributortothisdocumentisJenniferMoon(J.Moon@Exeter.ac.uk)BScMPhil
MEd MSc PhD, who works in staff and learning development in the Staff Development
Unit,UniversityofExeter.Shehasconsiderableandrecentexperienceaslearner,andasa
teacher both in higher education and continuing professional education, has run a wide
range of courses including many in personal development and journal writing. She has
published books on reflection in learning and professional development, on learning
journalsandonrunningshortcoursesandworkshops(allKoganPage).

WhatisaLearningJournal/ReflectiveDiary

Journals,logs,diaries,portfoliosarecontainersforwritingthatisrecordedoveraperiod
oftime.Thewritingmayaccompanyaprogrammeoflearning,work,fieldworkor
placementexperienceoraresearchproject.Thejournals/logsanddiariescancomein
manydifferentguisesandbeusedtofulfildifferentpurposes.Workonprofilingand
recordingachievementcanincorporatejournaltechniquesandthiswebpagewillcover
manyideasthatarecommonalsotoworkondevelopingandmanagingportfolios.

Learningjournals/diariesandportfoliosareincreasinglyusedinhighereducationas
meansoffacilitatingorofassessinglearning.Theyhavemanydifferentpurposesand
thestructurethatisintroducedneedsbothtorelatetotheirpurposeandtothestyleof
thelearner.Generallyspeaking,theyseemtobehelpfulinpersonalisinganddeepening
thequalityoflearningandinhelpinglearnerstointegratethematerialoflearning
suchasthatfromdifferentmodulesortheoreticalandpracticallearning.Theymaybe
highlystructuredor'free'andtheyhavebeenusedtoimprovelearninginvirtually
everysubjectareaincludingmathematicsandthesciences,andparticularlyin
professionaldevelopment.

Learningjournals

Learningjournalsarenotonething.Theycomeinallshapesandsizes,includingtapes
andvideosandinelectronicforms.Whilethefocusofthisarticlewillbeonpenonpaper
journals,itisinterestingtospeculateonhowtheuseofdifferentmediamightaffectthe
processofwritingandthelearningthatresults.

Generallyspeakingwhatdistinguishesalearningjournalfromotherwritingisthatit
focusesonongoingissuesovertimeandtherewillbesomeintentiontolearnfromeither
theprocessofdoingitorfromtheresultsofit.Thissuggeststhatitisnot,simply,an
eventsdiaryorarecordorlog.

Alearningjournalisusuallyavehicleforreflection.Itseemsreasonabletoassumethatall
adultsandolderchildrenreflect,butsomemorethanothers.Forsome,reflection
representsanorientationtothewaytheylivetheirlives.Othersreflectwhenthereisan
incentivetoreflect,orwhenguidanceorconditionsintheirenvironmentareconduciveto
reflecting.Alearningjournalmightbeseenasaparticularaccentuationoftheright
conditionsforreflectionandforlearningfromtheprocess.Therearemanydifferent
wordsthatmaymeanthesameasalearningjournalsuchaslog,diary,commonplace
book,thinkplaceandmanyportfoliosincludereflectivewritingthatissimilartothe
descriptionabove.

Asjournalwritingbecomesmorecommoninhighereducation,theremightwellbe
assumptionsthattheprocessshouldonlybeofinteresttothoseworkingindisciplines
thatare,insomeway,literary.Thisisnotthecase.Journalwritingcanbeofuseatmost
stagesofeducation(fromfiveorsixup),acrossanydisciplineandcanbenefitany
situationinwhichsomeoneistryingtolearnsomething.Inhighereducation,mostwork
onjournalsseemstohavebeendonebyteachereducators,butthevalueofwritinga
journalcanbeasgreattophysicsormathsstudents.Thisisparticularlythecasesince
theremaybeadditionalbenefitstogainfromthepracticeofwritingitselfaswellasother
learning

ALearningjournalis:

diverse;

notnecessarilywrittenbutmostofthetimeassumewrittenformat;

generallyreflectiveandaccumulatedoveraperiodoftimewiththeintentionto
learn,i.e.notpurelydescriptive;

flexible(itcanbestructuredorunstructured)

ausefulbackuptolearning;

somethingthataccentuatesfavorableconditionsforlearninge.g.space,time,
reflection.

applicabletoalldisciplines(notjustliterary).

Whywritelearningjournals?

'Whywritealearningjournal?'Thequestionmeansboth'Whatwillyougetoutofit?'and
'Forwhatpurposeisitset?'.Weconsiderthefirstquestionbyprovidingsomethingofthe
essenceofjournalwriting,throughthecommentsofwriters.

Inwritingajournal'wetakesomethingfrominsideourselvesandwesetitout:itisa
meansofdiscoveringwhoweare,thatweexist,thatwechangeandgrow.Thepersonal
journalhasbeenusedforhundredsofyearstoarticulatethehumandramaoflivingand
toexplorenewknowledge.'
(Wolf,1989)

'Journalsallowareticentstudenttoestablishanopinionaboutatopicbeforebeing
askedtospeakaboutitpublicly.Journalwritingturnsstudentsintoactive
learnersit'sdifficulttofallasleepwhilewriting!Journalwritingalsohelps
studentstorelaxwhentheywriteandhelpsthemtofindtheirownvoiceand
rhythm'
(Carlsmith,www)

'thatiswhatmyjournalsareabouttothisday.Momentsofbeingintheworld
thatIwanttosave.PicturesoftheworldthatIhavewitnessed..Torereadthe
journalistoseeoneselfseeing.'
(Grumet,1990)

'Keepingajournalisahumblingprocess.Yourelyonyoursenses,your
impressionsandyoupurposelyrecordyourexperiencesasvividly,asplayfully,
andascreativelyasyoucan.Itisalearningprocessinwhichyouarethelearner
andtheonewhoteaches.'
(Holly,1991:4)

'Oneofthemostengagingusesofpersonalstudentjournalsisasamirrorofthe
mind.Inthismode,journalsinvitelearnerstofindlanguagedeepwithinselfto
arrayone'shopes,dreams,disappointments,concernsandresolves..Theresultis
thatstudentsoftenexpressastonishmentanddelightatthekaleidoscopicself
portraitswhichemergefromthepagesoftheirnotebooksastheyjourneythrough
acourse.'
(Bowman,1983)

'Journalwritingholdsbeforethewriter'seyeoneimageafteranotherforcloser
inspection:isthisoneworthmorewords,moredevelopment?.Intheacademic
world,whereweteachstudentstogainmostoftheirinformationfromreadingand
listening,wespendtoomuchtimetellingourstudentshowtoseeordoingitfor
them.That'snothowIwouldencouragecritical,creative,orindependentthinking.
Ourstudentshavegoodeyes;letsgivethemnewtoolsforseeingbetter:journal

writingis,ofcourse,oneofthosetools.'
(Fulwiler,1986)

'Finally.Iwouldliketorecommendsomespecificactionsthatlearnersmighttake
toimprovetheirlearningandstudying.tokeepareflectivediary,makinganentry
atleastonceaweek.'
(Hartley,1998intheconcludingremarkstohisbookonlearningandstudying).

Wehavemadenoattemptheretoseparatethequotationsintothosethatarisefrom
journalworkinformaleducational,professionaldevelopmentsettingsorthosethatare
personal.Thereisoftennotacleardividinglinebetweenthem,evenbetweenthosethat
are'set'andthosethatarestartedfrompersonalvolition..

Intermsofpurposesforjournals,aperusaloftheliteraturemightsuggestthateverytime
alearnerchoosestowriteorisaskedtowritealearningjournal,adifferentpurposefor
theprocessisgiven.InareviewofoverahundredpapersonjournalwritingIfound
aroundeighteenpurposesforjournalwriting.(Moon,1999).Itisimportanttonotethat
mostjournalswillfulfillmorethanonepurpose,andthatthepurposessetbyatutorare
notnecessarilythesameasthosethatwillbefulfilledorperceivedbyastudent.An
exampleofthiscomesfromSalisbury(1994).ThestudentsstudiedbySalisbury
perceivedrightlyorwronglythat'selfflagellation'wasvaluedbytutorswhosettheir
journalwork.Theypurposefullysetouttoprovideplentyofconfessionalandflagellatory
material.

Theeighteenpurposesare:

Torecordexperience

Tofacilitatelearningfromexperience

Tosupportunderstandingandtherepresentationofthatunderstanding

Todevelopcriticalthinkingorthedevelopmentofaquestioningattitude

Toencouragemetacognition

Toincreaseactiveinvolvementin,andownershipof,learning

Toincreaseabilityinreflectionandthinking

Toenhanceproblemsolvingskills

Asameansofassessmentinformaleducation

Toenhancereflectivepractice

Forreasonsofpersonaldevelopmentandselfempowerment

Fortherapeuticpurposesorasmeansofsupportingbehaviourchange

Toenhancecreativity

Toimprovewriting

Toimproveorgive'voice';asameansofselfexpression

Tofostercommunication;inparticularreflectiveandcreativeinteractionwithina
group

Tosupportplanningandprogressinresearchoraproject

Asameansofcommunicationbetweenonelearnerandanother

LearningfromLearningJournals

Wefocusonfourmeansoflearningfromjournals.

1. Firstly, we learn because journal writing is a process that accentuates favourable

conditionsforlearning.

Itproducesintellectualspaceinwhichwecanthink.
It also encourages independent learning you have to write your own journal and
because you 'own' the learning, it is likely that it will be more meaningful to you
(Rogers,1969).
Writingajournalalsoprovidesafocusingpoint,anopportunitytoorderthoughts
andtomakesenseofasituationorofinformation.Learningfromajournalenhances
learningskillsbecauseitforcesthelearnertocopewith'messyinformation':ideas
thatarenotstraightforward.Itcounteractswhatmightbeseenasspoonfeeding
withhandoutsandlecturenotesonthewww.

2. Secondlyjournalwritingencouragesreflectionandreflectionisassociatedwith
deepapproachestolearning,orwithdeeplearning.Indeeplearning,theintentionof
thelearneristodevelopapersonalunderstandingofthematerialandtorelateitto
whatisalreadyknown.Thefreedomofjournalwritingcansupportthelearner's
attempttounderstand.

3. Thirdly,writinginajournalencouragesmetacognition,andthelearningofthose
withametacognitiveviewoftheirfunctioningisgenerallybetter(Flavell,1979).Itis
likelythatmuchfreewritinginjournalswillcontainsomemetacognitionandif
journalsarestructured,thenmetacognitioncanbebuiltin.

4. Lastly,theactofwritingisassociatedwithlearningortheenhancementoflearning.
Thereisaconsiderableliteratureontherelationshipofwritingtolearning,howit
forcesalearnertoclarifyherthoughts,howitisapowerfulformoffeedbacktothe
learner,howitfocusesattentionandtellsthelearnerifs/hedoesordoesnot
understand.Aparticularlyinterestingconsiderationrelatesmorespecificallytothe
languagethattendstobeusedinwritingjournals.Peopleuseexpressivelanguagein
journals,alanguagemorelikeconversationthanmostotherformsofwritingand,
possibly,morelikethelanguageofthought.Wemaybeabletolearnbetterforthis
formoflanguagethantheformalacademiclanguageintowhichweareinductedin
moreadvancedformsofeducation.Elbow(1981)triestogetatthemeaningofthis.
Whenhisstudentsareworkingonjournals,hedescribesthemasworkingwith
powerorvoice,'Iliketocallthispower"juice".Themetaphorcomestomeagainand
again.IsupposebecauseIamtryingtogetatsomethingmysteriousandhardtodefine.
"Juice"combinesthequalitiesofmagicpotion,mother'smilkandelectricity.
SometimesIfearIwillneverbeclearaboutwhatImeanbyvoice.Voice,inwriting,
implieswordsthatcapturethesoundofanindividualonthepageWritingwithno

voiceisdead,mechanical,faceless.Itlacksanysound'.(Elbow,1981:2867)

TheProcessofwritingreflectively:PresentationandDeepeningofReflection

If we set reflective writing as a task, we should know what we mean by it. This is
particularlyimportantfortworeasons.Therearemanyreportsthatsomestudentsdonot
finditeasytowritereflectivelyperhapseitherbecausetheyhavethenotionofacademic
writing so ingrained as a habit, or because they are simply not reflective. To teach
students to write reflectively, one needs to know what one means by it. The second
reasonrelatestoassessment.Cansomethingbeassessedifthereisnotgoodknowledge
ofwhatitis,ofitsprocess?

Experienceofintroducingreflectiveactivitiesinaworkexperiencemodulehassuggested
thatatwostageguidanceprocesstoreflectionmaybehelpfultostudents.The
'presentingreflection'stageutilisesapproachesthatintroducetheideaofreflection.A
secondstageofguidancefocusesondeepeningreflection.Atbothstages,multiple
approachesprovidingdifferentideasandactivitiesaroundreflectionseemtobemore
successfulthanattemptsatverbalinstruction.Suggestedactivities/approachesarelisted
belowwithreferencestosomeresourcesintheAppendices.

Startingtheprocess:ThePresentationofReflectiontoStudents

Thefirststagepresentingreflection:

Whatisreflection?

Studentsneedtoknowthattheyallcanreflect,butthatitmaynotbeahabitthatsome
use. It can be helpful to give them a simple definition such as that used earlier in this
paper.Ifstudentsfeelthattheydonotknowwhat'beingreflective'is,itcanbeusefulto
almost trick them into being reflective for a moment asking them, for example, to think
aboutwhattheyhavelearntfromexperiencesofpaidworketc.

Itmaythenbehelpfultousethemapofreflectivewriting(Appendix3)asanindicationof
thekindofeventsthatmightbeinvolvedintheprocessofreflection.

Considerwhyreflectionisbeingusedtofacilitatethisareaoflearning?
Theresponsewilldependonthepurposefortheworkinwhichreflectionisinvolved.The
answermightincludethefollowingtheideathatweusereflectioninordertolearnfrom
situations in which there is no curriculum but where we have to make sense of diverse
observations, ideas and data as well as personal research (e.g. by asking questions).
Reflection is used to make sense of unstructured situations in order to generate new

knowledge. It is important to be clear that the activity might be introducing the skill of
reflective learning or generating knowledge by using reflection to make sense of
something.

Considerhowreflectiondiffersfrommorefamiliarformsoflearning?

We tend to use reflection when we are trying to make sense of how diverse ideas fit
together,whenwearetryingtorelatenewideastowhatwealreadyknoworwhennew
ideaschallengewhatwealreadyknow(i.e.takingadeepapproachtolearning).Reflection
is the process we use when working with material that is presented in an unstructured
mannernotorganisedandpurifiedasinatraditionalcurriculum.

Theissuesaroundtheuseofthefirstperson'I'.

Most students will have learnt that they should not use the first person singular in an
academic environment. They can be confused if they are suddenly being encouraged to
use'I'.Itmaybehelpfulheretotalkaboutthemannerinwhichknowledgeisconstructed
withtheinvolvementoftheindividualknower.Theuseofthefirstpersonacknowledges
thisprocess.

Giveexamplesofreflectivewritinggoodandpoor.

Studentsfindrealexamplesofreflectivewriting,learningjournals,evenpublishedwork
(fictionorbiography)helpful.ExamplessuchasTheParkandThePresentationprovides
anexampleofreflectivewritingtowhichwewillreferseveraltimesinthissection.It
consistsofthreeaccountsofthesameevent,writtenatthreedifferentlevelsof
reflectivity.Italsoprovidessomecriteriathatattempttodistinguishbetweenthelevelsof
reflection.Atthisstageofpresentingreflection,itwillbesufficientsimplytopresentthe
accountswithoutthecriteria(possiblyjustthefirsttwo)andusethemasabasisfor
discussion.Studentscanbeaskedwhichisthemostreflectiveandwhy.

Generatediscussionsofstudents'conceptionsofreflection

Itisusefulatsomestage(perhapsasaspinofffromanotheractivity)toencourage
studentstotalkaboutwhattheythinkreflectionis.Thiswillprovideanopportunityfor
misconceptionstocometolightForexample,somestudentswillconsiderthatyouonly
usereflectionwhensomethinghasgonewrongdecidingwhatcouldbedonebetternext
time.

Enablepracticeandprovideopportunitiesforfeedback

Studentscanbeaskedtoreflectontheirownperformanceinsomethingforexample,
theirperformanceingivinga5minutetalk.Theytalkandthenwriteareflectiveaccount
ofhowtheirperformancewent,weaknessesandstrengths,assessmentagainsttheir
expectations,relationshipstopresentationsgivenbeforeetc.Theimpactoftheactivity
canbeincreasediftheyareaskedtowriteadescriptiveaccountoftheirperformance
beforetheywritereflectively

Giveastartingexercisethateliminatestheblankpage.

Blankpagesarethreateningtomany(butexcitingtosome).Itisagoodideatoget
studentsstartedontheirreflectiveworkbygettingthemtodosomereflectivewriting
beforetheyknowtheyhavereallystarted.Thiswillmeanthedevelopmentofsome
structuresuchasquestionsthatwillstimulatereflectivewriting.

Haveothertoolsavailabletohelpstudentstogetstarted.

Thereareplentyofexercisestoencouragereflectivewriting.Theuseoftheseexercisesin
occasionalclasssituationscanhelpstudentstoexpandtheareasinwhichtheyare
thinkingandtobegintodeepentheirreflection.Expecttohavetosupportsomestudents
morethanothers.Itmaybepossibletodevelopasystemofpeersupport.

Beopenaboutyourneedtolearnaboutthisformoflearningandhowtomanageit.
Demonstratingthatitisnotonlystudentswhoneedtolearntoreflectcanbeveryhelpful
forstaffandstudents.Staffmightwritealearningjournalabouttheprocessofhelping
studentstolearnreflectivelyandshareelementsofitwiththestudents.

Whataretheproblemswithstartingtowriteajournal?

Thingstothinkabout:

planning

purpose

needtobeseentofitwithincoursedesign

getthetitleright

isitvoluntaryorcompulsory?

willitbefreewritingorstructured?

howyouwillmanagethedemandsoftheclass

how,andif,itwillbeassessed

issuesoftrustinassessment

ifthereistobeanysharedreading,thinkaboutprivacyandconfidentiality

whenisthejournaltobewritten?

evaluation

medium

format

howwillthestudentslearntowritereflectively?

willtherebelimitsonlength?

howoftenwillstudentswriteintheirjournals?

Thesecondstage,deepeningreflectivework

Thedeepeningofreflectiveactivitydependspartlyondevelopingawarenessofthe
constructednatureofknowledgeandunderstanding,forexample:

thateventscanbeconceivedofdifferentlyaccordingtotheframeofreference;the
roleofemotionsinguidingourconceptionsofeventsorpeople;
thatdifferentdisciplinesrelyondifferentstructuresofknowledgeandhave
differentwaysofworkingwithknowledge.

UseexamplestodemonstratedeeperreflectiveactivityWesuggestedtheuseofmaterial
suchas'ThePresentation'.Thefocusnowwouldbeonthethirdaccountandtheuseof
thecriteriathatdistinguishthedeeperaccounttothemoredescriptiveaccounts.

Introduceaframeworkthatdescribeslevelsofreflection:
AnexampleisHattonandSmith(1995).Theframeworkbelowresultedfromworkwith
students' reflective writing work and below it is in simplified form. It influenced the
criteriausedin'ThePresentation'

Descriptive writing: This is a description of events or literature reports. There is no

discussion beyond description. This writing is considered not to show evidence of
reflection.Itisimportanttoacknowledgethatsomepartsofareflectiveaccountwillneed
todescribethecontextbutinthiscase,writingdoesnotgobeyonddescription.

Descriptivereflection:Thereisbasicallyadescriptionofevents,buttheaccountshows
someevidenceofdeeperconsiderationinrelativelydescriptivelanguage.Thereisnoreal
evidenceofthenotionofalternativeviewpointsinuse.

Dialogicreflection:Thiswritingsuggeststhatthereisa'steppingback'fromtheevents
and actions which leads to a different level of discourse. There is a sense of 'mulling

about', discourse with self and an exploration of the role of self in events and actions.
There is consideration of the qualities of judgements and of possible alternatives for
explaining and hypothesising. The reflection is analytical or integrative, linking factors
andperspectives.

Criticalreflection:Thisformofreflection,inadditiontodialogicreflection,shows
evidencethatthelearnerisawarethatthesameactionsandeventsmaybeseenin
differentcontextswithdifferentexplanationsassociatedwiththecontexts.Theyare
influencedby'multiplehistoricalandsociopoliticalcontexts',forexample.(Hattonand
Smith,1995)

Introduceexercisesthatinvolve'standingbackfromoneself'.

E.g. students write about their own processes of learning using a semiobjective and
criticalstance.

Introduce exercises that involve reflection on the same subject from different
viewpointsofpeople/socialinstitutionsetc.

E.g.studentscouldbeaskedtoreflect(ortalk/present)onaneventinashopfromthe
pointofviewofthesupervisor,customer,counterassistant,onlookerandsoon.

Introduceanexerciseinreflectiononthesamesubjectfromviewpointsofdifferent
disciplines

In terms of different disciplinary standpoints, students might be asked to describe a

child's pet dog from the point of view of practitioners in sociology, psychology, medical
sciences,English,artandsoon.

Introduce an exercise that involves reflection that is influenced by emotional

reactionstoevents

Students can be asked to describe a real or imaginary event and to write fictitious
reflective accounts at periods after the event, each account illustrating a change of
emotional orientation to the event. The important point here is that emotional state
influences the manner in which a subject is viewed. If the state changes, the view may
change.

Collaborative methods of deepening reflection e.g. critical friends and group,

activitiesetc.

Somemethodsinvolvesmallgrouporpairwork.Thegroupswillneedtohavecommon
ideas about methods by which to deepen reflection and to see themselves as peer
facilitators. The groups or pairs may work together over a period, learning how best to
helpeachotherbypromptingandaskingquestions,queryingframesofreferenceandso
on.

Secondorderreflection

Second order reflection is represented in any technique that requires a student to look
through previous reflective work and write a reflective overview. One of the most
convenientwaystodothisisthedoubleentryjournal.Studentswriteonlyononepageof
adoublespreadorononehalfofaverticallydividedpage.Theyleavespaceblankuntilat
another time, they go through the initial material writing generating further comments
thatemergefromtheirmorecoherentoverviewoftheinitialwork.

Journalsindisciplinarycontextssomeexamplesoftheiruses

The uses of journals are described below under discipline headings, but many could be
appliedinmuchbroaderfields.

Thesciences,engineeringandmathematics

Selfe,PetersenandNahrgang(1986)studiedthemannerinwhichjournalwritingcould
helpmathematicsstudents.Initiallytheintentionwastocomparethetestgradesofa
groupwhowereaskedtowritejournalswithanothergroupusingtraditionalmethods,
however,theyfoundthattheinfluenceofjournalwritingwasmoresubtle.Thegeneral
findingintheinitialinvestigationwasthatjournalwritingwasnobetternorworsethan
activitiesinvolvingtestingorquizzesatpromotinglearning.Onasubsequentmoresubtle
investigation,journalsappearedtofacilitatelearninginanumberofways.By
encouragementtothinkinamannerthatwastheirownandtousetheirownlanguage,
thestudentswereabletodeveloppersonalconceptualdefinitionswhichweremuchmore
understandablethantechnicaldefinitions.Theconcretenatureofthisthinkingfacilitated
comprehensionandapplicationofabstractconceptsandtheybegantoevaluateor
appreciatetheusefulnessoftheconcepts.Theothertwoeffectsrelatetotheabilityto
solveproblems.Therewasevidenceinthewritingthatstudentswererecording
strategiesthattheyfoundhelpfulinproblemsolving.Furthermore,inwritingabout
problemsinsteadofjustworkingoncalculation,theywerecomingtosolutionsthrough
thewriting.Anexcerptfromthewritingofonestudentillustrateswellthelastpoint:

'Iseenothingincommonwiththethreefunctionsexceptthatthederivativehasapower
ofN1justlikealltheotherderivativeshave.Ohwaitasec,nowIseehowyoudidit.You
tookthederivativeofthefirsttermand.'(Selfe,PetersenandNahrgang,1987:200)

Selfe worked also with engineering students (Selfe and Arbabi, 1986), with a primary
intention of introducing more writing into the course. The students, in a structural
analysisanddesignclass,wereaskedtowriteatleastapageaweekontheirexperiences
of the course. While their initial reaction was negative, and for a few (around 10%) it
remainednegative,mostfoundthat'ithelped..(themto)...clarifytheirthoughts,workout
strategies for solving engineering problems, understand the important aspects of the
structurescourseandidentifyareasinwhichtheyneededmorehelp'(p185).Incontrast
to a control group, those who had written in journals wrote final reports that 'were
generally more coherent, organized and complete and in their description of methods
used to solve engineering problems were more complete. Instructors felt much more
informedabouttheirstudents'processesoflearning.

Grumbacher (1987) focused on the ability of physics students to solve problems. She
observed the writing processes of students whom she considered to be good problem
solvers. They articulate the problems clearly, use visualization and verbalization in the
solving and they are aware of the relative appropriateness of their responses. More
significantly 'they use their learning logs to synthesize their new knowledge about
physicswiththeirpriorknowledgeandexperiences'(p325).

Englishandalliedsubjects

Lindberg(1987)appliestheuseofjournalstohelplearnerstogainadeeper
understandingoftextsinEnglish.Heusesadoubleentryjournal.Thisisaformofjournal
whereonesideofthepageoronecolumnisforthedescriptivewritingandtheother
columnisforreflectiveobservationorfurtherprocessingofthistype.InLindberg's
journaldesignstudentswritetheirobservationsofandreactionstothetextononesideof
thepage.Thesemayinclude'timeswhenyourreadingchangesyouaresurprisedor
puzzledsomethingjustdoesnotfityourfirstimpressionoftheending'.Whenthestory
isread,theyareaskedtogobackandmakesenseoftheobservationsintheothercolumn.
Thesejournalsarediscussedinaplannedseriesofonetoone'conferences'withtutors.

Assessmentisofapaperthatstudentswriteonthebasisoftheirjournalentries

Thehumanitiesandsocialsciences

Wagenaarintroducedajournalinsociologyinordertoencouragestudentstorelatethe
theorytaughtonthecoursetotheirownobservationsandexperiences(Wagenaar,1984).
Insodoinghesuggeststhat'thejournalassignmentcanassisttheinstructorinmeeting
the higher level cognitive objectives in her or his course'. He describes it as 'An
intellectualexerciseinreflexivity'whichexploitsthehigherorderfunctionsofevaluation,
application(Bloom1956).Studentswerenotaskedtowriteabouttheirfeelingsbutfrom
the examples given, feelings were present and acceptable in their expressions. The
processofjournalwritingwasrelativelysimple.Twoelementsweretobepresentthe
observationofbehaviourandthediscussionintheoreticalterms.

Baltensperger (1987), working with geography students describes a similar element in

his work with classroom journals. He posed a question to students and asked them to
writetheirresponsesfirst.Hewouldthenaskthequestionagain,requestingoralreports
based on the written ideas, and then would open the discussion for more general
comment.Hefoundthisavaluablemeansofcombatingproblemsofpoorresponsetooral
questionsposedinclass.

Intwopapers,separatedby14years,Hettichadvocatedjournalsinpsychology(Hettich,
1976,1990).Journalshelpstudentstoconnectcourselearningtotheirrealexperiences
andobservations.Theemphasisisonthecoursematerialandinstructionsindicatedthat
entriescouldcontain'examplesthatshowcomprehensionoftheconcept;applicationor
experimentation with principles; and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of course
concepts'(Hettich,1990).
Inaprojecttoinvestigatetheimpactofdifferentformsofwritinginanthropology,Creme
(1999)describesthreedifferentusesofjournalsinasocialanthropologydepartment.
Projectlogsaccompaniedafirstyearcoursewhichintroducedthetheoreticaland
conceptualbasistoanthropologyresearch.Logsaccompanyaresearchprojectand
containrecordingsandreflectionontherecords.Thesecondformoflogiscalledarecord
ofstudy.Studentsdevelopanaccountoftheirlearningfromdifferentsourcesthroughout
thecoursewithafocusonthedevelopmentof'understandingofcentralcourseconcepts'.
Thethirdtypeofjournalwasusedinafirstyearmultidisciplinarycourseondeath.In
theirjournals,studentsexploredtheirreactionstovariousaccountsofdeathandtotheir
personalexperiences.

Languages

Mulhaus and Loschmann (1997) discuss issues relating to foreign language learning in
modularized higher education. The change from integrated programmes to the
accumulation of modules means that students enrolling on a module are likely to have
diversebackgroundsinrelationtothesubjectmatter.Adistancelearningapproachwas

adopted with students using workshop time for advice and progress checks. With this
approach,thewritersconsideredthatstudentsneededtogiveattentiontotheirlearning
strategiesandtheyusedjournalstoaddressthatneed.Journalsincludedthewrittenwork
of students video summaries, vocabulary lists, worksheet tasks and selfreflective
comments.Amarkingschemeassessed'theinteractionwiththematerialandthedepthof
the learning process as evident from the students' vocabulary lists, translations and
comments'(p25).

Artssubjects

Oneformofjournalthatisanaturalaccompanimenttothecreationofmusicanddramais
the project type of journal where the development of ideas is recorded and considered
reflectively.Theaimistoenhancethethoughtprocessesthatcontributetotheproject.

Withartanddesignstudents,Davies(1998)setsasimilarjournalthataccompanies
projectwork,butwherethemainaimisoneofassessment.Daviessuggeststhattherecan
betoomuchfocusontheoutcomeofartstudentworkandnotontheallimportant
processofit.Thejournalisalocationfortherecordingofthinkingprocesses.

Businesssubjectsandlaw

November (1993) comments of his subject commerce that the study environment is
not conducive to deep approaches to learning. He uses journals in order to deepen the
quality of learning in a final year course. In his experience, the best results occur with
therehasbeenconsiderableguidanceonthejournalwritinggiven.Onemethodistoask
students to write a list of problems or issues of concern, and then to examine each in a
systematicmanner.Everysooftenheasksstudentstoreflectonquestionsthatareraised
intheirwriting.

TheAssessmentofReflectiveWriting

There are many who argue that journals and reflective writing should not be assessed.
Thiscommentfromconvincedproponentofjournalssumsupsomeoftheissues.

'How can you mark an individual's own personal development? I think it's a right and
proper part of education for us to encourage students to express their feelings so that
they know it's alright to have those feelings. However, for me to mark those feelings
seems inconsistent and incongruent. Marks can also create a barrier or obstacle to the
personfindinghisorherownvoice'
(SisterCraigcitedinDillon,1983)

Intermsofresearch,SumsionandFleet(1996)questiontheassessmentofreflectionin
moregeneralterms.

Theynotethatthereisnoevidencethatareflectiveprofessionalismoreeffective
thananonreflectiveprofessionalorthatprogrammesthatpromotereflectionleadto
betteroutcomes.

Inaseriesofexperimentstheysoughttoexploretheissueintheirworkwithfinal
yearearlychildhoodeducationstudents.

Theyfacedthedifficultyoffindingasuitablesetofcriteriabywhichtocodethe
'reflectiveness'ofthestudents'work.

Theyreviewedandrejectedanumberofinstrumentsbecausetheyweretoo
complexortheywerecomposedoftoomanycategoriestoobtainsufficientintercoder
reliability.

Theyconcludedthatthereisnogoodmeansofassessingreflectivewritingat
present.

Itisveryeasytogoalongwithargumentsthatassessmentofreflectivewritingorjournals
isintrusiveonpersonaldevelopmentoristoodifficult.However:

wedoneedtodevelopmeansofassessmentwhile,atthesametime,takinga
broadviewoftheprocess.Studentsarebeingassessedonjournalsandreflectivewriting.
Evenwherejournalwritingisaassessedonthebasisof'competent'or'notyet
competent',orpassorfail/notyetpass,thecriteriabeingusedareoften'gutreactions'
orpersonalinterpretationsandthisqualityofmarkingisnotfairtostudents.When
refectionandreflectivepracticearesohighlyesteemedinsomeareasofeducationand
professionaldevelopment,weshouldbeabletodobetterthanthis.

Thesecondjustificationisbasedontheobservationthat,evenablelearnersmay
notfindreflectivewritinginajournaleasy(WildmanandNiles,1987).Unlessteachers
haveanunderstandingofthetaskthattheyaresettingandthequalitiesinitthat
constituteagoodperformance,theywillnotbeabletohelptheselearners.

Thirdly,reflectivewritingisrootedinthenatureofthehighereducationsystemas
itseemstoexist.Theriseofthe'strategic'studentiswelldocumented(egKneale,1997).
The'strategicstudent'isboundonsuccessinherstudiesfortheminimumoutputandwill
thereforenotputeffortintotasksthatarenotassessed.Ifwebelievethatjournals
contributetolearning,thentheassessmentofjournalsmaybenecessaryinorderto
ensuretherequisitestudenteffort.

Issuesinassessingjournals

Thefirstquestiontobeaskedinassessingjournalsiswhetherwearelookingtoassess
the process of reflection or the product of learning. For example, Selfe, Petersen and
Nahrgang(1986)describetheuseofjournalswithmathematicsstudents.Theaimofthe
work is not to develop reflective skills in these students, but to improve their learning.

The quality of their reflection is incidental. An essay or viva will test the learning.
Alternativelypartsofthejournalcouldberewritteninsummaryatassessmenttimeto
focus on the learning. In contrast, journals used in teacher education are often to
encourage the process of reflection and the learning that results is relatively less
important.

Itisveryimportanttorememberthatassessingjournalshasaneffectonthemannerin
whichthejournaliswrittenbecausestudentswilltrytowritewhattheythinkisrequired.
Theymaybewaryofrevealingpersonaldifficultiesorconcerns.

Assessingthereflectiveprocessofajournal

Assumingthatitisthereflectionthatisimportant,howdoweapproachassessment?
Somegeneralcriteriacanhelpfullyindicateadequacy.Alistmightinclude:

Length,Presentationandlegibility,Numberofentriesorregularityofentries;Clarityand
goodobservationinpresentationofeventsorissues;Evidenceofspeculation;Evidenceof
awillingnesstoreviseideas;Honestyandselfassessment;Thoroughnessofreflection
andselfawareness;Depthanddetailofreflectiveaccounts;Evidenceofcreativethinking;
Evidenceofcriticalthinking;Evidenceofadeepapproachtothesubjectmatterofthe
journalRepresentationofdifferentcognitiveskills(synthesis,analysis,evaluationetc);
Relationshipoftheentriesinthejournaltoanyrelevantcoursework,theories,etc.Match
ofthecontentandoutcomesofthejournalworktocourseobjectives,learningoutcomes
forthejournalorpurposesthatthejournalisintendedtofulfill.Questionsthatarisefrom
thereflectiveprocessesandonwhichtoreflectfurther.

Thereareanumberofschemesofassessmentcriteriathataredevelopedfromthework
ofothers.TheexampleofHettich(1976and1990)andhisuseoftheBloom'sTaxonomy
wasgivenearlier.ThesixcategoriesinBloom'scognitivedomainare(inorderof
increasingsophistication),knowledge,comprehension,application,analysis,synthesis
andevaluation.

WedmanandMartin(1986)usedVanManen'slevelsofreflectivity(VanManen,1977):

Level1technicalrationality:effectiveapplicationoftechnicalknowledgeinorderto
reachknownoutcomes.

Level2practicalrationality:teachers'abilitytodealwithpracticalactionswherethere
aremultiplefactorsinoperation.Thereisanabilitytocopewiththeconfusionandmake
anassessmentofthelikelyeducationalconsequences.

Level3InWedmanandMartin'sterms,thislevelofcriticalrationality'focusedon

incorporatingconsiderationofmoralandethicalcriteriaintodiscourseaboutpractical
action.Thecentralquestionatthislevelwaswhicheducationalgoals,experiencesand
activitiesledtowardformsoflifethatwerejustandequitable.'
TheworkofHattonandSmith(1995)arosefromsomewhatmorethoroughresearchthan
manyofthestudiesdescribedearlier.Whiletheworkderivesfromthecontextofteacher
education,thedescriptionsofreflectivenessinwritingaregenerallyapplicable.A
summaryoftheframeworkwithquotationsfromitisprovidedbelow.

Descriptive writing (which is considered not to show evidence of reflection), is a

descriptionofeventsorliteraturereports.Thereisnodiscussionbeyonddescription.

Descriptivereflection:Thereisdescriptionofeventsbutsomejustificationinrelatively
descriptivelanguage.Thepossibilityofalternativeviewpointsindiscussionisaccepted.
Reflectionmaybe'basedgenerallyononeperspectivefactorasrationale'or,presumably
inamoresophisticatedform,isbased'ontherecognitionofmultiplefactorsand
perspectives'.

Dialogicreflection:'Demonstratesa"steppingback'fromtheeventsandactionsleading
toadifferentlevelofmullingaboutdiscoursewithselfandexploringthediscourseof
eventsandactions'.Usesthe'qualitiesofjudgmentsandpossiblealternativesfor
explainingandhypothesising'.Thereflectionisanalyticalorintegrative,linkingfactors
andperspectives.Itmayrevealinconsistency'inattemptingtoproviderationalesand
critique'.

Criticalreflection:'Demonstratesanawarenessthatactionsandeventsarenotonly
locatedwithinandexplicablebymultipleperspectives,butarelocatedinandinfluenced
bymultiplehistoricalandsociopoliticalcontexts'(HattonandSmith,1995)
Aninterestingquestionthatemergesconcernsthedegreetowhichlearnerscanbe
coachedtowriteatthesedifferentlevels.Forexample,Dart,BoultonLewis,Brownleeand
McCrindle(1998)usedtheHattonandSmithdescriptors(above)asanassessmenttoolin
theirresearchontheincreaseofknowledgefromtheuseoflearningjournals.Mostof
theirsubjectsproducedwritinggaugedtobe'descriptivereflection'.Ifthesubjectshad
beencoachedinthedifferentdegreesofreflectivenessintheirwriting,wouldtheyhave
orcouldtheyhavefunctionedatamoresophisticatedlevel,then,perhapschangingthe
resultoftheexperiment?

Theformsofassessmentofreflectivewritingabovemostlyservetheirpurposewithinthe
contextoftheiruse.Theyareprobablyasreliableasanyotherformofassessmentin
highereducationbuttherearesomeremainingquestionsoftheirvalidityifweareunsure
whatreallyhappenswhenstudentswritereflectively.Withaframeworkfortheprocess
ofreflectivewritingandtakingtheliteratureofreflectionintoaccount,itispossibleto
considerdevelopmentofcriteriaforassessmentpurposes.Italsobecomespossibleto
showstudentswhyjustdescriptiveworkisnot'reflective'inthatitonlycoversasmall

partoftheoverallprocess.

Exampleofassessmentindicatorsforreflectivewriting
Purpose.
Thelearnerdemonstrates:
awarenessandunderstandingofthepurposeofthejournal,usingthepurposeto
guideselectionanddescriptionofevent/issueonwhichtoreflect.Thelearner
identifies:
herorhisownpurposeforthejournalorjournalentry.
Thedescriptionofaneventorissue:
ispresent.Thedescription:
providesanadequatefocusforfurtherreflection;
Itincludes:
astatementofobservationscommentonpersonalbehaviour;
commentonreaction/feelings;
commentoncontext.
Additionalideas:
arepresent.
Thelearnerdemonstrates:
theintroductionof(any)additionalideastothedescription;
theadditionof:
furtherobservations;
relevantotherknowledge,experience,feelings,intuitions
suggestionsfromothers;
newinformation;
formaltheory;
otherfactorssuchasethical,moral,sociopoliticalcontext.
Reflectivethinking:
ispresent.
Thelearnerdemonstrates:
theabilitytoworkwithunstructuredmaterial
thelinkingoftheoryandpractice;
theviewingofanissue/eventfromdifferentpointsofview;
theabilityto'stepback'fromasituation;
metagcognitiveprocesses;
'cognitivehousekeeping';
applicationoftheoreticalideas;
considerationsofalternativeinterpretations;etc.
Otherprocessing
Thereisevidenceofotherprocessinge.g.
newideasaretestedinpractice;
newideasarerepresented,forexample,inafirstdraftorgraphicformetcand
thereisevidenceofreviewandrevisioninalatercopy.

Aproductresults
Theisastatementof:
eithersomethingthathasbeenlearnedorsolvedthatrelatestothepurposeorthe
problematicnatureofthedescription
or
thereisasenseofmovingon.Forexample,thereIsidentificationofanewareafor
furtherreflectionoranewquestionIsframed.

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