Using a teaching journal
How can keeping a teaching journal help you with instructional improvement?
It helps make me very aware of items or series of classes/labs that work and gain understanding for the students. I try to incorporate these into my next classes as much as possible.
Berenice,
This is a great method to reinforce your successes, and a way to recall information that can be repeated at a subsequent class.
Barry Westling
I write down notes after every theory class, I keep track of discussions in class. Notes usually include which topics interested students along with focal points for future lesson plans.
Robin,
Good. Sometimes we don't know what we are stronger or weaker at. But a journal does provide a unique method to reflect, ponder, and explore our personal observations and feelings, and perhaps discover traits about ourselves previously unknown.
Barry Westling
I often make notes during my lectures so I can improve the learning experience for the next class and to also improve my teaching skills. I like the idea of keeping a teaching journal so I can keep track of my strengths and weaknesses.
Yvonne,
And reflection is one self directed way to become better instructors.
Barry Westling
very good post. I started journaling recently, and I have found that I can always go back and reflect on my past experiences . Journaling is very important....
Blake,
Great, it does take a discipline to make this effective, but the results are the prize!
Barry Westling
You make a strong case for keeping a journal - both personal and professional. In the past, I've attached post-its or handwritten comments in my instructional notes but haven't taken the next step to keep a running record of these thoughts. The journal segment of this course opened my eyes to see how easy it would be to 'take the next step' - a record of triumphs/setbacks - does/doesn't work - will definitely be advantageous to me. I also agree that my thoughts need to be recorded as soon as possible. I've started using a digital recorder to keep notes during the day - then listening and transcribing my thoughts at the end of the day. I look forward to using this technique to better my ability to reach students' needs.
Chris,
Reflection is really a great tool for understanding effective instruction, and self improvement for future classes often results too. A teaching journal is one way to document those meaningful moments.
Barry Westling
A teaching journal can offer a way for an instructor to look at what worked and what didn't work on a daily basis. This reflective approach will assist an instructor on what changes could be made in order to improve the classroom experience for students.
Samara,
Great. I find that making notations about prior classes helps me plan, sometimes by providing a stimulus to vary my plans, create alternative activities, or use something I done in the past to keep interest at a higher level.
Barry Westling
I keep a teaching notebook. It helps me plan for the next time I teach the course. However, I keep in mind that each class is different. The students in this course may have been sleepy, shy, or even disinterested. I mostly teach at night. One course may be at 6 pm while the other is at 8 pm. The 6 pm course will be much more lively than the 8 pm course. Therefore, I realized that I must adjust for this.
Karyn,
Cool! I am always pleased when an educator-participant finds useful tools from this module to make their instructional duties more efficient, interesting, or meaningful. Good luck.
Barry Westling
After reading the posts on this subject I think I'll be trying this. Journaling is something I enjoy doing in my personal life to get ideas for short stories, poems and plays, why shouldn't it be beneficial to me in the classroom as well? I'll be giving it a try and reporting back. Stay tuned!
Randy,
Another variation is post it notes and "red stars". For me, I formerly used a red pencil to mark a star in the margin of my notes when I noticed the lesson was taking longer, students had more difficulty than expected, or asked interesting questions that could be inserted into future lessons. Post it notes sort of achieved the same purpose. These reminders allowed me to scan through one or more lessons quite rapidly in orer to make journal notes.
Barry Westling
I started keeping a journal recently, and it's been very insightful. Especially when things didn't go exactly as planned, I can trace my steps and see at what point, things turned.
Edie,
Wonderful. There is no rulebook about what kind of notations can be recorded. The main thing is that there's a record of something that the writer observed, experienced, or found interesting or significant - something that can be reflected on and referred to, even if it's just to recall a memorable moment.
Barry Westling
I agree that journals are a great tool to use. I use them and when a student/co-worker asks me to check on something, or do something, etc. I use my journal for record-keeping. I check my tasks off as they are completed and always go back through my journal to see if I missed anything.
