The book Journal
Keeping-How to Use Reflection Writing for Learning, Teaching, Professional
Insight, and Positive Change by Dannelle Stevents and Joanne Cooper
provides a nice framework for including journals in both higher education and
our personal lives. Through the use of a journal we can help solidify our
thoughts and come to a better understanding of ourselves. Professors, business
owners, and students can all find an educational benefit in writing out their
goals, strategies, dreams and hopes.
The author proposes that such journal writing be implemented
in graduate and doctoral education. The journal provides 1. Writing as
thinking, 2. Practice in fluency in writing and motivation, 3. Acceptance of
journal writing when it is fully integrated into course work. Not only does it
provide a higher depth of thought but also improves upon general
self-reflection. When students understand the benefits of journal writing they
accept and adapt it to their own needs.
The use of journal also provides critical reflection and
opportunities for transformational learning. Informational learning involves
acquisition of knowledge while transformational learning provides critical
reflection on assumptions and thoughts. Graduate students should learn how to
think critically, thoroughly and challenge assumptions they hold to think more
clearly.
The journal also helps people to understand themselves in a
constantly changing and adjusting world. It helps to ground and define a person’s
personality so that they may use this vantage point to make decisions for
themselves. Since undergraduate education is important for understanding one’s
skills and abilities it would be a natural extension to encourage such students
to also understand their personal desires and needs. Perhaps the use of
journals would help students find the right major quicker and therefore shave
off some cost from the educational process.
Business owners may find the ability to write out their
strategic thoughts as an advantage inherent in journal writing. As they think
about their strategies and how they fit with their personal goals they can catalog
their ideas to go back and expand or review. Continually building on strategic
ideas makes them more concrete, thorough, and able to be adjusted when
situations change.
Personally, I have used journal writing in my classes and
students seemed to have accepted its inherent benefits. By using journal
writing as a graded assignment it allows the students to reflect on important
class concepts which helps solidify the knowledge they have learned through
reflection. If a student can integrate the knowledge they learned in their
class into their lives by remembering key concepts a week after they have been
taught you know that student learning is occurring.
The book is a strong read for professors and administrators.
It provides insight into the benefits of journal writing for student success.
Since such skills are a habit that helps to develop students as self-reflective
individuals who think through complex concepts and issues. The book offers
cited resources for those who desire to view other sources of journal writing benefits.
The three major sections are Journal Writing Definition, Reflection and
Learning, Reflection and Adult Developmental Theory.
Stevens, D. & Cooper, J. (2009)Journal Keeping-How to Use Reflection Writing for Learning, Teaching,
Professional Insight, and Positive Change. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publish
ISBN 978-1-57922-215-4
Price: $44.00 I received a discount for around half at a
WASC conference
Blog Review: 4.4
Pages: Approximately 244
