Thoughts on Journal Writing for the Classroom

Perhaps the simplest way to use journal writing in the classroom is for reflection.

Reflective writing, like any other type of writing, does need to be taught. It was astonishing to me as a first year teacher, to whom English came so naturally, that students did not know how to reflect. It seemed so obvious that "reflect" meant share my thoughts or opinions and how I processed the information or made a connection with the material. That way of writing is entirely different from "explain" or "analyze" or even "synthesize." So when I first assigned a reflective journal and my students summarized their reading, I was quite honestly surprised that they did not know how to correctly reflect.

I think the primary benefit of journal writing is to assist your memory.

We naturally remember the things that are routine in life, but it takes intentionality to remember things that are not routine. Journaling can be one of the simplest ways to help us remember a process or an emotion or a relationship or a career path or student behavior or achievements and failures. Documenting something intentionally creates a report that can be used to inform us better on how to make the next decision or how to feel towards someone or something.

Details, in particular, are the hardest of all to remember; but details could be the difference between a good and a bad decision. For instance, keeping a daily or even weekly journal on student behavior as a teacher is extremely practical. Only documenting the behavior and discipline administered, however, may not be. What if the student's behavior is only documented once, but the student responded to teacher correction disrespectfully? What if the student behaved a certain way because the student felt threatened by another student? What if the student fell asleep in class frequently because the family situation was not conducive to beneficial sleep for a growing teenager? These essential details could be extremely important in developing a report and determining the best course of action.

Students also might find that keeping a journal helps them remember because they can see their progress over the course of the school year. Bell ringers are popular for most middle and high school classes. I have my students start the year by only responding with a few sentences. By the end of the year, they should be writing at least 100 words. I have them keep all of their bell ringers in their composition book so that they can see their progress at the end of the year. Journaling could also help them track any transitions they may have made in their learning. If they started the year struggling with this one math concept, then it could be beneficial to document how and when they understood it finally!

Teachers should always present expectations clearly before assessing the students, and I would argue before even assigning a journal to the students.

Because journal writing (especially reflective journaling) is so different from summarizing or analyzing, I think the teacher should include modeling as a part of the expectations. The teacher should choose a topic unrelated to the students' topic(s) and model how to properly journal according to the type of journaling the teacher is requiring the students to complete for the assessment. Written instructions and a rubric is also helpful for those who may need to revisit the expectations rather than simply hearing it delivered once during class.