What Does a Journal Entry Contain?

The journal can be used to capture your reactions to the reading and learning in class and to track your weekly participation in our online classroom. The entries might include questions you seek answers to from the readings that week, specific problems you encounter in your learning that week, issues of time, and how those issues are being resolved; and should always contain the solutions you've attempted that might solve the problem (the process). You can even comment on your mood that week but ultimately the goal is for you to reflect on yourself as a learner who is responsible for acquiring and seeking your own knowledge. If this changes the dynamic inherent in the "feed me the lecture" mentality all thebetter because we are here to learn from one another!

One problem with writing journals is that some of you will be tempted to use them simply as a way to record the day's events. Try not to slip into the routine of writing a diary entry without reflection or real purpose. I encourage you towrite specifically to respond to and share your thoughts using the following characteristics:

• Personal observations of the material
• Questions you have, and what you are actively doing to resolve the difficulty
• Speculations and predictions
• evidence of developing self-awareness about the weekly topic
• Connections between personal experience and new information