PSI Tutor:Mentor

An important activity in academia and the business world is the ability for a professional to reflect critically on their decisions and actions. Thinking about one’s personal opinions, values and attitudes and linking these to models and theories presented in class is a practical exercise.

Knowledge about oneself and how one’s views can be placed within the current body of knowledge informs the professional about their strengths and weaknesses.

The process of reflective journaling means that one has to search out evidence (as in sourcing literature, linking theories & models or collecting data) and then analyse it for meaning.

Conclusions are then drawn from the evidence gathered; ultimately, the reflective task (subjective) is a reflection of the empirical research process (objective). Keeping a journal in some form provides a medium for giving oneself constructive commentary about one’s work and sets toward goals.

As such, a student/professional is able to make effective changes to improve their learning and development within a discipline of study.

Academic judgment requires logical argument, whether a discourse is subjective or objective in nature. One’s conclusions must link back to prior knowledge. It is easy to see how the process of communicating an opinion with some merit is something that we do everyday, when listening to the news, reading the paper and to a large extent when conversing with each other.

A reflective journal becomes a log book or field book that can be referred to aid with problem-solving as well as to record observations, analyses and insights. Hypotheses can be developed prior to the collection of evidence, and then the results reflected upon.

The journal need not only be in text, an online environment provides a wealth of interactive opportunities. And more personal styles of journaling are those of a traditional diary or the engaging activity of scrapbooking.

Active interaction with psychology phenomenon improves learning and practical use of the knowledge, skills and competencies gained through study and reflection. Reflective journals have been found to enhance beliefs and attitudes of undergraduate teachers (Bell, 2001).

The students overall were better able to make links between new information and prior knowledge, thus were more confident about their understanding and abilities.

Furthermore, creativeness, fun and interest in the topics motivated students to explore their curriculums much more actively. Curiosity and engagement in the application of new knowledge is essential for the student to make links to information and experiences that already exist.

Taking ownership of their time management, organisation and learning strategies can greatly enhance a student-professional to achieve their objectives.

A reflective journaling is a student-created learning resource (Tandrow, Ling & Venthan 2008). It is an instructional tool that provides additional formative assessment opportunities. An idea for beginning your journal could be to prepare for your first class of the semester;

• Ask yourself “Wh” questions about possible lecture material: what, when, where, why and who (as well as how ~:-)
• Make tentative hypothesis and justify your reasons for expecting the outcomes that you do.
• During the first class of the semester take notes and record your perceptions and insights during the lecture. Do not judge your thoughts, simply make note of them. Practice “flow writing” in which you just let your intuition guide what to jot down; this is a process similar to that of brainstorming.
• For learning material it usually helps to include the date and perhaps the time of your journal entry.
• Weekly, review your journal materials and make connections between entries. This is a great way to link learning materials from your lectures, tutes and pracs.
• Explore your imagination and creatively record the connections you make across learning materials.

Expressing one’s opinions through writing is just one way to make sense of experiences as a student and professional. Here are some resources to help you discover the journaling style for you:

Bell (2001) Reflective journal writing in an inquiry-based science course for elementary pre-service teachers.

Chrislem’s Service Learning Journal

Family Learning Journal

Hamenda (2007) Reflective Learning Journal

How to Keep a Field Journal

Journaling

Learning Journal

Learning Journals

McNeal & vant Hooft (2006) Anytime, anywhere: Using mobile phones for learning

Moon (2003) Learning journals, logs and reflective diaries

NM2208 Learning Journal

Notebooking and Lapbooking

PCE Reflective Journal

Photo Learning Journal

Project Journals

Reflective Learning Journal

Tandrow, Ling & Venthan (2008) Promoting inquiry through science reflective journal writing

• Keep the story going with a shared journal (timesunion.com)
• Just Talking About Negative Feelings Helps Control Them (somebodyhealme.dianalee.net)
• Reflective Journaling: Why and how for [psychology] student professionals (psipsychologytutor.org)