Task 2b - Journal Writing Experience

Journal writing has been great so far - It is something I have never done before really and since starting I found it very beneficial.  As I mentioned in my first post about journal writing - before beginning this task I would normally lie in bed trying to sleep but not being able to as I have thoughts running through my head.. So It is great to be able to write them all down - and have them to look back on.  

Description

I initially started off describing the main events of each day and I was thinking to myself that although it gets thoughts off my mind it wasn't really benefiting me in any way and thought I was writing down pointless information that would never really help me with anything.  I then looked at task 2b and thought this is where it will become interesting, so each night I chose to write my journal a different way as set out in the Handbook.

Initial Reflection

This way of writing was very beneficial for me.  At first I thought it was going to be quite similar to 'description', but I was wrong.  I was not just recounting the days events but I was analysing what effect those events had had on me.  Like Michelle said in her post - I find it easier to answer direct questions, so that is how I approached this way of writing - I made a note of the example questions in the handbook and used them to guide me into deeper thought.

List

Unlike Michelle I don't tend to make lists, which makes me wonder - its probably why I can be so disorganised ! I never thought that this way of writing would benefit me as much as the last as to me it would be just words on the paper with no description or meaning.  So I approached this way of writing feeling quite negative towards it.  I was unsure really of what to write as I was having to choose a word that summarised a feeling.  In the handbook it said about extended lists - which would just mean more words on a page.  I had a look on listography where I read :

 We also see listographies as a valuable interaction between past you and present you, a record of what you want to remember.  

This then made me realise that the list was not really there for 'initial reflection' but an ongoing, easy to understand reflection.  So I completely changed my mind on this way of writing, as the handbook said we will need to keep an ongoing reflective journal, so a list is an easily accessible option that can be quickly looked back on.  However there is no deeper thought there and I think it would be hard to read between the lines when looking back.

Evaluation

I always evaluate my classes after teaching but normally just in my mind or when telling somebody, so I enjoyed writing down what worked / what didn't etc..  I evaluate normally because I believe it helps me progress as a teacher and learn from experience.  Writing it down definitely helped me as this would normally be something swimming through my mind or when my partner asks how did teaching go? I will tell him, but he probably doesn't really understand.  I felt when evaluating it on paper I could look deeper into it and it would always be there for me to look back on and show how far I have come and also look back on what not to do again or something that I could do again.

Graphs, Charts and Diagrams

These were both ways of writing I was not looking forward to trying.  I don't think this is something you could do on a daily basis as it is more about comparing which is to be done on a wider scale.  Like it says in the handbook - compare your day to last week or last year, I would find it difficult to do daily.  I looked at Sarah's graph where she evaluated hourly stress levels, it was quite interesting to look at and shows the evaluation of a day but it was just of one topic.  I decided to draw a graph evaluating the past week thinking about the three different terms mentioned in the handbook - fun, freedom and stress.  I marked each with a different colour and I noticed that when I my stress levels were up my fun and freedom levels were down.  I thought about using a graph or bar chart at the end of each week to evaluate the whole week but most would be the same as the different factors that alter my levels of stress etc will be staying the same.  So I will probably opt for just using this way of writing once a year to evaluate on a whole and see where situations / circumstances may have changed which has made those different levels change.  A flow chart would help summarise the graph as it would evaluate what made my different levels change.  Having not been able to attend campus sessions due to lots of commitments I was glad to read Michelle's post about 'the bubble at the front of your head' I found it useful as I was unsure of how I was going to use a diagram as a way of writing my Journal.  This was similar to a list for me but was actually more beneficial as it was clear what was of more significance than other thoughts from the day.  I preferred this method than the graphs and it is something you could use daily.

What If?

This way of writing didn't really make me want to write....I felt it was a very negative approach to evaluating my day.  What could have happened? is thinking of something that did not happen and therefore I feel I am not really reflecting on what actually happened.  There are things I want to happen sometimes but that's looking to the future and something I would not think about everyday.  I didn't get much from this way of writing, in fact I hardly wrote anything as it didn't make me want to write more.   I will write about what I would and wouldn't like to happen sometimes but not as a sole way of writing.  I think It will be something interesting to look back on as you can see if what you wanted became true ..

Another View

This was a way of writing I was looking forward to.  I think it would be quite hard to do this all the time but I think if something has happened that day like a disagreement for example, then I think it would be very beneficial to look at both sides.  At the point of a disagreement you always have your own opinion and stick with it but looking back on something from another view could be quite good for you and help you to understand why the person was acting that way.  I think that this way of writing will definitely benefit me as a teacher, this may be when a child misbehaves - why did they do that? did I do anything to make them act this way? could this have been avoided? (wow! I think that has just made me question what if?!) 

My journal writing experience has been interesting and I have learnt a lot already after trying the different ways of writing.  Since trying all the ways I have come to the conclusion that I can not just stick to one type of writing.  Some days I feel more reflective than others and I may want to evaluate more and go into more depth.  Others I may want to make a list about what has happened but maybe go into more depth about a certain topic.  When something has happened as I said in 'another view' I may want to look at the situation at other angles that I would not normally look at which may help me in understanding and evaluating what has happened.  I will save graphs and charts for a yearly thing or maybe when its 'show week' at a dance school so I can see how the experience changes me feelings and thoughts.