WHAT IS A REFLECTION JOURNAL?
Journal writing has become a very popular educational tool – so much so that when one announces that students will be keeping a journal, a common groan often rises from the class. While the instructor believes that the unstructured, personalized writing that characterizes journaling can help students learn subjects as varied as literature and psychology, we are even more committed to journal writing as a key component of experiential learning.
In experiential learning you are both a participant and observer. As a participant you will be contributing to the organization in which you are placed and learning new skills. But this is not what makes the experience worthy of academic credit. The academic component of your community service results from your ability to systematically observe what is going on around you. This requires a kind of mental gymnastics that does not come without training and tools. A well- written journal is a tool, which helps you practice the quick movements back and forth from the environment in which you are working to the abstract generalizations you have read or heard in class.
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