Guidelines for completing the Reflective Journal Templates

There are two different Reflective Journal templates.

Workshop Reflection – to be completed after attendance of each one day of workshop (total of 5 journal entries).

Lesson Reflection – to be competed after practice lessons. Practitioners are required to integrate at least two principles/techniques after each one day of workshop attendance. This results in the development of two lesson plans per workshop which are then reflected upon in the journal (total of 10 journal entries).

How long will it take?As a rough guide, each journal entry should take approximately 20-30 minutes. You may take more or less time depending upon your time constraints and the amount of detailed information you wish to include. Feel free to add comments but the minimum requirements are included in the template.

What should I write?Don’t worry about how you write. Spelling, punctuation, grammar etc are of no concern whatsoever to the program. We are trying to access experience and thoughts. Don’t worry if you discover your answers overlap or if you feel one question has already been answered in response to another. Try to write something, no matter how brief your response may be to each question. If you find that you have nothing to comment on in certain sections note so, may be this is telling you something important about your practice?

Theses templates are available in electronic form on the accompanying CD. You may complete the templates electronically or alternatively, print off and complete them by hand. You are not limited to space provided in the template, each section expands to accommodate different amounts of information.

When do I submit them?Workshop reflections need to be submitted to the project manager at the next workshop, along with completed lesson plans and resources. You may also choose to email them to the project manager at the address listed at the back of this guide.

ConfidentialityAll information completed in journals is confidential. It is used only to evaluate the implementation of the II program. There is no requirement to identify yourself personally or your college if you choose not to. You may also prefer to edit your journal entry before submission, this is fine as long as all required fields are completed.

The reflections on the practice lessons will be retained by the project manager along with the lesson plan and resources. This will be used and

added to a collective TAFEWA database. This database will be a resource for all TAFEWA PLT members.

If you have any questions or concerns about your Reflective Journal please don’t hesitate to contact the DET project manager.

Reflective Journal Template – Workshop Reflection

Date of Workshop

If it was generally a positive event for you note:What was it that made it positive?:

Note the things that you do in your teaching that might induce the same reaction?:

If it was generally a negative event for you note:What was it that made it negative?:

Note the things that you do in your teaching that you might induce the same reaction?:

What could be done differently next time to avoid this reaction?

What were the three most important things that you took away from the day?1.

2.

3.

What might you do differently/eliminate or re-think in your own teaching practice based on your learning experience?

Reflective Journal Template – Workshop ReflectionExemplar

Date of Workshop April 2001

If it was generally a positive event for you note:What was it that made it positive?:The workshop was generally positive, I have been looking forward to going to this for a long time. I have been doing my own work in collaborative learning skills in the classroom and trialing some techniques so I found the content directly relevant and practical. I picked up a lot of handy hints and ideas.

The presenter was happy and positive and made everyone feel at ease. He also modelled and practiced what he preached.

Note the things that you do in your teaching that might induce the same reaction?:I always try to practice and model what I teach, feedback from workshops I have delivered has indicated this. Must continue to raise this to a conscious level as I teach.

If it was generally a negative event for you note:What was it that made it negative?:Not negative but annoying, when put into groups one of the participants became dominant and I felt bullied along with other group members, into

some of the tasks. She clearly didn’t have collaborative skills but we all failed to mange her. I became annoyed and felt frustrated but didn’t say anything!

Note the things that you do in your teaching that might induce the same reaction?:At times I make assumptions about students knowledge and assume they have skills that they need to partake in activities I set them.What could be done differently next time to avoid this reaction?Must ensure that I provide explicit examples at all times with new groups of what collaborative skills are and what group behaviours are expected. This ensures the ground rules are clearly established. This will help avoid group members having the same experience or will at least provide them with some way of managing the dynamics.

What were the three most important things that you took away from the day?1. Got lots of new ideas and tactics to use in the classroom.

2. Networking – made a few new contacts that I will follow up.

3. Validation – that I am on the right track.

What might you do differently/eliminate or re-think in your own teaching practice based on your learning experience?I will continue to use collaborative learning practices, all the research supports the validity of this technique. I will ensure I give explicit instructions to groups and not assume skill and knowledge levels.

Reflective Journal Template – Lesson Reflection:

Lesson:During this lesson consider the following:

Personal InsightsWhat was the highlight of the lesson?

What aspect of the lesson do I feel proudest of in my teaching?

What situation caused me most anxiety?

What would I do differently if I had the chance to do it again?

Student Observations:What did the students respond to most easily?

What gave them the most difficulty?

Were students actively engaged with the task/technique for the majority of the time?

What feedback did I receive and what behaviours did I observe?

If students were not actively engaged for the majority of the time how did I respond to the feedback and behaviours and what was the eventual outcome?

How will information gathered from this reflection inform my planning for next time?

Reflective Journal Template – Lesson Reflection:

Lesson: The Life Cycle of the FleaDuring this lesson consider the following:

Personal Insights

What was the highlight of the lesson?Students displaying active use of the collaborative learning skills we have been working on over a number of weeks. These worked exceptionally well and the intended objective of the lesson was met.

What aspect of the lesson do I feel proudest of in my teaching?The way I developed the individual task sheets and the group information sheets. This kept the groups focused, on task and led them through the activity with ease.

What situation caused me most anxiety?Some students showed frustration at being separated from each other when I did numbered heads. I began to doubt my reason for doing it, may be I should have left them with their friends? There really are no disruptive students and they all work well together, so what was my reasoning? Was it habit or simply wanting them to share ideas with others outside their immediate group of friends?

What would I do differently if I had the chance to do it again?I would definitely provide the groups with a time frame to complete the activities. Once they got into the tasks they became absorbed and when I went around the groups and told them they only had 5 minutes left, some complained that they thought they had longer. Next time I will tell them up front the time allowance, so they can manage their group time more effectively.

Student Observations:What did the students respond to most easily?Working in groups! They really seem to be into it now. They all seem to be developing the skills well and the awkward dynamics that we had at first have gone. The task sheets led them through the content and results from the individual activity sheets at the end of the lesson, showed that all of them understood the concept.

What gave them the most difficulty?Nothing appeared to be difficult for them. Although I did notice some resistance to completing the individual task sheets at the end. I think they all like their group work too much!

Were students actively engaged with the task/technique for the majority of the time?Yes

What feedback did I receive and what behaviours did I observe?Feedback was that they enjoyed the way they were allowed to think for themselves and arrive at their own ideas.Feedback also centred on ‘Why do you always split us up in class?”

If students were not actively engaged for the majority of the time how did I respond to the feedback and behaviours and what was the eventual outcome?

How will information gathered from this reflection inform my planning for next time?I will tell students up front time limits on certain activities so they can mange their time.I will also consider the validity of splitting students up every time I do group work – this may not be necessary every time. When I do spilt them up I will be explicit about why I have done it e.g. to work with someone

new and get new perspectives.