Writing the Learning Analysis Journal

1. Experience Section:

This first section should briefly describe the experience or activity of your choosing. The emphasis is on clearly describing the event, not judging or evaluating it. Rather than writing, "a misbehaving boy jumped out of his seat to disrupt the class," write, "a boy stood up and walked across the room."
Avoid reiterating directions and formats for exercises used in class. Focus on the specific behaviors you observe.

2. Processing Section:

Next, you’ll want to begin to connect your raw experiences to broader concepts and theories about which we are working in this course. (A journal may have an assigned topic on which you'll focus. See the course schedule for those topics.) How are the observations about which you wrote in the previous section connected to the assigned topic for this journal? Are there other course concepts or theories that might also apply in this situation?
This section may also be a place in which you discuss your emotional response to the events. How did you feel while observing or participating in this experience?

3. Generalizing Section:

After writing the experience and processing observation sections, wait a while before writing the next two sections. These sections should discuss an application or illustration of concepts presented in this class. After reading your analysis, I should see evidence that you can link the course concepts and ideas to your life (in particular, the experience you described). This section is not the place for emotional reactions--it should be more cognitive or objective.
One of the goals of this course is to help you think critically (which is not the same as negatively) about your own theories, biases, life beliefs, etc. These papers reflect not only what you think but also how you think.
Clearly state what topics from the lecture or readings are being linked to your experience. Restate or paraphrase what the lecturer or author has stated about the topic, being sure to cite your source (e.g., lecture topic, pages in text).

4. Practical Application Section:

Elaborate on the connections you wish to make. How might your analysis relate to other situations beyond the one described in the experience section (e.g., another professional teaching situation)?
What would you do differently next time? How will you change or adapt your behavior when you encounter a similar situation in the future?
Finally, it is important that your Learning Analysis Journal reflect your thoughts throughout the course, not just the time before they are due. Please don't procrastinate--keep your journal entries up-to-date.