Reflective Journaling

A Journal is not quite the same as a diary:

• A journal need not be written in every day.
• A journal does not record so much what you do as what you think and how you feel about what you do, about your life experiences and encounters, about what happens to you.
• A journal is much more deeply reflective than a diary.

What you should do:

Maintain a personal journal (electronically or legibly handwritten), reflecting on what you have learned each day/week from what you have read, heard, done in class, explored on the Web, etc. How has the information touched or "spoken" to you? What did you find most interesting? surprising? thought provoking? What were your thoughts? You may feel free to interpret or modify any beliefs or practices you learn about to suit yourself personally. More question prompts:

To demonstrate your interest:

• Without looking at your notes, what was most memorable or stands out in your mind about today’s class (or what you read)? 
• What was the most surprising and/or unexpected idea expressed in today’s discussion (or your reading)? Why did you find it surprising?
• Looking back at your notes, what would you say was the most stimulating idea discussed in today’s class (or the reading)? Why did you find it so simulating? 
• For you, what interesting questions remain unanswered about today’s topic? 

To reflect on relevance: 

• In your opinion, what was the most useful idea discussed in today’s class (or the reading)? How might you make use of it?
• During today’s class (or reading), what idea(s) struck you as things you could or should put into practice? Why did you feel this way about the idea?
• What example or illustration cited in today’s class (or the reading) could you relate to the most (or best helped you to understand)? Explain.

To express your attitude/opinion:

• Would you agree or disagree with this statement: . . .? Why?
• What was the most persuasive or convincing argument (or counterargument) that you heard expressed in today’s discussion (or encountered in your reading)? Why did you find it so convincing?
• Was there a position taken in today’s class/reading that you strongly disagreed with, or found to be disturbing and unsettling? What thoughts did you have regarding this position?
• What idea expressed in today’s class/reading strongly affected or influenced your personal opinions, viewpoints, or values? In what way?

To practice analytical thinking: 

• What did you perceive to be the major purpose or objective of today’s class (or this section of the reading)? 
• What do you think was the most important point or central concept communicated during today’s presentation/reading assignment? 

Making conceptual connections: 

• What relationship did you see between today’s topic and other topics previously covered in this course? 
• What was discussed in class/reading today that seemed to connect with what you are learning or have learned in other course(s)? 

In exploring, discovering, expanding, and/or developing your own worldview, you might want to try some of the "soul surveys" at Beliefnet.com: Belief-o-matic, Your Spiritual Type These can give you some sense of where you stand in relation to others. You are encouraged to include the results in your journal and comment on them. You might take these surveys at the beginning and again at the end of the semester to see if/how you have changed over the course of several months through this deep exploration.

Some questions for personal reflection will be raised in class that you can explore in your journal. Here are some specific questions to get you started

Grading criteria: There are no "right" and "wrong" ideas if they are yours. I will not judge your ideas, but I will judge the way and depth to which you explore and express them.

• Quantity/content (50%):

• Have you submitted journaling on time, as requested by mentor?
• Are your entries long enough (as requested by mentor) to substantially reflect what you've been doing and thinking with regard to course content?
• Have you addressed a representative variety of sources from which learning has taken place (reading, Website explorations, class discussions, videos, activities, etc.)?

• Quality (50%): 

• Are you writing your thoughts, not just summarizing content or parroting back what others have said?
• Depth of thought: originality, insight, development of personal viewpoints/philosophical ideas, etc. Have you posed and responded to questions that are personally challenging?