Task 2a- Approach to journal writing

When approaching the second part of this module I thought it best to start at the very beginning. In relation to task 2a I have now started keeping a journal. This is still a new experience for me so writing in it all the time has not yet become a habit. However, I thought I have been doing it for long enough now to write a post about how to approach it and what it has been like. Keeping a journal is something I have never done before and it would have never even occurred to me had it not been for this course.

Before starting the journal I read the reader and did some additional research of my own. I found the benefits of journal writing particularly interesting as I have never even considered them before. I did some research on Jenifer A. Moon who has written about learning journals and I found an article which is well worth a read. Click here for a link to the article This is a quote I found especially interesting:

‘A journal is also a tool for self-discovery, an aid to concentration, a mirror for the soul, a place to generate and capture ideas, a safety valve for the emotions, a training ground for the writer, and a good friend and confidant.’

Smith, Mark (1999, 2006), 'Keeping a learning journal', the encyclopaedia of informal education. Available from: www.infed.org/research/keeping_a_journal.htm (accessed 23rd October 1010)

At first I thought that this was a good theory but I was sceptical of whether it was actually true in practice. I was doubtful that I would be able to discover anything new about myself simply from recording the events of the day and writing down my feelings. However, I then realised that there must be some benefit in it if so many people actively keep journals to reflect and assist their learning and so many people have written articles about it. You will never know if something works unless you try it for yourself so I gave it a go!

When I first started writing I was a bit stumped on how to start. After a while of starring at a blank page I just wrote the next thing that same in to my head. The sentence was completely random and had absolutely nothing to do with what I had done that day but as soon as I put pen to paper, the words started flowing much more easily. I then looked down at the page and realised I had written things I didn’t even know I was writing. Once I started it was like my brain and hand weren’t even linked and my hand had a mind all of its own. Obviously I realise this is my sub conscious thought taking over and getting rid of barriers and inhibitions that you would have if someone is watching or listening.

I found that at first my writing had no structure and was just a stream of words. This concerned me as I can’t stand things without a structure! However, after a couple of times writing in it I realised that I had created my own unique structure and my writing seemed to follow a sort of familiar pattern each time that I wasn’t really aware of.

I can definitely now see the benefits of journal writing in learning and reflecting. I thought I was reflecting on things before but now I realise I was just briefly thinking them over which does not constitute reflection. Journals are a form of thinking on action which I now realise is something I rarely do as I usually engage in thinking in action. Being a dancer I am always thinking about things when I am actually doing them and rarely go home and evaluate the day. I am constantly changing and adapting what I am doing at the time and don’t give it a moment’s thought afterwards. I am doing so many things that my day has various parts and I am never in the same place for more than a couple of hours. This means that by the time I get home I have completely forgotten about what I did that morning. Writing a journal has already helped me to retain more information and remember my thoughts and feelings.

I found it useful to approach the task by thinking first of a description of the day, then additional material, thoughts, feelings, reflection and things to do next time. Obviously this is the bare bones of what I am writing and I let my words go outside these boxes if appropriate. It seems that you can learn an awful lot from your own thoughts which you didn’t even know you had. Sometimes I think the brain works so fast that we have thoughts that don’t even register properly. Writing allows these sub conscious thoughts to come out and helps us realise what we are actually thinking. It now seems so obvious that we can learn just by thinking and an invaluable tool which I can’t believe I was not aware of before.

Even just by writing this post I now see that this in itself is reflection. It is perhaps ironic that I am now reflecting on reflection! I have found it helpful in expanding my thoughts and thinking more abstractly. I am now going to have a go at task 2b of writing an entry based on the frameworks of Reid and Moon.