Journal Writing and Adult Learning
The value of journal writing to a course with adult students cannot be overemphasized. (Sommer 1989, p. 115)
Journals and diaries have a long history as a means of self-expression. Several themes prevalent in adult learning--coming to voice, developing the capacity for critical reflection, and making meaning--are reflected in the way journals can be used in adult education. Journals are useful learning tools in a variety of adult education settings. Dialog journals, for example, have become popular in adult literacy and English as a second language classrooms. This digest focuses on several types of journals, exploring their value in assisting adults through their learning journey and summarizing advice from the literature on effective ways to use journals.
Types of Journals
One type is the reader response journal or literature log, in which learners record their responses to readings. Used on all levels from adult basic education through graduate study, such logs enable readers to enter the literature in their own voice (Perham 1992), placing themselves in relation to the text and discovering what they think about it. Over time, the log itself becomes another primary text to which they can respond (Perl 1994). Usually, entries are shared with the class, stimulating discussion. In one variation described by Perham, a looseleaf notebook accessible to the whole class becomes a collaborative journal in which learners and teacher make ongoing comments. Both Perham and Perl feel that these response journals have the power to build a community of learners though the process of critical co-reading and co-writing.
The learning journal is a systematic way of documenting learning and col...
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Schatzberg-Smith, K. "Dialogue Journal Writing and the Initial College Experience of Academically Underprepared Students." Presented at the American Educational Research Association conference, 1989. (ED 308 737)
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In recent years, a major controversy in the NCAA has been whether or not student athletes in college should be paid for playing sports. There are different viewpoints from different people stating if they should or not. Many people believe that they are already being rewarded enough with their education being paid, but even with the school’s help with their tuition and school fees, many have trouble paying personal expenses. Even though some people believe they shouldn’t be compensated for their hard work and dedication, it is the right thing to do, due to their lack of time occupied by sports and schoolwork. Many famous athletes in college such as Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow bring in millions of dollars into their universities due to publicity and even though they are breaking their backs they don’t receive a single dime for their hard work. The college coaches also get a really high salary, just for coaching the players. They also receive many contracts that include shoe contracts, TV and radio contracts, and many perks along the way. When the coaches get their teams to the playoffs or win major games, they might receive big bonuses. It doesn’t make sense that the athletes are the ones that are doing all the work to get the far yet they don’t see any form of compensation. Many executives from the NCAA and the universities also get millions of dollars from big sporting events, and they do nothing to earn it. The athletes are the ones taking stuff out of their time and working hard to not get paid.
Throughout this semester I have written several essays and journals using techniques both important and unfamiliar to me. This class helped me use these techniques and steps that are involved in creating and formalizing an essay. The writing process of an essay includes information gathering, creating ideas, and writing it on paper to create a cohesive and organized paper. In complete certainty I can say I lack many of the skills necessary to create such a paper, but during this course I have learned some writing methods which I believe have improved my essays. The essays and journals in this portfolio reveal both my strengths and weaknesses in my writing and how I have both continued to make the same errors and improved in other areas.
Schulzke, Eric. "Religious Freedom as a Human Right Is Being Threatened Worldwide." Human Rights. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013.
Vandermey, R. (2012). The College Writer: A Guide to Thinking, Writing, and Researching (4th Ed.). Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Retrieved January 7, 2018, from
This journal was about a study done on students with different learning styles to see if it would affect their approach to research.
College athletes have been playing without pay for a very long time. As we watch these athletes play for our amusement, we look at them as just athletes. But they are more than just a group of talented kids who love to play a particularly popular sport. They are students, and student-athletes do not get paid like professional players do. They are paid in practically free schooling to the college they play for. Some think that this type of pay is very fair and is an adequate way to pay these talented students. As others believe that this type of pay is not enough and that the student-athletes should be compensated for all the billions and billions of dollars that they make the NCAA each year. Whatever someone may think, these student-athletes
Freedom of religion is a principle upon which America was founded; the reason the Pilgrims decided to leave England was to be able to practice their own beliefs instead of the beliefs of the English church. Other groups, such as the Puritans, did the same; rather than give up their own beliefs and be forced into the life that was being forced upon them, they decided to journey to the New World, where they would be able to live as they wanted to. This is in essence part of the American Dream; for one to escape the chains of their past living and live freely in America. These beliefs were eventually added as a part of the Bill of Rights, which was added to the Constitution in order to ensure that these rights would not be infringed upon by the government. However, recently this religious freedom has been under attack. The government has required people to comply with things that they morally believe is wrong; an infringement of this freedom. Religious freedom should be protected to continue upholding America’s founding rights and to protect the lifestyles of
The purpose of this essay is to discuss whether religion should ever impact criminal law. The question of if it is desirable for religion to impact criminal law is endemic. Advocates of a strict application of the separation between church and state may eschew any notion of this being desirable. However, it is submitted that religion impacts criminal law and vice versa. To deny this would be erroneous.
Sesta, Jenny. "Enhancing reflection and wonderings through reciprocal journal writing: making student voice visible." Practically Primary 13.2 (2008): 32+. Educator's Reference Complete. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
Throughout history, American and World, Religious Freedom has become a growing issue. It has been addressed in various ways, but how can we, as a people, preserve our rights to religious freedom? What is the government doing to protect our religious freedom? How have others actions affected our rights concerning religious freedom? There are organizations working internationally to protect our rights and there are religious groups working individually and together to assure that we can exercise our rights fully.
During the course of this semester; the variety of writing styles and essays assigned to me in my communication skills class encouraged the development of my writing skills, as well as provided me with more self-assurance in my abilities. My writing, research, and presentation abilities enhanced through practice, determination, and the understanding I gained during this course. With every single writing assignment, I learned new innovative approaches and skills, which enhanced my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, enabling me to write more clearly, and to organize my papers more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; despite the fact that I already knew the terminology MAP: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the significance of MAP. For this reason, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writings appeared less focused on the topics. As a result my research papers and essays did not flow as smoothly from one passage to the next. Furthermore, I was unaccustomed with the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For instance, my previous classes before college, although requiring a reference page, did not require me to include proper citations in my writings. After evaluating the quality of my writing toward the end of the semester, I recognized vast improvements in several areas of my writing. By concentrating on the beginning stages of my writings, I could distinguish ahead of time my audience and my message. As a result, my essays are clear, and I remain on topic. In addition to that using transition phrases efficiently also helps my writing to flow smoothly. The proper use of transitions makes my writings easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that pre-writing...
Introduction: Journaling is a powerful thing; there are many different uses for a Journal, everything from personal thoughts to keeping an expedition written down for later resource. Many people don’t use Journals which is unfortunate, my focus in this paper is to show the different areas of Journaling and to possibly make it a part of your life.
Crème, P., & Lea, Mary R. (2008). [PDF format]. Writing at University (3rd edition.), McGraw Hill Education. Retrieved from www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Research/ti134.pdf.
The separation that exists between the functioning and activities of the church from the state has serious implications in the society and will greatly influence how decisions regarding laws are made at the state level. Although some of the laws made by the state do not conform to the doctrines found in religious entities, the state guarantees the freedom to the church in order to accord each organization the freedom it deserves to worship. This means that the state and laws of any society do not take sides, and any belief in the conduits on the society does not allow for support from the state. The principles of separation of the church from the state and political neutrality...