Using Reflective Journals in the Law PYP Program: objectives and outcomes

1. Using Reflective Journals in the Law PYP Program: objectives and outcomes Dr Myra Williamson Assistant Professor PSUCW Law Department Professional Development Workshop PSUCW 2 May 2011

2. Workshop objectives • To explain why I tried this initiative in my teaching this semester • To introduce you to the concept of what reflective journals are and how they can be used • To summarise the outcomes to date: the pros and the cons of using the journals in my courses • To invite feedback from participants on my teaching innovation • To share some student experiences with participants • To encourage other teachers to try this and then share their experiences

3. Background • I currently teach PYP Law: Law 001 and 002 • I have taught previously in New Zealand: • Large classes (200 +) • Virtually all students have English as their first language • Entrance criteria is applied • Some lecturers in NZ provide Powerpoint slides, many do not • All students take their own notes in every lecture • Hereat PSU: • Small classes (15-30) • English is the students’ second language – wide range of ability • No (or low) entrance criteria; • Students don’t have a tradition of taking notes during lectures • Different students but same overall objectives

4. The problem After my first semester teaching PYP Law I identified three key problem areas: • Students don’t write enough during class • Student engagement with the material is sometimes lacking • Critical thinking skills are often under-developed

5. Considering solutions… • I attended the PSU Conference “Teaching and Learning as Tools of Progress in Higher Education” in January 2011 • I attended a workshop by Leni Dam on the use of log books in secondary schools • I saw samples at that workshop of some journals written by secondary school students • I worked in a group that wanted to introduce log books into their own courses • It started me thinking….

6. Literature review • I found a lot of support in the literature for the use of reflective journals in diverse areas including: • Secondary schools – across several courses • Undergraduate university courses • Computer science, law, English, health sciences • Postgraduate courses • Eg. the LLM at the University of Central England (Handout) • Academic staff development – Professional Development of high school teachers and university lecturers • Eg in the creation of teaching portfolios

7. Literature review continued… • I found some differences in terminology between “reflective journals” and “learning journals” and other terms such as “log books” - I needed to clarify exactly what I meant by “reflective journal” • Reflective Journals are popular but they have been used in an educational setting at least since the 1970s (personal and travel diaries have been around for hundreds of years)

8. What is a ‘learning journal’ or ‘reflective journal’? A learning journal is essentially a vehicle for reflection…There are many different words that are used to describe what we are calling ‘learning journals’. They may be called ‘diaries’ but not the kind of ‘diary’ or calendar that notes dates for events…they might be called ‘logs’ or ‘learning logs’ but they are not logs only in the sense of recording data at particular points in time or place… ‘Think place’ of ‘think book’, ‘notebook’ and ‘workbook’ are other terms that arise in the literature…” • Moon, J Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Professional Development 2nded (New York: Routledge, 2006) at p. 2

9. Scholarly writing in this area • Moon, J Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Professional Development 2nded (New York: Routledge, 2006) • Biggs, J Teaching for Quality Learning at University 2nded (UK: Open University Press, 2003) • See Moon for further references or the bibliography attached to MacLaren’s article (available at this workshop if you’re interested)

10. A reflective journal is these things: • An accumulation of material that is mainly based on the writer’s processes of reflection • The accumulation is made over a period of time, not in one go • There is an overall intention by the writer that learning should be enhanced • It can include entries on content as well as more “reflective” entries about the learner’s thoughts on their own learning process • No fixed definition – it has fuzzy edges

11. What are the benefits of a journal? “The data, though not conclusive, seems to show that journals helped students clarify their thoughts and enhance their ability to develop ideas” • Dimino, 1998, or nursing students “The purposes of journal-writing assignments are to encourage exploration and risk-taking by the students as well as to teach content” • Hahnemann, 1986 • Both quotes are from Moon (2006)

12. Strengths Weaknesses • Can help students to integrate course learning • Develop reflective skills • Encourages ongoing personal connection with learning • Can promote creative and lateral thinking • The opportunity to reflect can help students to evaluate their own learning, to link theory with practice • Can promote dialogue between teachers and students • Many students find reflection difficult • Students may struggle to go beyond narration and descriptions • Students might not “see the point” of the journal • Students might give superficial, one-word responses • Journals can be difficult to assess Reflective journals: overview

13. My vision for the reflective journal in my classes • I introduced a new element to the assessment schedule for the spring semester courses that I am teaching • Reflective Journal – Aims: • To encourage writing in every class • To encourage students to engage with the material • To encourage critical thinking - practice questions • To encourage students to think about their own learning processes • Worth 5% of overall grade • Handed in once or twice during the semester for feedback • Handed in at end of the semester for grading

14. How will I grade the journal? • I wrote a rubric and gave it to students at the beginning of the semester (see handout) • What I’m looking for: • Quantity and completeness • Quality of entries • Critical thinking • Effort and commitment; length • Spelling, grammar, overall impression • Alternative? • See Van Marren (1995); Susilowati et al (2004) on the handout for a different marking scheme • (Handout)

15. How I have used the journal - I • To recap and summarise content • To ask students about what they are finding difficult – to reflect on their own learning • To encourage students to form their own opinions about how cases were decided (encourage critical thinking in general) • To encourage students to discover where the gaps are in their own understanding • To seek feedback on the course, on the exams, on the journal itself • (see sample questions on handout)

16. How I have used the journal - II • Sometimes I ask a question before a topic is taught (drawing on the learners’ prior knowledge, priming them for the topic) • “What do you know about the word “defamation”?” • Sometimes I ask a question during a class (2-hour) to obtain their opinion on something • “What do you think about the decision in the case of Bolton v Jones? Was it decided correctly? Why? Why not?” • Sometimes I ask students at the end of a class to write a summary of what they have learnt during the class • “Spend 3 minutes and summarise what you think you learnt about negligence in this lecture”

17. Outcomes • So far, I have collected in the journals to read the entries • What have I found to date? • A wide range from the minimalist approach by students to the expansive approach • Some students enjoy writing it whilst others roll their eyes at the mention of it • Some students spend a lot of time on their entries whilst others give it very little effort • Absenteeism has a big impact on the quality of the entries • Plagiarism was a problem in one instance • Strong correlation between the quality of the journal entries and the overall performance of the student – the journal could be used as a predictor of success in the paper?

18. Possible solutions • Have students complete all the entries for homework rather than during class? • Pros/cons • Give a larger weighting than 5%? • Pros/cons • Have students complete an online blog rather than a handwritten journal? • Pros/cons – see handout for summary of some issues with using blog

19. Tips – if you try this yourself • Students need to be given clear instructions and guidelines for journal writing • Use prompt questions to guide the students’ reflections • Provide in-class practice and feedback • Students might benefit from seeing samples of reflective writing • Consider grading: award a mark for completion and then grade a sample? Or grade the entire journal?

20. Student feedback • In the journals: feedback has been generally positive but that might not be reliable (students know it is being marked so they might not be entirely honest about their feelings?) • Students from this semester’s classes offer their thoughts (guest) • Some journals are available for perusal (permission has been granted by those students)

21. Participant feedback • What do you think about reflective journals? • Would you try it yourself? Why or why not? • If you did it, what would you do differently and why? • Has this workshop been interesting and/or professionally useful to you?

22. Final thoughts • This is a “work in progress” • I will reflect on the semester and evaluate the success of the journal – make changes in the future? • “Teaching is the intellectual equivalent of white-water rafting” (Brookfield, 1991) • We need to constantly reflect on our vision for our learners and examine whether the course design, the teaching methods and the assessment are genuinely in line with our teaching beliefs • Refer back to my workshop objectives Workshop objectives