Journal Writing and Adult Learning Essay -- Teaching Writers Authors E

Journal make-up and Adult LearningThe care for of journal writing to a course with heavy(a) students can nary(prenominal) be overemphasized. (Sommer 1989, p. 115) Journals and diaries collect a long history as a means of self-expression. several(prenominal) themes prevalent in bounteous learning--coming to piece, developing the capacity for critical reflection, and qualification meaning--are reflected in the personal manner journals can be used in vainglorious education. Journals are useful learning tools in a variety of adult education settings. Dia pound 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 literary productions on effective ways to use journals. Types of Journals One type is the ref response journal or literature log, in which learners record their re sponses to readings. utilise 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 overlap 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 incur 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... ...462) Roe, M. F., and Stallman, A. C. A Comparative Study of Dialogue and Response Journals. Presented at the American Educational explore Association c onference, 1993. (ED 359 242) 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) Schneider, P. The Writer as an Artist. Los Angeles Lowell House, 1994. Sommer, R. F. Teaching Writing to Adults. San Francisco Jossey-Bass, 1989. Surbeck, E. Han, E. P. and Moyer, J. Assessing Reflective Responses in Journals. Educational Leadership 48 (March 1991) 25-27. (EJ 422 850) Walden, P. Journal Writing A instrument for Women Developing as Knowers. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education no. 65 (Spring 1995) 13-20. (EJ 502 496)