Hooks (1994) recommends that faculty build community in the classroom by recognizing the value of each individual voice through journaling. Our nursing students are required to keep a journal in their Fundamentals clinical. I have found that the students tend to list the activities that they completed in clinical. After taking this class, I realized the purpose of journaling is to promote critical thinking. Now, I have higher expectations with my students when they submit their journals. Instead of simply telling me the activities that they completed in clinical, I ask them to write about how they are applying what they are learning in the classroom to the clinical setting. I also have them identify their strengths and weakness and how they plan to improve on their weaknesses. After I have told the students my expectations, I have found that the quality of their journals has improved, and they have been much more enjoyable for me to read.
I like the idea how Dr. Anderson allows us to create a blog to complete our journal, and I used a similar idea with my Fundamental students. I created a discussion board on WEB CT for each student, and the only person who can see their journal is myself and the student. I did not have them create a blog because I was worried that some of them may have technical difficulties, and I was concerned that private information would be posted on the web. With online journals, I don’t have to worry about loosing them, and I am able to provide more timely feedback. Finally, if there is a topic that was not discussed in class, journaling is an excellent method to learn more about the topic individually.
Since I found journaling a valuable learning experience in this class, I decided to make it an assignment for the Multicultural class that I am creating. I plan to have the students create a blog, and they will be required to write a weekly journal entry about any topic related to Multicultural nursing. Through this class, I have now view journaling in a totally different light, and it is an excellent learning experience.
References
Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York, NY: Rutledge.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Journals work especially well if students can opt in or out of a journal group for each entry and if the instructor models blogging with their own experiences. I haven't had time to do so this semester, unfortunately, but I'll bet that it would work wonders with your students if you were to do so from your perspective.
Post a Comment