I continue to be amazed after 16 years in the graduate and undergraduate classroom at the quality and informative value of the issues brought into the class by these assignments. Brenda J. Byers - former member of the Department of Psychology, Arkansas. The habit of recording responses or reactions to a topic on a daily basis fosters writing skills and helps the student make a more personal connection with the subject matter. Journal writing provides learners with the opportunity to engage in elaborate rehearsal which is more effective than rote repetition. Students demonstrate more class participation, exhibit more knowledge of the topic, ask more relevant questions, and express greater interest in information beyond that necessary for the test.
Students attribute less test anxiety and greater ease in test preparation to the journal writing.
Journal assignments can be used in any content area. In order to maximize learning, however, journals must also be use as an integral component in the overall learning process. When students are allowed to code, organize, and elaborate the content of a subject field, they cause the movement of that content from the short term memory into the long term memory. The act of coding, organizing, or elaborating increase the relevancy of the material to the students. All of these benefits can be approached by utilizing cognitive maps which prompt students to see associations, relationships and possible consequences.