It differs from a diary in that it should not be merely a personal recording of the day's events. It differs from your class notes in that it should not be merely an objective recording of academic data. Rather, think of your journal as a personal record of your educational experience in this class. Iwaoka collects the journals once a week and writes responses. He finds that his comments in the early weeks of the course are especially important in guiding students toward beginning to understand the difference between writing personal reactions and undertaking a critical analysis of ideas.
Students write from two to three times per week.
These writing prompts encourage students to think and to begin selecting journal topics on their own. Expectations for the depth of thinking required in the journals increase as the weeks proceed. Expectations are highest for the culminating journal activity Iwaoka requires at the end of the semester. In this introduction and evaluation students are expected both to reflect on what they have discovered about themselves as learners and to examine some further issues raised in the course in order to display the critical thinking skills they have acquired. Student evaluations suggest that consistent regular journal-keeping is an effective means of sparking student learning.