***English text below. Remove this message when translating, otherwise the page may be overwritten:*** One of the core tenets of the Agora Educational System is the "continuous improvement" cycle in which you study the materials, prepare a project, present it, receive feedback and improve based on that feedback. That cycle assumes that the feedback is carefully analyzed and interiorized before proceeding to the next project - something that seldom happens. Most of the time we simply hear the evaluator's feedback (if we're lucky, we also get it in writing), and simply make a "mental note" to pay more attention to this or that the next time we present, and that's it. Already in 1933, professor emeritus John Dewey of Columbia University argued that reflection is a fundamental part of the learning process, a complement to the experience or practice itself. When we dedicate time to actively reflect on what we have experienced, on trying to understand the deeper links between our actions and the events that occurred, as well as consider on a deeper level the expectations we had, the outcome we achieved, how we felt, and to what extent (and how) we can influence these outcomes in the future, learning proceeds much faster and on a deeper level. Since that first book, Reflection Journals have become a valuable tool in many types of courses, and research has been piling about their effectiveness, including: Faster and more focused learning improved self-esteem through objective self-assessment Improved critical thinking Improved creative and reflective thinking Less fear of expressing opinions freely in other contexts Improved comprehension of the material and understanding of new topics Better management of stress and anxiety Reflection Journals are also a mandatory graded part in top-university courses on Public Speaking, such as the ones at Harvard University. Although usually, reflection journals receive feedback from the faculty members, research has shown (Prikhodko,2014) that the benefits of the techniques can be reaped even without faculty intervention. Levels of Reflection Moon(2004) describes four levels of reflection according to their depth: Descriptive Writing - This kind of writing expresses a series of facts or events, with little to no reflections. It may contain references to the past or plans for the future, but all centered around the same event. For example, an entry in this category would contain statements such as "I rushed the conclusion of the speech, but the public didn't notice it. I got great feedback from the evaluators" Descriptive Account with some reflection - At this level, the writing is still primarily descriptive, but the first indications of asking questions or sharing feelings appear. "I was very nervous when I presented my speech. Why do I keep getting nervous even though it's a subject that I like and know a lot about?" Reflective Writing (I) - At this level, the writer steps back from the event, openly recognizes the emotional implications and drivers, and examines what happened from other perspectives. "Even though my hands were sweating, everyone congratulated me on how in control I looked. Clearly, my nervousness is not perceived at all by the public. I also always see everyone else so calm on the stage, maybe they're all going through the same ordeal that I am. Which would mean that I'm perceived exactly as they are." Reflective Writing (II) - At this final level, the writer is fully aware of his own mental and emotional processes and is able to reflect on them. The writer is capable of integrating the viewpoints and emotions of others into a holistic picture, and extract from it points of improvement. "Maybe part of my nervousness is due to the fact that I'm speaking about a subject that really matters to me, and I fear that others won't take it seriously. Up to now, I was always giving speeches about generic feel-good subjects that do not touch my inner emotional circle - climate change, being a good citizen, freedom. I wouldn't mind someone disagreeing with me. But if someone said that my suggestions to combat bullying were nonsense, that would really hurt me - as I myself have suffered a lot when I was young. If I opened myself up emotionally more frequently, I'd probably slowly get used to negative feedback on things that really matter to me, and would be able to ignore it, or at least modulate it so that it doesn't affect me so much". Here are some examples of the types of writing, taken from the same book. A young graduate - Marianne - is in her first job, and reflects on her experience of giving a Powerpoint presentation. Click on each of the levels to read the example and the comments: Level 1 Descriptive Level 2 Some Reflection Level 4 Reflective Writing II Bain (1999) proposes a similar 5-level scale: Level 1 ("Reporting") - Reporting of events, with minimal transformation or added observations or insights Level 2 ("Responding") - Feelings begin to appear in the reflection. Rhetorical questions asked but not answered. Observations or judgments. Level 3 ("Relating") - Identification of aspects of the event that have personal meaning or connections with current or prior experiences. Superficial explanations of why something happened and plans to change something. Level 4 ("Reasoning") - Exploration of specific concepts or events. Asking questions and exploring for answers, considering different alternatives. Involves speculation and creating hypotheses. Level 5 ("Reconstructing") - High level of abstract thinking. Generalization of the experience and extraction of general principles. Ideally, you should aim for the deepest style of reflection possible. However, note that this is something that takes practice to achieve. What is a Path Journal? As you might have guessed from the name, a Path Journal is a reflective diary in which you reflect on your experience as you progress along an Agora Educational Path (Basic or Advanced). It serves as a place where you can put your goals, expectations, and feelings in writing about each of the projects, as well as reflect on the outcome and feedback received after the project has been presented. Although the Path Journal is intended for Path projects, you can also use it for any other roles or activities that you do within the club. For example, every time you're the Meeting Leader, you might want to record that in the Journal as well. Writing a Path Journal What to include in a Path Journal Each journal entry should have two parts: Before the project/role - here are some of the things you could write about: your feelings and expectations about the project your goals the way you've prepared and why gaps and shortcomings that you're aware of fears that you have about things that might go wrong After the project/role - here are some ideas on what you could reflect on (just to get you started) how things went, whether the fears were justified, how you felt during the project and after that, how it affected you on a personal level things you might do differently and why, whether you made the right choices before the project/role new perspectives or ideas gained. what learning lessons you extracted - not only about the subject at hand but about yourself. if you could travel back in time, what would you tell your past self about this experience? There's the temptation of going over these questions in your head. Don't - a reflective journal is a written document. Writing about something triggers in the brain much different areas than simply thinking about something. How to Write For any reflection journal to be effective, you need to be very honest with yourself. Write in the first person, and using an active voice, and as if you were sharing with a friend your experience of the learning process. Above all, once you get "into the mood", keep writing. Don't think about whether you're making sense, or whether what you're writing fits into a particular structure, or whether it is correct. Explore new possible connections between what you've studied and experienced and other areas of your life. Don't be afraid to put forward new suggestions, ideas - even if they seem crazy. Don't go back to "fix" things that you've written before. If you wrote them, then they were relevant, and probably you'll have an even clearer picture when you revisit the journal later during your studies. Here's an excerpt from a student at Harvard University reflecting on a delivered speech: Finally, struggled with the pronunciation of some words (antipodes), and the worst part of it is that I knew I would struggle, yet didn't practice anyway. So, as the saying goes, "if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail". I suffered from several other mispronunciations during the introduction of the speech, but then things got better. Unfortunately, my biggest issues still remain there. I started smiling, although the story was quite serious. Definitely have to practice NOT smiling. Fortunately, the smile disappeared once I got into the part of the speech with the arguments I feel strongly about. Despite some well-planned moments to insert vocal variety (such as when impersonating people offended by various things), they didn't turn out so well. I think I toned them down on the fly out of fear that it would sound too exaggerated, and I think it was a mistake. Maybe my usual constrained emotionality is at the root of this fear. Could it be that if I became more emotionally open in normal life, that would, in turn, help on the stage? Or is it simply a matter of more rehearsing? Journal Templates It usually helps if you have a standard framework of thought to guide you when writing your journal - a kind of template if you wish to trigger your thought process and inspiration. Mind you - this doesn't mean that the journal itself is merely a form to be filled, but that the writing will be much smoother and consistent if you always ask yourself the same questions for every project. For example, the University of La Salle has the following recommendation to get you started: What have I learned? How did I learn it? Why did I learn it? How does this learning experience contribute to my personal and professional development? What does this learning experience mean to me? The Northern Illinois University suggests this other approach: Write, record Describe the situation (the course, the context) Who was involved with the situation? What did they have to do with the situation? Reflect, think about. What are your reactions? What are your feelings? What are the good and the bad aspects of the situation? What you have learned? Analyze, explain, gain insight What was really going on? What sense can you make of the situation? Can you integrate theory into the experience/situation? Can you demonstrate an improved awareness and self-development because of the situation? Conclusions What can be concluded in a general and specific sense from this situation/experience and the analyses you have undertaken? Personal action plan What are you going to do differently in this type of situation next time? What steps are you going to take on the basis of what you have learned. Feedback for the Path Journal Although you can benefit from a Path Journal even without feedback on its entries, it's best if you share them with either your mentor in the club or with a more experienced member. Share them immediately after you've written them. Don't try to "correct" or "fix" the journal based on the feedback, or much less - enter a circle in which you edit the journal until it is "right". Consider each journal entry as final, and use the feedback for the next projects. Resources If you wish to explore this field further, you can check out the following articles and videos, and for a more in-depth view of the science behind reflective journals, check the references at the end. Reflective Writing Guide - University of New South Wales in Sydney Reflective Journals and Learning Logs - Northern Illinois University Reflection Journals - Examples of using this powerful tool to help students synthesize course content - Columbia University. Reflective Writing - University of Melbourne References Prikhodko, Maria. (2014). Reflective Journaling Exploring EFL Students' Ethnocentric Perspectives through Cultural Self-inquiry. Journal of Intercultural Communication. PDF Phipps, Jonnie Jill (2005). "E-Journaling: Achieving Interactive Education Online." Educause Quarterly. 28.1 (2005) Lindroth, James. (2014). Reflective Journals: A Review of the Literature. Update Applications of Research in Music Education. 34. 10.1177/8755123314548046. PDF. Bain, J., Ballantyne, R., Packer, J., & Mills, C. (1999). Using journal writing to enhance student teachers' reflectivity during field experience placements. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 5(1), 51-73. PDF Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the education process. Boston: Heath PDF Moon, J. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning. Theory and Practice. RoutledgeFalmer (Taylor & Francis Group), London. Stevens, D., & Cooper, J. (2009). Journal keeping: How to use reflective writing for effective learning, teaching, professional insight, and positive change. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publications. WorldCat: http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/646821096