The Journal: Refuge, Receptacle and Play Space By Dinos Aristidou Being reflective is something we do naturally all the
b) Gather materials or memorabilia that will
time-whenever we have a major decision to make,
prompt reflections or evoke memories at
whenever something significant has happened,
a later date
when we encounter the unfamiliar, when we face a major change or need to try to make sense of
A journal for me is, therefore, both a space to go to
something. Though we all naturally reflect, we don’t
and a place to put things in.
always document or record our reflections. Our thought processes, our responses to our experiences
Journals and learning
and our insights remain locked away within us. As a tool for learning, the recording of reflection What is journaling?
gives educators access to the learner’s thinking, learning and development. The journal makes a
Journaling is an attempt to capture both our
learner’s processes visible–the way they think, the
insights and the processes that have given rise to
impact something has had on them, the way they
them. Like the workings out of a maths problem,
solve problems and approach their work.
journaling unlocks us, leads us to a conclusion and shows us how we got there. Through the process
For the learner, journals also operate as a memory
of journaling, we reach understandings that help to
prompt. The recording of reflection ensures that
guide us while also providing us with markings that
thoughts, feelings, experiences and insights are
we can return to, should we lose our way.
not lost or forgotten. It provides a record of past learning and experience that the learner can return
I’ve been keeping journals since I was about 13 and
to and refer to. This can help to inform future
though these have changed in nature and format
learning and problem solving. A learner’s reflections
over time, they still provide me with the solace, the
in a journal also offer the educator great starting
insights and the refuge that they offered me then.
points for conversations and tutorials.
They are all records of my project of becoming. They transport me back to past moments, show me how
As a tool for creativity, journaling gives young
some of my ideas were developed and capture the
theatre makers a platform to try out new ideas
workings of my complicated mind. They are both
within the privacy of a journal’s pages, away from
a map showing me how I got here and a record of
the prying eyes of an audience. It’s also a sandbox
who I was and am and might be.
where the artist can play, create, try ideas out and solve creative challenges.
A journal, whether digital or hard copy, provides us with a space where we can:
One of journals greatest assets is that it provides us with distance. The records of our experiences, of
a) Record our reflections to give shape and form to them
our learning, of our play give us the chance to look at ourselves and our experiences objectively. When we’re in the heart of an experience we often can’t
11
