5 ways to make journals come alive! By Keriann O'Rourke
Visible thinking The Harvard Graduate School of Education's Visible Thinking project is exactly that - exploring reflection, critical thinking, organising ideas, new perspectives in a visible way. And there's so many other topics to explore! To really make thinking visible educators need to model the routines in their lessons first before students would be able to apply anything independently. But the strategies are effective, easy to execute and FUN for students of all learning styles.
Bonus! These routines can be used across subjects and age groups making connections across student's learning. Read more about visible thinking
Make it quick! Who said journal responses always have to be epic? Sometimes a quick bullet list, drawing and caption, questions of the day, or headline can be enough to capture the experience and give students enough to go back to the following day. Some students find writing lengthy journals daunting and are more open to quick captures when possible. Prep in advance your favourite go-to quick journal tasks for those days when it feels like a chore. This article itself is an example of just how effective simplified communication can be.
Check out Bullet Journals or Western Academy of Beijing's awesome Sketchnote resource for creative notetaking ideas for both students AND adults!
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