How to Write a Reflective Learning Blog?

A reflective learning blog is an electronic reflective learning journal.  Some students asked me what they should be writing in their reflective learning blogs. This questions prompts me to write this new entry in my teaching blog – how to write a reflective learning journal.

The purpose of keeping the reflective learning journal is to help you learn and grow. Confucius says "Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous". Through keeping a reflective learning journal, you make learning personal, meaningful, and connect learning with your prior knowledge. Through reflective writing, you gain new insights about what you have learned. Writing forces you to make your thoughts visible and examine your inner thoughts closely. Through writing, ideas become clearer and lens of focus becomes sharper.

The reflective learning journal is to record your reflection and growth. Dennis List emphasizes that a reflective learning journal is NOT these two things:

(1) a summary of reading materials. Instead, you should focus on your reaction on what you have read.

(2) a learning log. A reflective learning journal is not a learning log for you to record events. It records your reflection, thoughts, and observation about events.

In your reflective learning blog, you can analyze your learning experiences, discuss how you would apply your learning to your teaching, re-evaluate your previous assumptions, raise questions, challenge a theory or a practice, and present new thoughts as the result of your learning. Dennis List provides a long list of items one can write in the reflective learning journal. This list gave me ideas to frame the following questions. These questions should guide you through your journal writing.

What was the most important/interesting learning experience (e.g. course reading, group discussion, or lesson plan development) for me and why it was important/interesting to me?

How would I apply what I have learned in my future teaching?

What was my previous assumption (a theory or a practice), and how did the learning make me re-evaluate my assumption?

What questions would I like to raise about a piece of reading material, a practice or a common belief?

What would I like to challenge (e.g. a theory, a practice and a common belief)

What observation would I like to present about a particular learning event?

What new thoughts do I have as the result of my learning/reading?

I hope you find this blog entry useful. Happy blogging.

Behaviorism

The discussion on behaviorism has closed.  Both groups did wonderfully in the discussion.  Both groups reached the consensus that behaviorism could be used in teaching and what skills could be taught by the behaviorist approach.  More importantly, both groups deepened their understanding of the limitations of this approach.

Behaviorist learning objectives deal with the lowest level of knowledge: memorization.  The assessment method is a test since it involves the right and wrong answer.  

Below are some of my thoughts on behaviorism I would like to share with you.

The importance of drill and practice relates to the notion of automaticity.  In order to perform complex intellectual tasks such as reading, writing, and solving math problems, it is essential that learners master subskills to the level of automaticity. It means that learners should be able to perform these subskills without thinking or automatically. If one writes, one needs to master spelling of vocabulary and sentence structures. To solve complicated math problems, one needs to master basic calculating skills and formulas. Once I talked to my friend who was studying for her Ph. D. in math. She told me that math did involve lots of memorization. Please do not misunderstand. Drill and practice is a component of learning, not everything about learning.

One’s working memory is limited in capacity. One can only process limited numbers of mental operations at a time. It affects the operation of higher order skills if too much memory is devoted to operating subskills. The mastery of subskills will free working memory so that more working memory can be devoted to operate higher order skills.

Comparing with paper drills, computer drills have the following advantages:

Computer drills are fun. It is boring to be drilled. No one likes to be drilled. Computer drills integrate games into drill and practice. While the learner is playing games, the learner is being drilled.

Computer drills provide immediate feedback. Time is always an issue to drill students in classroom settings. With too many students in class, the teacher finds it difficult to provide adequate time to drill each student. If students drill themselves, they might make mistakes without being corrected immediately. The mistake might perpetuate itself. Computer drills provide learners immediate feedback. Mistakes are corrected immediately.

Computer drills remove psychological barriers in student drilling process. If students are drilled in class, it is quite humiliating for students to make mistakes in front of the class. Computer drills can remove this psychological barrier. No one knows that the learner makes a mistake, but the computer.

Computers never get tired. Students can practice and repeat a skill as many times as possible.

How to Achieve Success in the Online Course

This is my teaching blog for this course. I hope this blog can offer another communication channel to assist you in this course. This blog will be the forum for me to offer tips, strategies and guidance so that you can be successful in this course.

It is normal for students to experience a certain level of anxiety in taking an online course, especially if it is the first online course you are taking. However, you will gain experiences navigating and functioning in the online learning environment as the course moves along. Here are a few suggestions for you. Hopefully, you find them useful.

1. Lots of students think that the online course takes less time and efforts. It is a misconception. Contrarily, you need to spend more time and efforts in the online course. The online course is text-based. We write a lot slower than we talk. For example, it takes more time and efforts to participate in class discussions online than in face-to-face discussions. However, the pay-off is the flexibility of time and place. You do not need to travel to the campus for most class sessions and you can choose the most convenient time for your learning.

2. Ideally, you should log in every other day to keep yourself well informed of all the development in the course. When a mail is sent through the blackboard, it does not go to your Internet mailbox, it remains in the blackboard vista. Therefore, you do need to check your mail from time to time so that you do not miss any information. You do not need to stay on line for two hours and a half at one time. You can space your time between log-ins.

3. Come to face-to-face meetings. Bring all of your concerns and problems to face-to-face meetings. Face-to-face meetings are helpful in clarifying student confusions. You’ll learn new technology skills that you’ll need to complete your assignments. You will also have opportunity to meet your group members face-to-face to discuss group projects.

4. Read, read, and read carefully. The online course is text-based. Therefore, you need to spend time reading all the instructions carefully. Pay attention to the deadlines for the assignments and class discussions. Points would be deducted for late assignments. Worse, once a discussion closes, no one is allowed to post any more. Read carefully about the instructions for each assignment and discussion. Follow instructions. All the assignments are posted online for the whole semester, which should help you to plan your time and work throughout the course.

5. Communication is the key. There are various ways to communicate with me. I have set up a "Faculty Office" where you can post your questions. You can e-mail me if you desire. All the questions and mail will be answered within 48 hours.

6. This is a discussion-based course. All the assignments are based on class discussions. Without participating in class discussions, you will not be able to do your assignments. We also have group projects. Your discussion performance is seriously evaluated. Follow discussion rules. Rules are posted for each discussion activity.