 | Journal Keeping : How to Use Reflective Writing for Learning, Teaching, Professional Insight and Positive Change ** By the authors of the acclaimed Introduction to Rubrics** Major growth of interest in keeping journals or diaries for personal reflection and growth; and as a teaching tool** Will appeal to college faculty, administrators and teachers One of the most powerful ways to learn, reflect and make sense of our lives is through journal keeping. This book presents the potential uses and benefits of journals for personal and professional development--particularly for those in academic life; and demonstrates journals' potential to foster college students' learning, fluency and voice, and creative thinking.In professional life, a journal helps to organize, prioritize and address the many expectations of a faculty member's or administrator's roles. Journals are effective for developing time management skills, building problem-solving skills, fostering insight, and decreasing stress.Both writing and rereading journal entries allow the journal keeper to document thinking; to track changes and review observations; and to examine assumptions and so gain fresh perspectives and insights over past events. The authors present the background to help readers make an informed decision about the value of journals and to determine whether journals will fit appropriately with their teaching objectives or help manage their personal and professional lives. They offer insights and advice on selecting the format or formats and techniques most appropriate for the reader's purposes. Dannelle D. Stevens is a tenured professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Portland State University in Oregon where she has been since 1994. Her roots, however, are in the public school classroom where she taught middle school and high school social studies, language arts, and special education for 14 years across four school districts and three states. She received her master's from the University of Utah in 1983, and a doctorate in educational psychology from Michigan State in 1991. Before coming to PSU she taught at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Whether the topic is rubrics, journal writing, action research or academic writing, her work centers on how adults reflect on what they do and, then, act on those reflections. One of Dr. Stevens' underlying assumptions is that cognitive, social and emotional development does not end with the teenage years but continues through the lifetime. Besides over 75 conference presentations, she has written three books, all designed to impact development of her fellow faculty and their students. Her first book, co-edited with Joanne Cooper, Tenure in the Sacred Grove: Issues and Strategies for Women and Minorities, (SUNY Press, 2002), was written to help faculty women and minorities negotiate the path to tenure. Introduction to Rubrics, now in its second edition, and co-authored with Antonia J. Levi, and Journal Keeping, co-authored with Joanne Cooper, are both published by Stylus Publishing. In addition to teaching classes, she has taken on leadership positions in the department and campus-wide. In the Curriculum and Instruction Department, Dr. Stevens leads teacher licensure cohorts and coordinates the MA/MS program for experienced teachers. For the university at large, she works within the Center for Academic Excellence as faculty-in-residence for assessment. She is chair of the Institutional Assessment Council. Joanne E. Cooper is a Professor in the Department of Educational Administra |
