Reflective Writing: Keeping a Teaching Journal

Individual

• Regular reflection on the objects (class sessions, individual activities)
• Reflection over time allows for tracking one's thinking

Social

• I read these three times during the term and inserted comments, questions, suggestions, encouragement
• TAs talk a lot about their teaching in the pedagogy seminar, in their offices, and on the TA Facebook page (off limits to faculty)

The Teaching Journal Assignment from the Fall TA Pedagogy Seminar

You will keep a teaching journal throughout the term. I want you to write one entry per week at the end of each week or over the weekend. Weekly TJ posts are due no later than Monday morning of the week following the classes. This will continue for the semester through 12.3. I suggest that you take notes on each class session as soon as possible after each class meeting.

At the end of each week, go over your notes and consider what you planned and hoped for (goals and activities designed to meet them) and what in fact happened and what you think was accomplished. Speculate about what brought success and also consider what might account for less than successful sessions or activities.

Describe your thoughts and feelings about the sessions that week and your thoughts on its implications for your next class sessions.

These entries can be fairly brief, say 300 words or so, but they should be thoughtful and hopefully, productive. If you include your lesson/class plans, you do not have to describe the class except when it did not follow the plan. If you did not compose a plan, you'll want to briefly describe the activities you are commenting on. Clearly label the class sessions being discussed by date and reading or process covered. I suggest that you review these to prepare for writing your teaching philosophy statement in your Teaching Portfolio. I will do some responding to these throughout the term.

Some Patterns of Meta in TA Journals

Typical type of evaluative statement from an MA: Reports that class went fairly well. Students were engaged with the discussion and contributed to the over all conversation.

All the focus is on the students without reflection, although it is a step up from just describing the class session, which I have seen.

A Highly Reflective Female Ph.D.

GAIL Reading student response papers helps her understand the culture of her classroom. She went on to discuss her students' backgrounds.

Gail gave her students a survey about issues in the class, discussed these with them, and planned ways of addressing them. She repeated this later in the term. She writes that she keeps a document of notes to herself to consult when she adjusts her teaching style in the coming semesters. She is aware that changes she is making in one term might not fit with her students' needs in the next term.

Gail expresses understanding that they are being encouraged to practice meta-teaching - to think forward as they learn and adjust their plans and activities. She quotes a reading she is teaching and applies it to her teaching, making an analogy between subjects/participants in ethnographic research and her students. She wants to keep their well-being in mind.

As she proceeds she discusses how her thinking has evolved from focusing on delivering concepts to students toward adapting her methods to her students' learning styles, levels of writing, and cognitive abilities.

She continues to make notes to herself about how to teach better/differently the next time. Gail also understands the value of meta-reflection for her students by asking them to reflect on how they have developed as writers.

From Gail's Last Entry: Gail also writes about how self-critical she is even when she succeeds in class. She wonders if this will erode her motivation.

"Josh," a Ph.D.

TA Josh notes that he feels that he talks too much in class, but is getting the feel of the class and how to make adjustments. He expresses an understanding of how he says he wants class discussion but then acts contrarily by lecturing, which he does not feel he's very good at.

Some Final Thoughts and Questions

• Need to ask TAs to write a periodic overview reflection focused on what they think they've learned about teaching, their process of class planning, etc.
• Ph.D.s are more reflective in part because many have taught before and so have points of comparison and more practice reflecting on their teaching. This suggests that reflection and metacognition are learned. You can't assume it will happen.
• I asked for description but there is much more of that than reflective content. They describe and include how the students did or didn't respond, and sometimes how they might adapt, try something else or focus on themselves as a teacher: "I'm not such a good lecturer - I go on too long".

Questions

What other ways are there to encourage metacognition of teaching?

• In writing classes, there are areas on which to focus meta-awareness such as process, genres, rhetorical situation, and more. Are there aspects of teaching that reflection and metaknowledge can promote in all disciplines?
• What do you all think about using writing in this way in even quantitative disciplines such as math and physics?