Learning Journals Case Study

School / Department: English

Programme: BA English

Module: Postcolonial Texts Credit Points – 40 Credit points (journal counts for 30%)

Level of Study: – Level Three

Activity: Completion of a learning journal

Aim: To guide students through required reading, support engagement with the reading and to encourage students to reflect on and incorporate feedback into their work.

Case Study
The journal is one of three assessed tasks within the Postcolonial Texts module and accounts for 30% of the overall module mark. The journal accompanies the Theory unit workshops which take place in the first six weeks of the module.

Students receive their learning journals at the start of the module and are given guidance on completion and use.

Each week prior to the unit workshop students are require to read specific texts or essays, as directed in the journal, answer the comprehension style questions set in the journal and then attend the workshop.

The workshops are interactive in format (including discussion, debate etc). Students are encouraged to use their journal entry notes to contribute to the workshop as well as take feedback and additional information gained at the workshop to further hone, add to or amend their journal entries. Journals are not assessed for neatness but for comprehension and level of insight in responses (students can complete in pencil if they wish). Pages can be added in and journals edited at any point up until the hand in date.

Following each workshops students are asked to reflect on their thoughts, consider further lines of enquiry and complete the “Ideas, questions and future actions” section in the journal.

At the end of the unit students complete a close reading exercise (as directed in the journal) where they are required to apply one of the theories they have learnt about whilst completing the unit

As well as receiving informal feedback at the workshops students are encouraged to use office hour tutorial time to seek feedback from their tutors. The majority of students take this opportunity to seek feedback from staff.

Students are also offered, after the journal has been marked, one to one feedback sessions with their tutors

Benefits to staff: The requirement to complete the journal on a weekly basis ensures students are completing the required pre-workshop reading each week. Good attendance at tutorials allows staff to monitor student understanding and progression within the unit

Benefits to students: Encourages students to work more independently on increasingly difficult texts whilst guiding via the journal questions. Encourages students to reflect and act on feedback (informal gained from both workshops and tutors). The completed journal acts as a very useful end of module revision tool for students. It also bears a formative function as the reading that they complete for the journal will inform all subsequent assessments on the module.

Feedback: Students value the journal as useful.

Considerations – In the academic year 2011/2012 the journal will be submitted online (as a journal in Word); word limits will be introduced to encourage students to be more concise and precise with both their reading and writing.

Further Information:  Anna Ball, English