Abstract When he returned to Amsterdam in spring 1945, Otto Frank discovered that not one but two versions of his daughter's diary had survived the Holocaust: the three notebooks of so-called version A and the revision of that diary on loose sheets of paper, called version B. Other texts also survived, including a notebook Anne titled "Tales…

Over the last four years of my K-12 visual arts teaching career, I faithfully kept visual journals, filling them with stories of my experiences in the classroom. What initially began as an experiment as I searched for a tool to help me navigate new challenges within a public school system, eventually led me to realize that my visual journals were…

A journal can help keep a person more organized, clarify their identity, and help them grapple with them own sense of belonging in the often bewildering world of academe. In this article, the author discusses: (1) the benefits and uses of keeping a journal; (2) Techniques for writing in a journal; and (3) Drawbacks of journal writing.

The genesis of this article was a request from the "Journal of Geography in Higher Education" to provide a reflection piece about our article 'Dear Diary: Early Career Geographers Collectively Reflect on their Qualitative Field Research Experiences' (2011) that won the journal's biennial award for 2009-2011. This request has afforded us…

Erin Gruwell began her career as an idealistic young teacher confronting a room of "unteachable" students. Working together, they authored "The Freedom Writers Diary," and their story was chronicled in a well-known film. Today, Erin Gruwell is still a catalyst for hope as shown in her recent visit with students at Starr…

Using narrative method in the form of journaling has the power to shape identity and relationships between teachers and students. This article reflects on such journaling and the process of writing poetry to create a space of understanding between two very different people who found themselves in the relationship of teacher and student. "The…

This article outlines suggestions for the use of self-reflective journaling as an assessment method in dance technique classes. The use of self-reflection makes assessment a part of the learning process, not an imposed evaluation of a student's final product, particularly when it is related to personal goal setting. The article provides practical…

With today's emphasis on preparing students for standardized testing, it can be daunting for classroom teachers to find and justify time for the arts within the academic curriculum. Handmade books, however, offer a creative and academically enriching solution to this dilemma. In this article, the author describes how students made construction…

In this article, the author describes some of the ways that journals can be used as teaching tools in the language classroom; in fact, the suggestions he makes could be applied to the use of journals in teaching just about any subject. He begins by describing the concept of writing to learn, which is the theoretical foundation that journals are…

Volumes of literature outline the benefits of using journals in the classroom, most of which give methods on how to generate, administer and assess student journal writings. And although vast numbers of publications overflow with literature retelling theories and methods on how to engage in reflective practice, few are the submissions of concrete…

The term "inquiry" can be viewed from two perspectives. Inquiry refers to the abilities students develop when designing and conducting investigations and the understanding they gain through this process about the nature of science. Inquiry also refers to teaching and learning strategies that enable students to master content concepts. Library…

This study investigates journal keeping as an example of successful reflective leadership and management practice among administrators in government, business and education. Twelve participants were identified through peer nomination as effective senior level administrators. Onsite observations and indepth interviews were conducted. Participants…

Michael L. Wesch, an assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University, was writing a paper about social networking and other interactive tools, which are collectively referred to as Web 2.0, when he decided to make use of the technology to spread his message. So he put together a short video with examples of Web 2.0…

Technology is allowing anyone with a computer, the ability to type, and an Internet connection to become a published author--of sorts. Web logs, or "blogs," are the latest way that students, businesses, and many others are publishing their musings. The term was coined in 1999, and today Webster's dictionary defines a blog as a "diary; a personal…

A blog is a Web page made up of a series of chronologically arranged postings. Blogs may take the form of a diary or journal, mini-essay, photo-essay, project updates, even fiction or non-fiction works. They are also excellent communication tools for families, classes, departments, or teams. This article describes several types of blogs, and…