KEEPING YOUR SERVICE-LEARNING JOURNAL

Your journal will help you to connect your experiences in the classroom with your service-learning project. In order to benefit from the experience, it is important to make regular entries and to follow-up on questions, concerns, ideas or recommendations you may have as a result of your journal-writing. Talk with your professor, the service learning coordinator, or your site supervisor if you have any questions.

Your journal entries may range in length from one half page to two pages. Some weeks, you will find that you have more to say, other weeks, less.

Step One: Establish Learning Goals

• What learning goals did you identify
• What are your THREE main learning goals?
For example:
• I want to learn whether or not I want to be a teacher.
• I want to learn how to explain math concepts to a child.
• I want to learn about the differences in communication between girls and boys.
• Include learning goals in contract to share with agency supervisors and professors.

Step Two: First Two Entries

BEFORE YOU GO:

Your first journal entry should address the following questions:

• Why did you choose the placement that you did?
• What do you think the experience will be like? What are you most excited about? Do you have any concerns?
• How do you think this experience will connect to what you are studying in class?

(If you have already gone and did not have these guidelines, think back to what you thought BEFORE you went.)

AFTER YOUR FIRST VISIT:

Site/Mission of the Site – What does your site do?

• First Impressions/ What was it like?
• Orientation (or Lack Thereof) -- How your orientation helped; If you didn’t have one, how it might have helped you ( for example, it would been helpful to have some information about the students, participants in program, etc.)
• What are you doing at the site?
• If you are doing an independent project, write about the plans for your project? How did you establish a plan? What are the components? With whom are you working? Do you have any concerns?

Step Three: Establish a Pattern for your Journal Entries

Write up an assessment of each visit to explain each of the following:

1. Describe your activities. What happened? What did you see? What did you do? (FACTS)
2. What is your interpretation of what you saw or experienced? What observations did you make? What “stood out” this week? Why? What did you learn from this happening? What are your comments and reactions about what you saw? What assumptions on your part affected those observations? (INTERPRETATIONS)
3. How can you apply what you are learning in class to better understand your experience? Do you agree with what your class / text says? (THE CONNECTION to class)

OTHER IDEAS for Journaling

• Offer recommendations to the staff at your site.
• What did you learn about yourself this week? What did you learn about your site? The people with whom you work? Are you making a difference?
• Is there anything you would have done differently this week?
• Were you satisfied with your experience? Why or why not?
• Write about one person or one interaction.
• Write about something you did that was difficult for you.
• Write about what you found frustrating.

(Sometimes you answer one question in the process of answering another. Don’t worry about that..

Some weeks you might want to be more creative. A poem or picture or other medium that you create for interpreting your experience is fine. )

Step Four: Final Essay
Some professors simply grade your journal. Others want a final essay. Also, if you are doing a project, such as a speech, workshop, lesson or condensed project ( i.e. alternative break weekend), an essay is more useful than a journal.

A summary of your experience should include answers to the following questions:

• A concise description of your project
• Did you meet your learning goals? Why or why not?
• How did you benefit from your experience?
• How did others benefit?
• How did your experience relate to your class? Could there be ways to make the connection stronger? Identify two or three strong links between class material and service experience.
• What did you learn overall about yourself? Your course?
• The community? Your service site?
• What would you change to improve your service site?
• What stands out from your experience ( good or bad)?
• Write a two sentence “HEADLINE” that summarizes your service-learning experience this semester.