| The Diary as a Reflective Tool by Aurimas Juozaitis, Lithuanian National Project group Our decision to introduce the diary method during the course was based upon 4 principles:
Now about learning as a reflective process. In our project we used a lot of active training methods. The majority of those active methods are based upon the exploration of the experience and this means that participants are asked to think about things which have happened to them and what those experiences meant for them. We do not intend to go into detail on the experiential learning cycle here, but we would just like to mention that reflecting on one’s experience is a great tool in making new things happen. The diary is a writing process and while writing we can think and do not feel stressed. Of course, there could be non-rational writing but just for other purposes, not for learning points. “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, thus I exist), Descartes once said and we could re-formulate this saying: “I think, thus I’m learning”. Diary writing is a writing process about things which have happened and this means that we need to remember them. In the diary we never speak about plans which are unrelated to the past. If we write about any kind of a plan, it means that those actions will be deeply based upon things that are remembered. In that sense we could say that a diary is a memory-training tool. Doing it on a regular basis, we are able to develop a greater capacity of our learning skills. And the last principle – analysing. To say something different from the things mentioned above is very difficult, we just stress that memorising linked with thinking leads us towards a deeper analysis of the discussed issues. Any analysis helps us to foster our strong sides, our professionalism. Analysis leads us from weaker sides towards those upon which can build the successful implementation of ideas. Ideas rule the world; ideas help us grow. When we introduced the diary as a learning tool to our course participants
there was some level of suspicion, – why? Will it be of any value
to us? Isn’t it just a waste of time? But we were persistent and
by the end of each training day we allocated approximately 15-20 minutes
for this activity. In the diary writing a more structured form of writing
or a less structured one could be used. For our participants we suggested
two forms of structured questions: one type of question was related to
the self-analysis issues, how a person felt during the course, what he
/ she had learned; and the second one – with the analysis of the
presentation of colleagues.
This type of question was very much oriented towards self-reflection,
getting the skills of analysing how one felt about things understood and
perceived.
The aim of those questions was two-fold, – to train the participants in observation skills and to give them an opportunity to analyse the work of a colleague. After analysing the presenter’s work the participants were trained in giving an oral feedback to him/her. The first step was not an easy one, but gradually it became an activity which started to take more and more time. Participants became involved and after the writing session we encouraged them to share orally in a group about things reflected on and disclosed by themselves. Later on, the participants gave the following feedback upon the diary writing experience: “It was an additional task which was accepted without any great joy. At the beginning, I had no clear answer, – will it work?” “I felt great enthusiasm mixed with no less a degree of uncertainty.” “I understood how unstructured things could assume form and how this form could support learning.” “In some sense it was a known experience but it gave a lot of new ideas! It was a great experience to learn something new from an old form.” “In any case, writing isn’t an easy job for me. While doing it I feel some anxiety, – what will I do with this text? Will it help me? In what way?” “It was interesting how my habit has changed during the course. At the very beginning when we were asked to write a diary, I felt suspicious and did it without any great joy. But gradually it became an interesting and captivating activity and I started to take more detailed notes during the training course, knowing that by the end of the day I will need them in order to write a diary. But most striking – this behaviour was not insisted on from the trainer’s side – I decided personally!” “It became an interesting activity to refresh the impressions about the written ideas, – after a few days I came back to read once again what I had written two days ago. How many things I understood that day! I believe that in the future the diary will be even more beneficial, – it will serve me as a learning points resource pack.” “Writing is fixing ideas – and afterwards they stay much longer.” “Yes, it’s a good task, but it takes time.
How I will find it when I get back to my usual routine? It’s a good
practice but how will I manage my time?!” “I think that the diary in the near future will be of great usefulness not only as a learning tool but also as a formal document which will help me to evaluate .” “The diary forced me to concentrate upon the main issues during the training. For me it was easier to get more out of less.” “Emotions during the course are natural. But some of the emotions are not so pleasant as you are not always successful. But where to take them? To a diary! Yes, it’s a really good form of self-ventilation!” “It’s a pity that we did not start right from the beginning of the project! How many learning points we have lost…” We can see how much our participants got out of this method! After this
experience, we, the course leaders, strongly started to believe that this
tool could be introduced as one of the essential training elements of
adult teacher training. In our assessment procedures we are going to introduce
it as one of the data collection methods.
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