Journal writing builds awareness of what you do, how and why. Sharing journals with a few trusted peers, a small community of practice, multiplies the benefit. ‘It is not a panacea.‘
Procedure
- Write after each class, or weekly if daily is too much: successes, failures, fears.
- Share with 4–5 trusted peers (one cohort did this over 12 weeks); peers comment and challenge.
- No group? Start with one or two critical friends.
- Use writing to separate emotion from analysis of the lesson.
Theory
Farrell, Reflective Language Teaching: From Research to Practice. “Community of practice” (Lave & Wenger, uncited in the post (Claude)).
Related: small, SMART PD (2013)
“Small changes are more likely to stick.” Critique vague plans (“I’m going to work harder this fall”) and rewrite them as SMART. Ask “How are you a different teacher than this time last year?” Reading: Foord, The Developing Teacher.
Limits
Anecdotal; competition and fear of judgement block sharing.
Connections
Reflection is a recurring cycle · Run a reflective practice group · CPD portfolios - What, So what, Now what