Academic Journaling: Effective techniques to assess student learning
Wednesday, September 24
Pat Smith, Director, CEL
Heather Campbell, Education; Eric Lund, director of International and Off-Campus Studies; Sandy Malecha, associate director, Internships Program; Bruce Nordstrom-Loeb, Sociology and Anthropology; Pat Smith, director of CEL
(co-sponsors: CEL, International and Off-Campus Studies (IOCS), and the St. Olaf Writing Program)
Last June, the Center for Experiential Education surveyed St. Olaf faculty members about their academic uses of journals. Of the approximately 80 responses received, about 60 reported using journals. While most journals are in traditional paper form, there are growing numbers of faculty using electronic journals, including web blogs. Some faculty members noted that journals "brought up excellent questions for class discussion," and that they "encourage students to relate readings to experiences and observations." Others, however, cautioned that "it's an easy assignment to fake," and that journals are "time consuming to review."
Sandy Malecha and Pat Smith will provide an overview of what they learned from the survey, summarizing what respondents identified as successes and challenges with using journals. Faculty members Heather Campbell, Eric Lund, and Bruce Nordstrom-Loeb will draw on their own experiences using journals to lead a discussion about best practices.
