Nanjing International School believes that all teachers should be constantly learning and improving their teaching practices. As such, we are put into Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) based around a set of themes. For example, a theme could be improved writing skills, creativity in the classroom, integration of technology, etc. Last year I worked on a team that was looking at unit design; I, specifically, wanted to see how I could make my Criterion A: Knowledge/Understanding more motivating and interesting. This year, I've been put in the writing group, which at first seemed like a strange choice for a music teacher. However, I wanted to see whether I could see improvement in the kids' developmental workbooks / process journals. Every year I get really good journals; every year I get really bad journals. As always, there's always a wide range of abilities in the classroom. Some kids use the journals are authentic tools to help them grow; other kids use it to 'jump through the hoops' and get enough points on their band descriptors; and others just don't really bother. These last kids have no plans for their performances, rarely reflect, offer very little evidence of responding to feedback, etc. So how can I improve the workbooks? How can I get kids to see what the book is a 'tool' to help them. Not just something that we have to do, like at the end of every lesson we have to do our developmental workbooks. If we could get the kids to really utilise and love the DWs, then their PPP journals would be a natural extension. So that's my goal.
I got an email from my PLT leader asking us all to bring some research to help the group. I started researching on JSTOR, with absolutely no success. If I type in 'writing' and 'journal,' then I get primary articles on improving basic writing skills. If I type in 'writing' and 'journal' and 'high school,' then I get articles on the American drop-out rate of youths (?). If I type in 'music' and 'journal,' then I get the names of American journals. If I type in 'process journal,' then I get the process of writing - brainstorming, outlining, editing, revising, and publishing. If I give up and go to a search engine and type in 'developmental workbooks,' I get my own website (LOL). So today the coordinator for the PLTs came to see me to brainstorm my problem. He suggested that I take this to social media, to ask for help for you all.
Do you have articles / research that support writing in scrapbooks / developmental workbooks / process journals? Strategies can come later, but at the moment I need some solid empirical data on how and why journals are used as pedagogical tools. Then, later, I'll start asking for your feedback about strategies.
If you want to chat about this, please leave some comments and we'll get a dialogue going. Thanks!
I got an email from my PLT leader asking us all to bring some research to help the group. I started researching on JSTOR, with absolutely no success. If I type in 'writing' and 'journal,' then I get primary articles on improving basic writing skills. If I type in 'writing' and 'journal' and 'high school,' then I get articles on the American drop-out rate of youths (?). If I type in 'music' and 'journal,' then I get the names of American journals. If I type in 'process journal,' then I get the process of writing - brainstorming, outlining, editing, revising, and publishing. If I give up and go to a search engine and type in 'developmental workbooks,' I get my own website (LOL). So today the coordinator for the PLTs came to see me to brainstorm my problem. He suggested that I take this to social media, to ask for help for you all.
Do you have articles / research that support writing in scrapbooks / developmental workbooks / process journals? Strategies can come later, but at the moment I need some solid empirical data on how and why journals are used as pedagogical tools. Then, later, I'll start asking for your feedback about strategies.
If you want to chat about this, please leave some comments and we'll get a dialogue going. Thanks!
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