5 Essential Questions and Reflective Learning Journal
Learning Activities
This course is organized around questions instead of answers. I hope, as you answer these questions and create questions, you will learn to think critically and your learning will be deep. Primarily, in this class you’ll need to rely on your curiosity. Being curious will be important.
Your learning journey in the class will consist of instructor feedback and peer feedback as you learn. You’ll engage in reflective learning and collaborative learning.
- Contribute to class webpage with reflections on learning journey.
- View and offer feedback on other students’ learning journeys.
- Write a reflective learning journal to share with peers.
Your instructor might want to use a resource such as Padlet to share students’ thoughts, responses, or ideas related to the learning material. Students could add to a collaborative mind map.
Your instructor may want to use the Hypothesis collaborative annotating tool on the resource pages. This is another collaborative activity where students can write their thoughts on specific learning activities and respond to each other’s thoughts.
Your instructor may want to create a class web page using SquareSpace. Students can creatively add to a collaborative space in response to lessons learned. Using a class web page allows students to contribute in a variety of ways such as videos, journals, or artwork.
To circumvent the traditional banking method of education where students are filled up with knowledge, instructors might take more reflective approach to learning by asking students to reflect on their own learning journeys in a reflective learning journal.
Reflective Learning Journal
Each week as you progress through the lessons, take notes. As you read, listen, and talk about the stuff you’re learning, write down what you’re learning and thinking. You can use these notes to write a reflective learning journal at the end of each week. You might want to take notes on a class discussion as well. You might also be loading a Prezi, a photo of your own art, a video, an essay, or a podcast in a blog.
The reflective journal summarizes the week and should tell about the tasks, learning experiences, activities and opportunities you have been involved in during the week of the report.
| Needs some work | Reflective benchmarks | Excellent | Notes: |
| Connects reflection to past readings and research and indicates efforts to re-read or conduct additional research to learn more about aspects of the experience upon which reflection occurs. Describes specific insights or extensions of reflection gained from that reading and research. | |||
| Demonstrates engagement with principles of reflection and takes an active approach in making connections and understanding the impacts of their engagement. | |||
| Reflects on how own attitudes and beliefs are different from those of other cultures and communities. Exhibits curiosity about what can be learned from diversity of communities and cultures. | |||
| Student examines the learning process, showing what learning occurred, how learning occurred, and how newly acquired knowledge or learning altered existing knowledge. | |||
| Student assesses and evaluates perspectives, knowledge, and opinions gained from course concepts and experience. Student links these assessments to own perspectives and opinions on the issue. |
Some of the chapters have Essential Questions to guide your learning. Other times, you might want to rely on the following questions for your journal entries.
After each section of learning, you’ll have time to share your learning and time to offer feedback to your peers.
You’ll also have time to reflect on some of the following questions.
Self-Reflection Questions for Learning
- What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made? About myself? About others?
- What were some of my most challenging moments and what made them so?
- What were some of my most powerful learning moments and what made them so?
- What is the most important thing I learned personally?
- What most got in the way of my progress, if anything?
- What did I learn were my greatest strengths? My biggest areas for improvement?
- What moments was I most proud of my efforts?
- What could I do differently the next time?
- What’s the one thing about myself above all others I would like to work to improve?
- How will I use what I’ve learned in the future?
Open Pedagogy
It is my hope that students will contribute to this book. Most recently, I added a chapter on Culinary Arts. However, you may notice that architecture is not included. You may notice other topics that are not included. I hope that students will find their own topics related to a study of the humanities and create chapters that can be included for future students. These might include more Essential Questions, openly licensed lessons, articles, and videos, students own creations, or Learning Activities.
