Graphic Organizers and Learning Journals

Dear classmates and professor,

In this part of the blog, you will find a graphic organizer that describes the objectives of using a Learning Journal in a course. 

On the one hand, based on Drapeau's Graphic Organizers: Critical Thinking and Differentiation and Tools to Promote Differentiation, we were assigned "the same graphic organizer with the same promt"; however, we used "different resources" (2008, p. 23). In my perception, the main advantage of doing so is that there is a great variety of information that can be organized in a number of ways so that the students have a clear idea of a concept. After summarizing and organizing the information needed , the students can share it with the class. As a consequence, all the students will have a broad idea on "What are the components of a Learning Journal?"  To conclude, even though the graphic organizer presents the information as a summary, it gives the reader a general and complete idea of the concept shown.

On top of that, the mental process that students must undergo in order to organize a diagram lets them systematize the information; as a result, it is not only memorized and learnt but also applied. As Drapeau mentions, "graphic organizers are useful tools to promote critical thinking and boost student achievement" (2008. p. 4). Each learner needs to read, to understand, and to be able to summarize the information. In addition, he/she needs to be able to analize it and to show his/her own definition of the concept through a diagram. The main purpose for students to do so is (Drapeau, 2008, pp 6-7):

1. to improve his/her achievement
2. to make sense of information
3. to chunk information
4. to promote depth of learning
5. to construct mental models
6. to foster motivation

In sum, the main objective of using graphic organizers is to let students think critically and systematize the information.  

As you may observe in the graphic organizer I designed, the concept being discussed is the use of Learning Journals in a course. To begin with, there is a summary of the main components that a Journal must have for it to be effective. There are four fundamental aspects:

1. The characteristics a learning journal must have
2. The main advantages of using it during a term
3. The objectives a teacher has in order to include it in a course
4. The competencies that the student will develop

There, you will be able to find a complete summary of those topics. My main objective is to help the reader understand when and for what purposes a learning journal should be used in a course.

 On the other hand, the colors were used a a guide for visual learners. The use of "color, graphs, tables, and pictures" helps visual learners rememeber the concepts better (Drapeau, 2008, p 12). That is the main reason why I chose colors to differenciate the herarchies of each part of the concept.

Next, you can check the graphic organizer I designed:

  Learning Journal 

The information shown in the diagram is based on the theory found in the following books:

• Cushing, S. (2002). Assessing Writing. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.

• Harmer, J. (2003). The practice of English Language Teaching (3rd Ed.). Pearson Education Limited: Malaysia 

• Jones, T; Meyers, C. (1993). Promoting Active Learning. Jossey-Bass Inc.: San Francisco, California.

 Bibliography

Drapeau, P. (2008) Graphic Organizers: Critical Thinking and Differentiation and Tools to Promote Differentiation (pp. 1-36). California: Corwin Press