by S. Johnston, Ed.D.

The purpose of the learning log is to allow students to consolidate learning from each class in which a written response (to a question posed at the beginning of class) reflects their personal understanding of the content learned. The answer can be written during the last few minutes of class or can be assigned as required homework. While these written responses are not graded by the instructor, there is pressure to be articulate because students might be called on to share their answers during a brief review at the following class meeting as well as in future small group review sessions prior to an exam.

Anita Woolfolk, in her text Educational Psychology, states that "The more students elaborate new ideas, the more they make them their own, the deeper their understanding and the better their memory for the knowledge. We help students to elaborate when we ask them to translate information into their own words, create examples, explain to a peer, ..." Essential questions for the learning log can be constructed (by the instructor) in order to maximize this opportunity for student reflection and elaboration. The learning log is also advantageous to the instructor in that valuable diagnostic information can be gained regarding the depth of students’ understanding of difficult and new content. In addition, the formation of the essential question to be posed at the start of each class session helps to focus the lecture on the content of highest priority and transfer value.

Following are examples of learning log questions from my own courses. Students are given a blank template with three columns titled: Date, Question, Answer. I ask for a show of hands each week indicating those whose learning log is up to date. After a few weeks, all students have current entries because of the importance that I attach to the learning log. By the end of the course, their learning log serves as a summary of the main topics as well as their personal reflections on those topics.

Woolfolk, Anita Educational Psychology, 8th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, 2001