...serving over 14,000 Ohio teachers since 2000
Educator Journaling
Online 3 Graduate Credit Hour
Instructor: Kelly Moran, Ed.D.
Cell Phone: (440) 376-0673
Email: kellyannteacher@gmail.com
Classroom Location: NA, online (Google Classroom)
Office hours: anytime, simply send an email. I will respond within 24-48 hours.
INTRODUCTION
ED594O is designed to enhance and grow the intellectual capacity of paraprofessionals, teachers, administrators, and district leaders via journaling, reflective practices, needs assessment, and goal setting.. Participants will engage in contemplative and analytical experiences that will broaden their knowledge of self and educator performance. Participants will consider how journaling impacts both teacher and school effectiveness. This course will address how individual educators as well as schools, can develop and implement journaling practices to strengthen the overall culture and success of the organization.
Ohio’s Strategic Plan for Education, ODE’s Each Child, Our Future, includes 10 priority strategies that support accessible and quality learning experiences for children. Of the ten strategies, three apply specifically to excellent educators and instructional practices. We cannot expect teachers and leaders to perform their best if they are not reflective of daily practice, results, and feedback. This course aligns with the three educator strategies in the state’s plan (shown below) as it affords teachers the opportunities to engage in real, structured, and personalized reflective practices through journaling.
The following are the Excellent Educators and Instructional Practices Strategies referenced in ODE’s strategic plan:
Strategy 1: Increase the supply of highly effective teachers and leaders and provide supports to ensure they are effective or highly effective.
Strategy 2: Support every principal to be highly effective—especially those leading schools that serve the neediest children
Strategy 3: Improve targeted supports and professional learning so teachers can deliver excellent instruction today, tomorrow and throughout their careers.
In addition, The Ohio Department of Education has created a landing page to support the growth of excellent educators outlining the steps to take to become designated as a : Master Teacher, Senior Professional, or Lead Professional Teacher. This course aligns with these designation pathways in that it prioritizes personalized professional learning, personalized professional reflection, and personalized professional goal setting.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Candidates will learn to use analytical practices to critically review and identify areas of professional interest, development, and self discovery. The course will provide participants with the opportunity to engage in authentic self discovery and review that will support a more positive and balanced teaching experience.
Contents that will be covered include: journaling, self management, and professional development opportunities for growth in the state of Ohio. Participants will learn what the data says about the act of journaling and receive resources and strategies to explore journaling both for personal professional development and for use in the classroom/school with students and colleagues.
INSTRUCTOR’S STATEMENT
This syllabus may be modified at any time by the instructor. The class will be informed of any changes, but it is the responsibility of the students to make themselves aware of these changes. Please contact me in case of any confusion, concern or question.
REQUIRED TEXTS
All required readings are linked in this week-by-week assignment document.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Define professional reflection.
Restate a minimum of three facts about the practice of journaling.
Differentiate between required professional reflection and personalized reflection.
Disprove widely held myths that professional development is one-sized fits all.
List (a min of) three reasons why journaling is beneficial for teachers and/or students.
Explore tools to improve writing and reflective practices.
Identify elements of professional practice that can be improved, enhanced, or altered for increased performance.
State what to avoid in a school setting to help prevent missed opportunities for educator reflection and goal setting.
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Students are expected to actively engage in online class discussions, article readings, online tasks, and individual assignments. Students are also encouraged to ask questions and use analytical reflection and conceptual skills to develop their own thoughts and conclusions on how to apply learned concepts to their respective work environments.
Journaling PD Artifact Assignments
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Unit & Session # |
Assignment |
Point Value |
Grading Rubric |
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U1
S1 |
In a paragraph or two please introduce yourself to the group. Describe your current position in education and past experiences in education. Feel free to share information about your family, hobbies, interests, and favorite things. Then, provide a perspective on your thoughts about journaling both for yourself as an adult and for your students. Do you feel as though journaling could be a beneficial tool? Why or why not? Is journaling needed? What potential benefits exist? How could journaling become part of your teaching?
Respond to the posts of at least two other peers. |
12 |
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U1
S2 |
Create a journal for yourself, but before you do give it some thought. Do you want a hand written journal, a computer file, voice notes in your phone? There’s no right or wrong, but before you get started think about what aligns with your preferences and what method you are most likely to stick with.
Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
Why did you become a teacher? What are the real reasons why you wanted to be a teacher? How did you feel about teaching in your first 0-5 years? How do you feel about teaching now? Has your why changed? |
12 |
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U1
S3 |
Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
Do you like the teacher you are becoming? How have you changed since the start of your teaching career? What areas have improved and which have weakened? |
12 |
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U1
S4 |
Review these example infographics on the benefits of journaling.
Create your own infographic on the benefits of journaling and/or why journaling can help educators that you could envision being placed in a teacher’s lounge or school’s main office. |
12 |
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Catch up week. Use this week to catch up on any coursework assignments from sessions 1-4 before moving on to Unit 2. |
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U2
S5
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Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
Searching. What are you really in search of? If your deepest most private dream could come true what would that look like for you? Is it something simple like getting a solid, uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep each night and waking up feeling rested and not an ounce of sleepiness, or is it something grandiose like earning enough money to buy anything your heart desires without having to worry about debt. Whatever your soul is in search of acknowledge it. Spend some time envisioning it and writing about it in your journal. |
12 |
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U2
S6 |
Create a list of 5 journal prompts that you think would be helpful for educators and post them in the forum. |
12 |
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U2
S7 |
Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
1.What positive habits do you practice that make you an effective educator for students? What positive habits do you practice that help to make you a happy and fulfilled educator? What habits do you have that you wish you could break or change that detract from your power to be as effective of an educator as you possibly could be? Do you think the habit of journaling would be an easy or difficult one for you to maintain and why? |
12 |
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U 2
S8 |
Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
Explore the 20 work related journal prompts at this website. Select two of the questions from the list and answer them. |
12 |
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Catch up week.
Use this week to catch up on any coursework assignments from sessions 5-8 before moving on to Unit 3. |
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U 3
S 9 |
Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
Think creatively about how journaling could become a part of your classroom. How could you engage students in journal writing in a way that also connects to your grade level, content area, or school PBIS/SEL focus? Write 3 -5 journal prompts that you could use with your students this year. Do you see yourself writing back to students in their journals, why or why not? Do you think the practice of journaling could have a positive impact on the climate of your classroom and improve classroom management? |
12 |
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U 3
S 10 |
Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
Tell about at least one member of your family dead or alive (you don’t have to name them) that you would want to journal with and why. What are some questions you would ask them if you could. What creative ideas do you have for journaling with a member or members of your family? |
12 |
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U 3
S 11 |
Answer the following prompt in your journal and then upload to the discussion forum:
Contributions. We contribute to all of the relationships we are in. What do you contribute to your friends? To your students? To your colleagues? Some of our contributions cannot be seen, such as emotional contributions. Take time today to celebrate your skills and talents and traits by listing what you contribute to these relationships.. Make a list of what and how you contribute to your relationship with your friends, with your students, and with your colleagues. |
12 |
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U 3
S 12 |
Design and create any type of graphic organizer and/or infographic that shows some of the highlights and important concepts you’ve learned from this course. Your graphic organizer / infographic should be a blend of visual images and text. Please include at least 5 ideas/concepts learned. Post a link to your creation. |
12 |
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Final Paper Project Rubric Educator Journaling PD
Select 3 of the 8 options below.
Address each of the 3 options you’ve selected in a well composed, structured, and organized (minimum) 3 page paper.
Email your final project to your course professor.
Option 1: Outline what was learned in the course, provide reflections of how the material applies to you, explain why learning about and understanding journaling is important, how your thoughts, feelings, and knowledge may have been challenged or grown over the course of the class.
Option 2: In this course you were exposed to different styles and types of journaling (i.e. morning pages, love and loath, one minute journaling). Come up with a new idea and framework for journaling. Describe your idea, why it’s important to you, how it works, and provide a sample entry.
Option 3: Select 3 academic content standards you teach. Come up with 3 journal prompts that coincide with each of those academic content standards that your students could write about. Then create a rubric that you would use to grade those journal assignments.
Option 4: Journal for five days consecutively and write a one page response about the experience. What did you like, did not like, what takeaways do you have, did you journal by yourself, with someone else, at consistent times or whenever convenient.
Option 5: Come up with a list of 10 journal prompts that you could use with staff members and colleagues at monthly staff meetings throughout the year. 1 prompt for each month (Aug - May). Describe and explain why you crafted the prompts that you did as well as describe how you think your building/district staff would likely respond to such an exercise and why you think the practice could benefit your building.
Option 6: You were introduced to expert thought leaders in this course such as Jim Kwik, James Clear, Ali Abdaal, Ed Mylett, Andrew Huberman, etc. Select one of those individuals to follow on social media. Explain why you selected that person and how his/her ideas appeal to you. Explain how you plan to explore more of this individual’s work and apply it to your daily life.
Option 7: Develop an action plan for yourself, your school, your district, or your parent community related to journaling. Provide action steps and a timeline. What are you inspired to do from here: present at a board meeting, share at a staff meeting, plan a journaling event/routine for your colleagues or students.... Share all the details and planning for how you will leave a legacy for others as well as describe how you will measure your success.
Option 8: Devise a system for interactive, two way journaling with your students that you want to start. Explain how (frequency, duration, schedule) you will maintain writing back to your students. Will you be directing the topics or will students be able to write about whatever they want. Will they be writing by hand or electronically? Will you be grading their work, participation etc (why or why not)?
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Email your completed project to your professor at |
80 points |
GRADING - ASSIGNMENT POINTS
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30 points |
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12 points each / 144 points total |
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80 points |
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Total course points available - ______ |
It is the responsibility of the student to track their grade and maintain assignments according to the due dates posted..
GRADING SCALE
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A 93 to 100 A- 90 to 92.99 |
B+ 87 to 89.99 B 83 to 86.99 B- 80 to 82.99 |
C+ 77 to 79.99 C 73 to 76.99 C- 70 to 72.99 |
D+ 67 to 69.99 D 63 to 66.99 D- 60 to 62.99 |
F 0 to 59.99 |
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