JOURNAL AS PART OF AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT

Journals

Today, journals occupy a prominent role in a pedagogical model that stresses the importance of self-reflection in the process of students taking control of their own destiny. A journal is a log (or “account”) of one’s thoughts, feelings, reactions, assessments, ideas, or progress toward goals, usually written with little attention to structure, form, or correctness.

Models of journals use in educational practice have sought to tighten up this style of journal in order to give them some focus (Staton at al., 1987). The result is the emergence of a number of categories or purposes in journal writing, such as the following:

·      Language-learning logs

In English language teaching, learning logs have the advantages of sensitizing students to the importance of setting their own goals and then self-monitoring their achievement.

·      Grammar journals

These types of journals are especially appropriate for courses and workshops that focus on grammar.

·      Responses to readings

These journals have the specified purpose of simple responses to readings (and/or to other material such as lectures, presentations, films, and videos).

·      Strategies-based learning logs

The specialized journals that focus on strategies that learners are seeking to become aware of and to use in their acquisition process and are closely allied to language-learning logs. 

·      Self-assessment reflections

With the possibility of a few stimulus questions, students’ journals can extend beyond the scope of simple one-word or one-sentence responses.

·      Diaries of attitudes, feelings, and other affective factors

The affective states of learners are important element of self-understanding.

·      Acculturation logs  

Because culture and language are so strongly linked, awareness of the symptoms of acculturation stages can provide keys to eventual language success.

Most classroom-oriented journals are what have now come to be known as dialog journals. They imply an interaction between a reader (the teacher) and the students through dialogues or responses. Journals obviously serve important pedagogical purposes: practice in the mechanics of writing, using writing as a “thinking” process, individualization, and communication with the teacher.

It is important to turn the advantages and potential drawbacks of journals into positive journals into positive general steps and guideline for using journals as assessment instruments as follows:

·      Sensitively introduce students to the concept of journal writing.

Show the students examples of journal entries and give specific topics and schedules for writing in order to make them comfortable with the process.

·      State the objective(s) of the journal.

Integrate journal writing into the objectives of the curriculum in some way, especially if journal entries become topics of class discussion.

·      Give guidelines on what kinds of topics to include.

Give clear guidelines to ease the students in including the topics into their journals.

·      Carefully specify the criteria for assessing or grading journals.

Let the students know what kinds of criteria that will be used to assess their journals. Furthermore, maintain reliability by adhering conscientiously to the criteria that you have set up.

·      Provide optimal feedback in your responses.

McNamara (1998, p.39) recommended three different kinds of feedback to journals:

§  Cheerleading feedback, in which you celebrate successes with the students or encourage them to preserve through difficulties.

§  Instructional feedback, in which you suggest strategies or materials, suggest ways to fine-tune strategy use, or instruct students to their writing.

§  Reality-check feedback, in which you help the students to set more realistic expectations for their language abilities.

·      Designate appropriate time frames and schedules for review.

It is essential to budget enough time within a curriculum for both writing journals and for your written responses. Therefore, set schedules for submitting journal entries periodically, return them in short order.

·      Provide formative, washback-giving comments.

Journals are the most formative of all the alternatives in assessment. They are day-by-day (or at least weekly) chronicles of progress whose purpose is to provide a thread of continuous assessment and reassessment, to recognize mid-stream direction changes, and or to refocus on goals. Therefore, it is might be better for giving credit for the process of actually writing the journal, and possibly a distinction might be made among high, moderate, and low effort or quality. But to accomplish the goal of positive feedback, narrative summary comments and suggestions are clearly in order.