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REACT, Vol. 22, No. 2 (December 2003) pp. 115-124ONanyang Technological University & National Institute of EducationWhen Academics Collaborate: Tlie Valueof Learning JournalsJim MurphyLearning journals are a way to engage learners in critical self-reflection. Thepromise is the assumption that their use supports learning by helpinglearners to positively reconstruct their understanding in ways desired bytheir teacher. This paper offers evidence from an analysis of 33 journalswritten over 3 months by 14 academics from a variety of disciplines. Basedon the content produced and evaluation comments, the paper concludeswith an assessment of the value of this collaborative learning strategy foracademic staff developn~ent-and for the academics themselves.IntroductionCollaboration is a teacher philosophy of interaction that aims to achieve aset goal by pairing or grouping learners in class physically, or morerecently, out of class using ICT. The goal may be set either by the teacher orthe learners themselves. A joint responsibility then exists to cooperate toachieve success with any learning task (cf. Slavin, 1989).Learning journals are known also as logs or diaries. Some years ago,Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985) encapsulated the rationale for their use inthe title of their book: Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning. Journalsare increasingly popular and used in a variety of circumstances for manyreasons (Jolly, 1999; Moon, 1999; Thorpe, 2000). At NIE, as in other teachereducation institutions, they are sometimes used in undergraduate andpost-graduate diploma training programmes.This paper is not directly concerned with trainee development. Rather,it assesses this strategy from my perspective as facilitator in modules
116 Jim Murphyconcerned with lecturers' professional development. Here we look at thewriting of 14 academics from a variety of disciplines engaged as learners inacademic staff development in pursuit of a Post-Graduate Diploma in HigherEducation (PGDHE) offered at the Nanyang Technological University(cf. Murphy, 2002). Extracts from diaries that follow are chosen to illustratehow journals might be used collaboratively to assist personal and grouplearning.Two things come through strongly in these extracts. First is that learningis an internal process strongly affected by the context and collaborationwith others (co-learners and teacher). Second, learning journals and theway they are used demonstrate three levels of collaboration: learner tolearner, learner to teacher and teacher to learner.Journal Rationale, Process and ExpectationsFrom the perspective of the learner the most sophisticated conception of"learning" is to change as a person (Marton, Dall'Alba and Beaty, 1993). Aperson may be satisfied she/he has personally changed as an outcome oflearning but how can a learner demonstrate that to a teacher or facilitator?How might these academics?To address these puzzles I required a learning journal as part of theassessment for each module. The goal was to see if, by using critical selfreflection,my colleagues who were my students, could transform their academicexperience and experience of the modules into learning outcomesusing a collaborative approach. What did they think about the modulegoals, process and outcomes? What impact was there on their thinking andpractice?An evaluation is a formal way to get such information but I have foundjournals to be a superior form of data collection. Informal journal writinggets to the nub of matters often in an entertaining and bold way. I thoughtit would be interesting for us both, plus be insightful for me to helpimprove the modules I teach. In other words, we would engage in a formof collaborative learning.My expectations were that each colleague would record their preparationfor and content of each 3-hour class, post-class actions, and observationand reflection on these matters. A template was given to allow them to
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Page 3 and 4: REACTReview of Educational Research
Page 5 and 6: About the ContributorsChai Ching Si
Page 7 and 8: REACT, Vol. 22, No. 2 (December 200
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Page 17 and 18: 92 Chai Ching Sing and Tan Seng Che
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Page 47 and 48: 124 Jim MurphyIn many disciplines l
Page 49 and 50: 126 John Tan and Michael KohTypical
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