Journal Writing as a Teaching Technique to unleash

Student Creativity

Objective: To introduce the process of journal writing to promote reflection and discuss the
techniques and strategies to implement journal writing in an athletic training education
curriculum.
Background: Journal writing can facilitate reflection and allow students to express feelings
regarding their educational experiences. The format of this writing can vary depending on the
students' needs and the instructor's goals.
Description: Aspects of journal writing assignments are discussed, including different points to
take into account before assigning the journals. Lastly, various factors to contemplate are
presented when providing feedback to the students regarding their written entries.

five simple strategies to make journaling a creative outlet:

1. Have students write for themselves. “Choose an audience

of one,” Spencer advises students. When they know they’re
not writing for others to read, students can be bold and
creative, and the freedom of the process can result in some
exceptional writing. “Let them choose the topics, the length,
the style, and the approach,” he writes. “Treat it less like an
assignment and more like a tool used to tap into creativity
and curiosity.” Sketchnotes, unanswered questions, and
bulleted lists all have their place in journaling.

2. Don’t limit journaling to text on a page. Have students use

the space for doodling, drawing, diagramming, and informal
writing. They might sketch diagrams or images of scientific
concepts, or “incorporate elements of interactive notebooks
by having students cut out items and tape them in. So, a
page in the notebook becomes a short flipbook.”
3. Have students keep their journals organized. Spencer
distinguishes between a journal and a diary. A diary is often
for jotting down fleeting thoughts, but a journal can be a
place to investigate those ideas more deeply or organize
them into actionable items. Spencer numbers his pages and
keeps an index in the back of the journal. “Other people," he
writes, "use a left side/right side process for their journals
(words on one side and pictures on the other, or notes on
one side and reflections on the other),” he writes. Color
coding is another fun and easy way for students to organize
their work.

4. Encourage students to “go cheap.” Journaling doesn’t

require a fancy notebook. In fact, a more expensive book
might lead students to be overly cautious and timid with their
writing. “As a teacher, this also means reducing student fear
and risk aversion,” Spencer writes. “You might make journals
a pass/fail assignment or make them entirely optional. You
might say, ‘I’m going to look at your journal but I’m not
grading the content.’”

5. Give students time to write regularly. Have them write

daily—the process “doesn’t need to be laborious.” But the
journal writing doesn’t need to be limited to a formal,
designated time: Encourage students to carry their notebook
and jot down ideas as they happen. The goal is to have them
embrace writing as a spontaneous activity. Encourage
students to think of their journal as “a playground,” Spencer
writes.