As part of the assessment for this module you are required to keep a Learning Journal
throughout the course of the entire semester and to submit this journal with the above
case study.
The purpose of the learning journal is to encourage you to engage with the course
material and to capture what you have learned throughout the semester.
What is expected is that you go beyond just describing what was covered in class or
what you read in the textbook, and attempt to engage critically with the material on
the basis of your own experience and observations. It is intended to encourage you to
engage in a deep approach to learning and to demonstrate the highest levels of
learning, i.e. application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
The following sections will explain what a learning journal is, the purpose of a
learning journal, how to write a learning journal and finally how a learning journal
will be assessed by your tutor.
What is a Learning Journal?
A learning journal is a personalised reflective log that records your learning either, (i)
over a certain period of time or (ii) on a particular topic/module. It is a very useful
personal development tool which allows you to reflect on how your study and
learning is developing over a period of time, what you are learning and the relevance
or application of this learning to your own experiences in a work setting. The content
of your learning journal will be unique to you and the themes or issues identified in
your learning journal may be very different to those of your study group members or
classmates.
When writing a Learning Journal it is expected that you update your journal on a
weekly basis with at least one paragraph on a learning point or topic of your choosing.
The recommended approach is to spend some time after each study period (a class,
group discussion or independent study session) reviewing the material you have
studied, how you went about learning it, what you found interesting or challenging,
how what you have learned relates to the 'real' world of work and your own
experiences, any gaps in the theories reviewed, any comparisons between one debate
and another etc.
A learning journal is not a log or diary of what you did each week or what you read.
Instead, it is a record of your specific learning during that week.
The Purpose of a Learning Journal
The writing of a learning journal can serve many purposes including the following
(Moon, 1999):
• To record experience
• To facilitate learning from experience
• To support understanding and the representation of learning
• To develop critical thinking or the development of a questioning attitude
• To increase active involvement in and ownership oflearning
• To increase ability in reflection and thinking
• To enhance reflective practice
• For reasons of personal development
• To enhance creativity
• To improve writing
• As a means of communication between a learner and another
How to Write a Learning Journal
There are a number of ingredients of reflective journal writing and it is important that
you bear these in mind when writing your journal each week. Among the main
ingredients include:
• Good journal structure, with the identification of suitable and creative headings
for the themes or issues discussed
• Variety of issues discussed
• Identification of any action required as a result of reflection
• Go beyond mere description
• Personal - reference to your own experience
• Links between theory and practice
• Relationship of journal entries to coursework
• Links between different modules you are studying
• What you learned this week
• Did you learn something interesting or unexpected about a particular topic?
• How does the 'real' world relate to the course content? What aspects of the
course can you relate to your own experience? What aspects of the course conflict
with your own experience?
• What did you learn from the module assignment and how did you research and
plan this assignment? You might like to comment on how you evaluated any
literature or readings you found etc.
• How did you prepare for the examination and what revision techniques were most
effective for you?
• Leaming during your seminars
• Reflect upon some discussion which took place in class during a block release
weekend - what was interesting about the discussion, how did experiences
outlined by some students in relation to the application of the course material
relate to your experience?Reflection or discussion of your answers to an
assessment question contained in the study guide
• Reflection upon the course material and you thoughts, comments or observations
on the course content/readings/case studies etc.
When writing an entry for a learning journal, it is often useful to keep the
following checklist of questions in mind:
• What was my aim for the event?
• What were my objectives
• What did I review?
• What did I learn that was new?
• What did I find that was most useful?
• What did I not find useful about it?
• How could I apply what I learned in practice?
Assessment of Learning Journals
1) to develop reflective skills in students, and
2) to improve your learning.
Moon (1999) has identified a number of factors to be considered when assessing
leamingjoumals, as follows:
• Overall presentation
• Number and regularity of entries
• Clarity and good observation in presentation of events or issues
• Evidence of speculation
• Evidence of a willingness to revise ideas
• Honesty and self-assessment
• Thoroughness of reflection and self-awareness
• Depth and detail of reflective accounts
• Evidence of creative thinking
• Evidence of critical thinking
• A deep approach to the subject matter of the journal/module
• Representation of different cognitive skills (synthesis, analysis, evaluation etc.)
• Relationship of the entries in the journal to any relevant coursework, theories etc.
• Match of the content and outcomes of the journal work to course objectives,
learning outcomes for the journal or purposes that the journal is intended to fulfil
• Questions that arise from the reflective processes and on which to reflect further
A Learning Journal can be presented in the following ways:
1) Week by week account of your learning
2) A summary of your week by week account using key themes
A Learning Journal would also normally contain an introduction and a conclusion.
Your module lecturer will provide you with further guidance on the presentation
requirements.
NOTE: The following are a number of extracts taken from weekly Learning Journals
submitted by students taking a course in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. The
purpose of providing these extracts is to illustrate the types and styles of journal
entries expected and in particular to illustrate the need to engage with the course
material.
"I also thought it was extremely interesting that when defining negotiation, many
people in the class tended to lean towards a definition that involved a favourable
outcome for both parties involved. However, I think more often than not the outcome
isn't necessarily favourable, merely a compromise between parties. In essence, each
party makes some sort of sacrifice to reach a sufficient compromise".
"What I really remember from this course is that the context is the crucial element in
negotiation, it rings a bell for me because it reminds me of my first real negotiation
situation in a professional context. I had only been able to reach my goal because I
had very well understood in which situation my interlocutor was, what he really
needed and what he would have no choice but to accept".
"The Bank of Ireland case was an interesting in that it illustrated the case of a very
strong union that were forced to give up some of their power. I can really see from
reviewing this example and the theory, that the context is vital to the case".
"The union, even though they had been very successful in the past, could not ignore
the fact that the economy and industry had changed significantly. This showed me
that unions in extreme circumstances will accept that management are in a no win
situation unless the union step down from their demands.
BOI would not have beenable to compete in the long term if something had not changed. This made me think
that if companies treat unions as part of the management team and kept them
informed about the status of the company it would lead to more reasonable demands
from the union. However, this would of course leave the company liable to extreme
demands when the company is prospering. There is a fine line between keeping the
union informed of the situation and giving them too much information and therefore
too much power".
"The topic that stuck out at me from this week's discussion was the issue of
manipulation. It was interesting to look at the idea of manipulation from a business
perspective of simply understanding the other party's expectations and being able to
manoeuvre around them. The suggestion of manipulation being an effective tactic
initially caught me off guard because of its cultural connotation, but through our
discussion, it became clear that it was simply a way of utilising context in a
negotiation process".
"Many of the questions I brought up in my previous journal entry were addressed by
today's class and discussion. It seems that bargaining power is based largely on the
context in which negotiation is based, and the nature of the resolution is reached. In
my mind, this means that 'power' is not an entity of either party's absolute nature, but
rather, a result of the situation that has caused a need for bargaining. How then, I
wonder, can one gain control of negotiation when dealt a lousy situation? This is
probably the question that stands out most in my mind, and which I feel is vital to
answer. I hope that future classes focus on these aspects of becoming a tactically
strong negotiator".
"Following this week's discussion on front stage drama and back stage
understandings, I wondered why negotiators continue to act antagonistically at the
negotiation table if front stage behaviour is often discounted or ignored by opposing
parties who can clearly read the 'phoniness' of such behaviour. Even if the opposing
side does not pick up on the front stage drama, a holistic attitude will only make the
other party defensive. Given the fact that human emotions and shortcomings often
override even objective situational contexts, isn't it dangerous for healthy negotiations
to approach the table antagonistically? Is there another way? Would negotiations be
successful if antagonistic front stage tactics were avoided?".
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