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Learning LogsIntroductionMany people have found reflection to be a helpful part of their self-development. Reflection often works best using a journal, so that patterns in behaviors and reactions become visible. Some find staring at a blank journal page intimidating. When aided by probing questions, they can often begin serious reflection. Learning logs (forms with preprinted questions or exercises) are one approach to the "blank page" problem. Bob Williams of Wellington, New Zealand, designed a reflection form for clients to use during his consulting engagements. It's based on the action learning cycle: planning, acting, observing, reflecting, and renewed planning. Bill Harris of Everett, Washington, USA, modified the form based on his experiences and added other parts to round out the package. The current set of files is available here as Elements of a Learning Theory. The following material gives suggestions on their use, licensing and contact information, and links to the files themselves. You can read more about these learning logs in chapter 10 of Effective Change Management Using Action Research and Action Learning: Concepts, Frameworks, Processes and Applications. Getting StartedTo use this as we do, the files below should be printed and assembled into a binder of your choosing.README.TXT gives one way to use this material, but you may wish to customize it. This introduction assumes you're using the standard organization. Once you've assembled your book, start with GOALFORM.DOC. Think about what you really want, be it a project or lifetime goal. Don't set down too many goals; you may not be able to focus on more than a handful. Write them down, one to a sheet, so you'll remember them as you first stated them. Go next to REFLECTIONS.DOC. Decide if your natural learning cycle is daily, weekly, or random. Fill out the plan before you start a day (or week or arbitrary period). Make notes during the day. At the end of the day, find a quiet spot, perhaps away from the work environment, and fill out the rest of the form. Then think about the next day's plan. You may find TODO.DOC handy for assembling information you'll put in the period's plan. It's also handy for note-taking. TIMELOG.XLS is designed for daily use. If you followed the instructions, each sheet will have unique, random times listed on the left, and you'll have custom tailored project codes. At each listed time, record what you were doing and the project code. Make two check-marks in the appropriate columns: one to indicate the sort of work, and one to indicate whether you were cruising, struggling, or stuck. At the end of the day, summarize the data as indicated. You might find it useful to compare the percentage of time spent on various projects and categories against your goals. While daily fluctuations are normal, longer term averages should align well. You may also find it useful to look for commonalties in what you are doing when you check "struggling" or "stuck." ANALYSIS.DOC is for recording any sort of useful summary information over the time covered by one learning log book. ELTFORM.DOC ties the goals and reflections together. When you have insights about how you best act in the world, note them on one of these forms along with the evidence for your claims. Think a bit about how you might try to prove your claim wrong. Personal reflections aren't quite as rigorous as objective measurements of length or weight. Trying to prove yourself wrong and failing can increase your confidence in your insights. This format gives the long view (GOALFORM.DOC and ELTFORM.DOC) and the daily view (REFLECTIONS.DOC and TIMELOG.XLS), but it doesn't tie daily work together well. You can list your current projects and their breakdown into tasks and due dates on PROJECT_SHEET.DOC. Check tasks off when you're done. Wrapping It UpWhew. That's a lot of words to introduce thinking about your life. Try it. Experiment. Modify it to suit your needs. If you have interesting experiences or useful modifications to this package, Bob and Bill would enjoy hearing from you. LicensingWe're releasing this as shareware. Feel free to download and use the material. If you find it useful and continue to use it, we'd appreciate a shareware fee of US$25, paid to either Bill or Bob. You'll probably select the one to contact based on where you are in the world; make it easy on yourself. If you are in a company that wants to use it multiple times, just pay US$500 for company rights. Finally, if you are using this for academic purposes, we'll waive the fee; just let us know that you're using it and what you're learning. While we encourage you to modify it for your own needs (adding project categories, etc.), please don't redistribute any of these files except in their original forms, complete with our contact information. Contact Information
The learning log files are © 1999 Bob Williams and William S. Harris, Jr., all rights reserved. The Learning Log ComponentsClick on these to open them from your browser, assuming it's configured to do so; you can then save them on your system. Shift-click on Netscape to save the files directly. If you can't read this version, contact Bill for alternative format options.
A Theoretical UnderpinningThese learning logs are very much related to the Snyder evaluation process. There's a potentially interesting if not quite perfect mapping:Where does ELTFORM.DOC fit in? It's the tool that helps make learning sustainable; it becomes one's personal "owner's manual," if you will, describing what you're learning about how you are effective. | |||||||||||||||
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