Learning Log Assignment

When you undertake any learning activity, unless you record it somewhere you can forget about it. Keeping a learning log can be a handy mechanism for keeping track of your learning and reminding you of aspects of learning that you may have forgotten about, but which could be useful to you in the future.

For this assignment, you are required to maintain a digital journal ‘Learning Log’ for the whole duration of this paper, in which you will record your learning. This is not necessarily a formal ‘academic’ piece of work but a personal record of your learning. As such it is a document that is unique to you and cannot be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. A Learning Log will help you to record, structure, think about and reflect upon, plan, develop and evidence your learning.

It is recommended that Learning Log components be completed as soon as possible after undertaking each learning activity so that you can capture all the key learning points while they are still fresh in your mind. Completing a learning log after each learning activity can help you reflect on what you learned and assess that against what you had hoped to learn from the event. In undertaking this process, you can identify if there are further gaps in your learning that you need to address. During the process you can also think about how your learning can be applied in your future work practices.

Learning Log Assessment

The assessment comprises two parts, which are submitted as a single document:-

1. Learning Record (worth 60% of the marks available for this assignment)

As your learning log is unique to you, it cannot be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Hence, the record will be assessed holistically concerning the likely role it has played in your personal growth and learning.

This is assessed using evidence of:

• The care and creativity that went into its construction
• The consistency of your effort for the duration of paper
• The quality of reflection it contains

Followed (in the same document) by

2. Executive Summary (worth 40% of the marks available for this assignment) You are required to use your learning record to help you reflect on your learning journey during the course.

Resources to help you address both parts appear later in this document.

** It is unacceptable to merely submit a portion of your regular class notes (zero marks) **

Using ChatGPT or other AI tool for the purpose of writing, rewriting or summarizing lecture or course materials, including videos, is expressly FORBIDDEN (zero marks)

Submitting Your Learning Log Assignment

Submit the document via the paper website on Moodle by the due date/time shown in the Paper Outline.

Acknowledgements

SABES: Training Leaders in Adult Basic Education; University of Hull

Karen Barnstable: http://kbarnstable.wordpress.com/    

Section 1: Your Learning Record

A Learning Log, or Learning Record, is a journal which evidences your learning and skills development. It is NOT just a diary or record of “What you have done” but a record of what you have learnt, tried and critically reflected upon.

For example, if in your Learning Log you include details of what you did or how you did something then consider asking yourself questions such as:

• Did it go well? Why? What did I learn?
• Did it go badly? Why? What did I learn?
• How can I improve for next time?

A Learning Log contains your record of your experiences, thoughts, feelings and reflections. One of the essential things it contains is your conclusions about how what you have learnt is relevant to you and how you will use the new information/knowledge/skill/technique in the future.

It may contain details of problems you have encountered and solved (or not solved). Examples of where you have started to try out and practice a new skill, and examples of your own formal and informal learning. Formal learning is ‘taught’ in a formal academic setting – for example via a lecture. Informal learning is learning which takes place outside a formal educational setting, for instance, through talking with friends or colleagues in a social context. A Learning Log is a personal document. Don’t procrastinate; once you have commenced your Learning Log you will find it a valuable and useful ‘tool’ to help you to think about and structure your learning.

How do I ‘do’ a Learning Log?

You can choose! You use your Learning Log to record the classes you attended, books you have read, the discussions you have had, websites you have visited, TV programmes and videos you have watched, etc. At the end of the day your log should become something that is directly relevant to you and your learning. • Try to write something down after every new learning experience.

• On a regular basis (weekly) review what you have written and reflected upon this. Be honest with yourself.

Ask yourself questions such as:

• Have I achieved anything? If so, what?
• What progress have I made
• Have I put any theory into practice?
• How does what I have been doing lead to me becoming better at a skill?
• How can I use this to plan for my future?
• How can I use this to plan new learning?

You should ask yourself these questions within 24-48 hours of each one of the taught sessions you attend or having practiced a new skill. You will also find that how you view something, (your perception of something) changes over time. For example, you may have been trying to develop your communication skills and have had a bad or negative learning experience when something went wrong, and you feel you have made no or even backwards progress. When you reflect upon this the next day, your thoughts and feelings may be mainly negative ones. If you reflect on the experience a week later, you may find that you have now overcome the negative experience and have used it to develop further and improve yourself.

Skills rarely suddenly develop or improve ‘overnight’. Learning new knowledge and applying it within the context of a skill usually takes time, effort and perseverance. A Learning Log will help you to become more aware of how you learn, what learning tasks you enjoy (and don’t enjoy) and of your emotional and cognitive (thought) processes

At first, it may seem challenging to start to reflect critically on your own learning. Over time though you will find that it becomes easier. The more often that you practice the skill of self-reflection, the easier it will become.

Is there a ‘best’ or ‘correct’ way of producing a Learning Log?

Not really, the log should be relevant to you and your job/studies/role/activities. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way of producing a Learning Log.  Refer to the following pages for some ideas that might suit YOU.

Perhaps the three key questions when engaging in the process of producing a Learning Log are:

• Am I being honest with myself?
• Is this a useful process for me?
• Is this helping my process of learning?  

(Potential) Learning Log Activities

(Choose only the ones you want to incorporate)

1. Idea Web. Create an idea web /mind map on a particular topic before, during, and after instruction.

Consider         using         ‘Edraw         Mind         Map’          (Freeware         version          available          from:

2. KWL Activity. Suitable to use when introducing new material. Before learning a new concept, jot down what you already know. Then jot down things you are wondering about or you want to know. After learning, jot down the things you have learned. This can be a shared or individual activity.

3. Double Entry Activity. In the left column, jot down words, facts, and/or observations about what you hear or read. In the right column, write comments about the information as a way of questioning and personally connecting with what you hear and/or read.

Today’s Topic:

4. Problem/Solution Activity. In the left column list problems, concerns, and/or questions that you have about your learning. In the right column, list the solution or answer once you have found it.

Today’s Topic:

5. Entrance Slip. Before instruction begins, students write about the previous day’s lesson, a concept that they are having difficulty with, or an idea or question that comes to mind about their learning.
6. Reading Response. Write/illustrate a personal response to what you read in class.
7. Exit Slip. After instruction ends, list facts that you learned or explain the day’s activities. You could also write questions, problems, concerns, feelings, observations, or personal connections with the day’s lesson. The exit slip can provide the teacher with some insight into preparation for the next lesson.
8. Homework Reflection. Summarize or write questions about the homework.
9. Compare/Contrast Venn Diagram. Students jot down words to show how things are alike and how they are different.
10. List the steps that you used to complete a specific task or to solve a learning problem.
11. Class Minutes. Take turns being the class recorder, writing down the lesson activities and assignments. The class minutes can be shared as an end-of-the-session review and can also be read by students who have been absent.
12. Jot down observations as you watch a demonstration, an informational video, or a presentation.
13. Dialogue Journal. Write questions or observations about a lesson or activity. Trade them with a partner, and the partner writes answers or comments.
14. Personal Connections (before learning). Respond to and/or make personal connections before, during, or after a learning experience.

Example: Today, we will begin learning about social media in organisations. Can you remember when you first used social media? Write about it in your learning log.

15. Personal Connections (after learning). Write about one way that the new information might relate to your own life; socially and professionally.
16. Make Predictions. Write what you THINK they you will learn about a particular topic or about what will happen in a book.
17. Sketch Journal. Draw and add labels, captions, titles, descriptions, thought bubbles, etc.
18. End-of-Lesson List. List the three most important things you learned.
19. Self-Evaluation. Rank your learning of a concept or idea on a scale of 1 to 5, with an explanation of why you gave your learning that particular ranking.
20. Think-Pair-Share. Your classroom partner shares his/her understanding of today’s concepts with you. You write this down in your learning log and compare them it against your understanding of the concept and how it is (dis)similar.
21. Think-Aloud. “Think on paper” about the random thoughts, lists, or ideas you have learned.
22. Letter to Sir. In your log, “write a note to the teacher”, explaining what you want to know more about the topic or offering suggestions for change that would help other students improve their learning.
23. Free Write. Write about any topic or idea that was sparked by today’s learning activities.
24. Visual Representations. Create a graph, drawing, chart, or other visual to show your learning.
25. Project Log. As you work on a specific project keep a log of your activities, difficulties, processes, thoughts, frustrations, successes, and other information that detail your experiences as you worked on the project.

PERSONAL LEARNING LOG: SECTION 1

– Active Learning Log –

Name:                                                                                                  ID:                                                  

Day:                                                                                                                                                       Sheet Number:                    

Day:                       Date:                                                                                                      Sheet Number:                    

SECTION 2: PERSONAL REFLECTION

– The Executive Summary –

Name:                                                                                                  ID:                                                  

Word count:                               (1000 words maximum)         

There are four parts^[1] to the Executive Summary: 

Hint: Use your completed Learning Log to help you identify and reflect on specific learning experiences, activities, and events. Please incorporate the following headings into your answer:

I. Thinking Back

Returning to a learning experience or recapturing a learning event sometime after it has taken place may allow the learner to revisit the entire experience from a fresh and different perspective. Learners may uncover knowledge that had been learned but was now buried or forgotten. Use the following questions to help you rediscover past learning:

• What was my motive for taking this paper?
• What specific skills/knowledge/attributes were necessary for my completion of this paper?
• What critical factors helped or hindered my completion of this paper?
• When did the most learning occur, and how do I know this?

II. Thinking Forward

As learners reflect on how they would do things differently in the future, an ‘upgrade’ of learning might occur. This deeper level of knowledge is referred to as transformative learning (King 2002). Use the following questions to help you understand the future implications of your learning:

• If I had chosen to take an alternative ‘action’ to one that I did, what might have happened?
• If I had the opportunity to choose this ‘action’ again, what changes would I make?
• How might what I have learned affect my future learning decisions?
• How might this experience shape the goals I set for my future?

III. Thinking Inward

Introspective reflections also bring the learner closer to emotions. According to James Zull (2002), reflecting on previous experience will be meaningless unless it engages our emotions. A deeper understanding of one’s feelings and emotions leads to a higher level of learning as described by several taxonomies of learning. Use the following questions to help you make intrinsic connections:

• Why was this ‘learning experience’ meaningful to me?
• What are my personal beliefs regarding this ‘learning experience’?
• Do I agree or disagree with the way I learned and was taught? Main reasons?
• What differences has the learning made in my intellectual, personal, or ethical development?
• What were the highest and lowest emotional moments of my ‘learning experience’?

IV. Thinking Outward

Reflecting on the world around us requires an extended point of view. Identifying the attitudes and opinions of another person, such as a co-worker or someone from another culture leads learners to further consideration of their own belief system. The value in these contrasts and comparisons of beliefs is that it causes the learner to either expand their personal point of view or become more affirmed in their reasons for believing the way they do.

Reflecting outwardly may also lead to new ideas or theories that are used to explain or make sense of something. Use the following questions to help you think in an extrinsic way:

• How am I looking at this ‘learning experience’? Can I identify another point of view?
• How might a person from another culture or religion look at this?
• Which of these viewpoints makes the most sense?
• Is my current standpoint causing problems for others?
• Does the problem or question in my mind have historical, ethical, scientific, political or economic considerations?

– SCMGT577 –  E-enabled Agile Supply Chains Individual Assignment – Learning Log

[1] NOTE: Be sure to use all four subheadings and address all questions

Additional Informational :- https://prime-management-system-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/Learning%20Log%20Example-076d2efa-da30-4650-ac16-b188dfc9aad3.pdf