Learning Journals

During our 1st QTA meeting of 2009 we took on the challenges of professional development and to start the learning process we passed out and discussed Learning Journals.

With a quick Google you can get several thoughts and ideas on what a Learning Journal could entail. Run through slideshare and you can find presentations from around the world that attempt to attack the subject.

When we talked about the Learning Journal with the consortia coordinators we discussed it in the context of recording professional development activities. Taking steps to write down our thoughts on presentations, conferences and other opportunities that we have to interact and learn about CTE, Tech Prep and education.

But how to keep your thoughts organized?

Many of our technology centers are engaged in the Tech Centers That Work initiative and some high schools in Oklahoma are part of HSTW. By looking at the 10 Key Practices of either, and then applying them to your institution, you can begin to guide your learning process in s strategic way.

But what if you are not involved in TCTW or HSTW? You can align your learning to your institutions strategic plan, your own personal learning goals or you can align it with my favorite school improvement initiative, Tech Prep!

Using the Oklahoma Tech Prep model, we have four focused strategies that we employ to deliver on the goal of Tech Prep in Oklahoma, more students graduating high school with college credit.

Using the strategies (Career Majors, Professional Development, Preparatory Services and Accountability) one can begin to be strategic in choosing sessions at a conference, deciding which webinar to attend or what feed they should add to their aggregator.

As you listen, interact and learn, you can begin to record your thoughts in a process that helps you align yourself with a strategy, goal or plan. You will begin to listen for key words that you can record in your journal to retrieve later. When you get home or back to the office and begin to reprocess your notes, they become more purposeful and meaningful to why you need the new information and how you can apply it in your situation.

The Tech Prep Blog has been my Learning Journal for a number of years now. After attending a presentation I will bring back my notes and start Googling. I will look up the presenter and see if I can find anything else that they have done. Then you can start going though your notes and see what websites were cited, and I share them through the CareerTech Deliciousness email. After spending 10-15 minutes, you have a good record of what the presenter has done, where they are coming from and it is highly likely that you will find something new to add to the knowledge that you gained in the original presentation.

No matter if you use the traditional paper and pencil method, or if you take to the internet, by being more purposeful in your learning, and building your personal learning network, you are helping to develop yourself and the opportunities for Oklahoma's students.