Association for Challenge Course Technology

Journaling is an effective reflective activity that can be used with almost every kind of challenge course program in some way. Whether participants in adventure activities are elementary school students or adults involved in multi-day programs or one-day experiences, journaling can be an incredibly valuable reflective tool. Journaling can involve a variety of mediums, including the written word, worksheets, drawings, scrapbooking, and audio or video documentary. Journals can take many forms, such as traditional journal book or diary, worksheets, art work, scrapbooking, photo journals, or cartoon books.

Great thinkers throughout history, such as Thoreau and Descartes, have written about the benefits of time alone, free from distraction. Time reflecting alone away from the group for individual reflection balances and supports group process. The benefit of time away gives learners time to reflect on things that might not have come up during a discussion. It gives people an opportunity to explore thoughts they might not verbalize in a group setting.

Opportunities for individual reflection activities away from group time ensures that some kind of reflection is happening regardless of what happens during group or class time. Journaling and other self-reflective methods can become lifetime skills that help develop insight - one of the hardest skills to learn, but one of the most valuable skills in life.

If journals are shared, it can be an effective way for participants and for educators and facilitators to evaluate and identify outcomes of the program. Ongoing experiential education programs that have used journaling as part of their curriculum report that participants demonstrate a progression in the group development process through their journal entries.

Reading over journal entries gives learners and teachers an understanding of group development, the benefits of activities, and feedback about the progression of the course. Teachers and challenge course facilitators involved in using journaling as part of a semester-long adventure education course report that students demonstrated increased insight and improved writing skills from their practice of journaling.

Journaling Ideas

Have participants make their own journals.
Have participants complete artistic representations of their experience.
Give participants specific questions to answer to initially aid in the journaling process.
Create a portfolio of experiences as a way of journaling.
Use art activities as part of journaling. Teachers or recreational professionals can coordinate with their program's art department for implementing collaborative projects using alternative forms of media for journaling, such as photography, video and audio documentation.
Creating prepared worksheets to fill out can aid journaling. Make these visually interesting with questions placed in different shapes for writing spaces, or by using drawings.
Use an alternative media form such as scrapbooking, photojournaling, or audio and visual documentaries.

The following is a sample journaling assignment given to a middle school audience to integrate a challenge course experience into class curriculum.

Overview: One of the principles of Experiential and Adventure Education is the principle of action and reflection. It is an idea presented by the educational philosopher John Dewey. He believed that humans don't truly learn from an experience until they spend some time reflecting on it and analyzing how the experience is meaningful to them and relevant to their life. We are hoping this course will be interesting, fun, and that you will learn new skills that will be relevant to your life both inside and outside of school.

One of the ways to help facilitate the reflective process is through journaling assignments. The journaling process can help make this class something that will be meaningful and relevant now and in the future. It will give you a record of the work you put into this course, the skills you have learned, and the changes you have made. It is a way for you to take control of your learning and the nature of this course.

Assignment: Your writing should reflect your reactions to activities and their relevance to other aspects in life. We want to see more than just a description of what happened in class. We want you to focus and the "So What?" and "Now What?" We will give you specific questions and assignments to help guide the process.

The journal assignment fills the writing requirement for physical education. It amounts to 20% of your grade. Journals will be graded on a five-point scale. You receive one point for handing your journal assignments in and on time. You will receive a point for presentation and effort, i.e., neat presentation, using a notebook/binder. The other three points will be based on the content of your journals, i.e., answering of questions, writing about your reactions.

The due dates for the journals will be September 7, September 14, October 5 and 24, November 9 and 30, December 7, and January 11.
These dates are subject to change by instructors with prior notice.

Deliverables:

Examples of general questions you could answer in your journal assignments might be:

What were your feelings during the activity?
What did you like and dislike?
What were some of the statements you were telling yourself during the activity?
Were you uncomfortable doing anything? If so, what?
Were any of your reactions typical of you?
Do the experiences in class relate to other aspects of your life? How?

We will give you questions and more specific assignments to help you with your journaling as the semester progresses.

Sample Questions Include:

Spotting skills

What is healthy trust?
Is your group trustworthy?
How do they show it?
Was it easy for you to trust the group?

Traverse Wall

What was the experience like?
What is familiar/different?
How did your body feel?
Do you have any goals you plan to set regarding the traverse?
Do you feel successful?
What was most challenging about it?

Problem Solving Activities:

What worked well; what could your group have done differently?
Did anyone emerge as a leader in your group?
What role did you play in the group?
How was your frustration level?
How were decisions made in this activity?
Did this activity remind you of anything?

"I think our class has become more of a family group, always helping out and supporting others.I am getting to know people better and I can actually say hi to them when before I didn't have a clue who they were. And to me, there is meaning behind the hello instead of a hello that means absolutely nothing."

"Today was the ultimate test of trust and confidence to be able to put your life in someone else's hands."

"I believe I pushed myself further than I would have."

"Our solution to the game today was a good example of how creativity and communication helps solve problems. I realized that I added rules that really didn't exist. I think that is true about many things we do. It is especially true about social situations. Sometimes we close doors that really don't need to be shut. For example, I always sit at the same table with the same group of friends every day at lunch. This is a rule that I follow that doesn't really exist. If I were to try sitting at a different table I could probably meet new people and make new friends. Sometimes I think we are very resistant to change and in many cases this can be a disadvantage."

"Today was fun! It was more like a regular gym class, but still enjoyable. The really cool part was that it wasn't as ickily competitive as a typical gym class. The competition was friendly, and it was a very fun game. People were encouraging, not cruel, something I - a nonathlete - have experienced very often. I really thought that this gave hope to people, especially me, that competitive sports are really not all there is."

"I found it was more difficult to give directions than I originally thought it would be. Something that seems so simple when you are looking at it can actually be quite complicated. It gave me a better understanding of how important giving concise directions are. I found asking questions helped a lot. Communication really has two sides - informing and active listening. Keeping this in mind in everyday life will help our relationships a lot."

"But then, up there on the platform, I decided that the fear wasn't getting me anywhere. So I decided to jump. I counted down and then I flew. It was a leap of faith. A leap of trust, confidence, spirit and will. I knew this was what I had wanted to gain from this class. I have learned to trust others, to give it my all. The jump was just a disguise, a cover up. It was really a test of what you have been teaching us all semester. You taught and I learned. I took the test and I passed. I got to the bar and I grabbed it."