Learning Log That Is Compulsory

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In my class, I always make it compulsory for my students to submit and write their own learning log. The best part is when I saw them open their eyes wide - no blinking, seriously did not blink at all. 

"What should we write?." I am smiling

I told them to write anything but do not put it too formal. I don't like it, at least my way. I believed if you write 'schema' words and too formal, you cannot be creative in smearing ideas. But indeed, the more you don't like it the more they compress into it. Goshhh... But of course after a while, they are just into it, enjoy it in fact, I fancy that some of them are just like to write their log. But to some, it's the same thing what you've written on the whiteboard, in your slide and the discussion in the class. The best part is, majority of the contents are identical to each other. Speechless.

With the non-guided learning log, at least that is what they told to use in Problem Based Learning (PBL) assessment. And at least that is what I'm trying to achieve, the more feedback you get, the more you will be understanding them. From the log;

I can see their sincere comments of what I have delivered in class. 

Whether whatever objective that I put through, are achievable by the students at the end of the class session. 

Alhamdulillah, It's not only me improving, but they themselves are also improving. What do you feel when you read your student's commenting about you on a piece of paper. It's like a bunch of punches and kicks of an army's boot on your face?. So painful though. But it's more scarier if you do not know whether what you've delivered are not ubiquitously available and practiced in their life or at least they should be able to answer in the final exam. 

Before I forgot to make a note, the feedback that I always encourage them to write are nothing more than negative than positive. No doubt people appreciate good comments but I do appreciate encouragement through the opposite. But that's the best part of acknowledging the discussion of negative elements in one of your learning process. I learnt it and I love it. You improve not because you want to be better in the first place, but because you know that you are worst of - and what more, you know that you need to immediately repair the weaknesses.  Like father like son, like mother like daughter, the idioms that is very significant when you are indirectly imposing the lead by example culture. 

What do we learn from the above? 

1. Feedback is very important. If you want a result, you have to delve into it. 

2. Creativity does help in exploring the real feedback from others. Let the creativity moves along the process, the real words will excite you.

3. Learning motivating and education is a many to many process. Let them know that the one way process of holding your mouth open listening to someone mumbling in front of doesn't work during this new era.

#learn_that_is_compulsory